Arthur Llewelyn Recalls His Time At Crumlin Tech College

A Memory of Crumlin.

Crumlin was a day attendance college with a somewhat rough and more mature worldly-experienced set of students. All resources were concentrated on classrooms and essential equipment. The harsh environment was emphasized by the location: literally under the shadow of the railway viaduct spanning the valley and a stone’s throw from the pit-head, wiring gear was taking men and boys of my age down the mine shaft to the coal face deep under the mountain. For the first time I was brought face to face with the gulf between middle and working class although ‘middle’ was not the word one would use, in those days. It was a question, not of class, but profession. At that time, particularly in Wales, the respect for the teaching profession was something which no one today could envisage or imagine.

The doctor’s son and I were marked out and accepted as different from the other students, typically miners’ sons, not in any way that the current generation could understand, no bullying or resentment, just honest recognition that we were different and not one of them, expressed bluntly without rancour, in words and attitude. There was an advantage in this situation since one of the lecturers, Mr R. E. Michael, a soft-spoken gentle man, kindness itself, went out of his way to give us extra tuition in the evening in French and English. In the main subject of electrical engineering he was an excellent tutor, indeed an inspiration since he recognised and encouraged my early enthusiasm for the emerging radio, communication and electronic technologies. I owe him a great debt of gratitude.
Extract from Book 'Follow My Dreams' The life & Times of Arthur Ivor Llewelyn 2013

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