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Caerau
Caerau maps
Historic maps of Caerau and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Caerau maps
Caerau area books
Displaying 1 of 2 books about Caerau and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Caerau
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memories of Caerau.
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Childhood in The 1950s in Caerau
I was born at 87 Victoria Street in 1945. My father was a miner and worked all his life in Caerau colliery. My mother came from London with her brothers and sisters, they were evacuated to Caerau after their house in Stepney, London, was bombed in the Second World War. At the age of 3 we moved from Victoria Street to Bryn Terrace with a lovely view of Caerau and the Llynfi valley. Looking back, my childhood was spent most of the time outdoors in all weathers and the long hot summer days of the 1950s seemed to go on for ever, every day was an adventure. We all wore short trousers in the 1950s and spent all our time running over the mountains, making dens and flying home made kites. I can remember as a small boy walking through Victoria Street and looking at all the milk bottles placed outside the doors and some of them had money left in them, in those days you would buy an... Read more
Caerau Library
Me and my brother Norman used to spend most of our time playing snooker at the library. Mr Phil Thomas used to look after it and he, together with my father Billy, taught us how to play. There were 6 tables there. Phil would iron and clean them daily. The place was spotless. I always remember that the top two tables were always covered and you could only play on them if Phil thought you were good enough and wouldn't rip the cloth. I remember Trevor Bailey and Billy Phillips were the top players, along with many more. What fabulous memories I have of those days. Caerau was a fabulous place to grow up and I am proud to have been born and brought up there.
I as A Boy
I remember as a boy of 12, when I and my friend David Nutt would play down by Caerau library for hours; on most days we would not go back home for hours, but Mam and Dad would know where we would be. I am Peter Darby, now coming up for 53. I wonder how have the years gone so quick, now as I pass where the library used to stand I stop for a moment and think y.y.y.o.y. we to where boy;s
Caerau Library
I lived both at Church Street, Caerau and at Lloyd Street, Caerau, the latter close to the library. Often as young people we would play snooker and table tennis at the library, sometimes even reading the newspapers there. Girls were never allowed in, and the place was always filled with smoke, for all the men that played on the tables would be smoking their fags.
MATCH OF WITNESS.
I believe the church on the left is called Zion. Every Easter all the churches in Caerau would join together and march around the streets of Caerau, we as young children would join with the songs sang like "We are matching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion." Many onlookers would be gathered on their doorsteps to watch this march of witness, even the men would come out of the clubs to watch us (in those days no pub would be open on a Sunday in Wales, and only men that joined the local clubs e.g. Labour club, could be allowed to drink).
TRAIN RIDES TO CYMMER.
For many years I enjoyed playing in Caerau park. Yet my best memories are of our train rides to Cymmer. When steam trains were the normal means of transport, with our pocket money on a Saturday, sometimes we would buy a return ticket to Cymmer - two villages seperated only by a railway tunnel. We would try to have a seated area to ourselves, open the windows and try to fill the carriage with smoke as we passed through the tunnel. Sometimes we took the train to Maesteg. In the holiday season, the family day out would be to Porthcawl, changing trains at Tondu, or at times taking the train to Barry, changing at Cardiff. Every journey was a blessing to me (and still is in a steam train today).
Caerau Square
Looking at this photo of the Square at Caerau brings back some happy memories of when the steam train would pass over the bridge in all its glory with the steam coming out of its funnel. The big billboard before the bridge was the only form of advertising in those days. The police station is still used today. Sadly the church in the picture is now empty and in need of repair. Just out of the picture on the right was the Coliseum cinema and every Saturday morning we would go to the matinee show and at the end of watching Batman and Robin we would all leave running up the road with our coats around our neck, just like Batman's cape. The village changed when the railway stopped and the bridge was pulled down that meant big heavy goods lorries could now drive through Caerau and our peace ended with much more noise.
Caerau Library
My dad worked in the colleries so come Christmas we went to a party at Caerau Library,you had good presents. There were church revivals there also, you had a good sing. There was a lot going on, my husband Stan went dancing and boxing there, it was quite a busy place, so big.
