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Gellilydan
Gellilydan maps
Historic maps of Gellilydan and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Gellilydan maps
Gellilydan area books
Displaying 1 of 2 books about Gellilydan and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Gellilydan
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Gellilydan.
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An English Boy Going to School in A Welsh Village
My mother brought me aged four and my brother aged one to a farm on the outskirts of Gellilydan in 1940 to escape the bombing in Coventry. I can remember my mother taking me to the village school to see if they would let me attend lessons. I was allowed to go even though I was only four years old. I did not speak any Welsh and the children there all spoke Welsh (and as far as I could tell no English). However, the lady teacher was very kind and did her best to settle me into the class, though I can remember being rather lonely at playtime, when I was left to play on my own. Because the farm I stayed at was a little way out of the village, my mother found it difficult to take me to school, especially as she had to leave my one year old brother at the farm. Eventually it was arranged that I went to school in the van which visited... Read more
In my Heart This is Where my Roots Are.
I was born in Meantwrog on 1 July 1942 at 2 Fron Goch. My father was Cadwalader Jones Owens and my mother was Mary Bridget. Dad was born, I believe, at Tyn Fedw (it has now changed its name but I cannot remember what to) which was just up from Cae Glas farm in Gellilydan. My gran was Kate Owens, I never met Granddad, he died when Dad was quite young. My father worked in the gardens at Plas Maentwrog until a chance encounter with a visiting family on a fishing trip from Derby, who offered him a job as gardener in the little village of Quarndon complete with tied cottage. (Something not to be overlooked in those days.) We moved on 5 May 1946, when my brother David was only a baby. Every year without fail we all went on holiday to stay with my gran at Tyn Fedw. Almost every we day we would go fishing, either in local streams or, if we could afford it, we would spend... Read more
A Wonderful Memory From A Carnival Queen
We moved to Gellilydan so that my dad could work on the power station. We lived in a caravan, Mum, Dad, my 2 brothers, Roy, Daniel and me, Angela Maalma. We had a wonderful time living there, playing in the woods and attending the local primary school. Mr Jones was the head master and was lovely. I remember the outside toilets and when it was very cold they would freeze over, and we would have to take buckets of water to flush. I remember one day one of the girls was playing and swinging the bucket of water when it slipped out of her hand and soaked me, fun times! We learned to speak Welsh, but I've forgotten it now. I was voted Carnival Queen and it was probably the most exciting time of my life. I loved living there. Angela Gibbs (nee Maalma)
1927 my Grandmother Was Born
On July 31st 1927, my grandmother Mary Alice McGroarty was born at Brynderw Bungalow, Gellilydan. xx
Gwynedd memories
WW11 in Llan Ffestiniog
Towards the end of WW11 my mother took me to visit family in Llan Ffestiniog. I was vey young. I recall clearly looking out of the parlour window and seeing a communal water pump in the street and with dozens if not hundreds of soldiers passing through - apparently en route to their camp at Trawsfynydd.
Where was the pump ? Can anyone help? I think it may have been near the wide Y junction in Ffestiniog but I just don't know. Help!
Carnival
Every year the Carnival passed through the Square, I remember being on the float with the Trawsfynydd Queen 1971/72? I have a photo of my Mum, on a float in the Square, when she was little (that would be 1951/52?) and a photo of my younger brothers and cousin walking behind the floats all in fancy dress. The Square in Trawsfynydd is also where I used to stand each morning to catch the bus to school in Blaenau Ffestiniog. I only lived in Trawsfynydd for three years but the memories are many.
The Camp
This photo is fairly unique since it shows the Camp at Bryngolau, Trawsfynydd, where the Royal Artillery Summer Camp was located for 2 years from 1903 before establishing a more permanent camp 2 miles south at Bronaber in 1905, where it remained until about 1958.
