Rhos, West Glamorgan

Birthplace

I was born in Curtis Row, Ynysmeudwy Road in the early 1950s. My late father was a coal miner and my mother worked at the watch factory.

We moved to London around 1959 as there was a lack of work. I am now trying to build a family tree. My grandparents had eleven children and lived in Ystradgynlais on... [more]

bora da

i've always as far as i can remember holidayed down in trebanws/pontardawe.went 2 trebanos primary and 1st year clydach.but even though i was only in the welsh skools 4 years i loved it.when i moved bak to glasgow i hated it i classed myself as welsh but now i am scottish[glasweigan]a weegie and proud of it but wales will always b... [more]

Edward Thomas Evans (born 1923ish)

Dear friends, my mother-in-law, Joan, was once engaged to Eddie Evans whose family lived up and over a hill near Rhydyfro in the 1940s. His father was a farmer and he had a sister called Marion. Does anyone know anything about Eddie? Is he still with us? Joan would love to know what happened to him. She is coming up to... [more]

Skewen 1983/4

I lived in Skewen from September 1983 to May 1984 - only a short time in my life but it made a big impression on me. My wife Fiona, new baby Siobhan and I rented a house at Caenant Terrace facing the railway and the mountain.  We had moved to Wales from the south of England and although our new environment... [more]

My GrandFather

My Grandfather, who served in WWI, is buried in Skewen.  I have a picture of his tombstone, which is very pretty, but I don't know what Cemetary it is.  My Mom's Dad he was - he died when she was 3 years old form the Flu.  His name was Donald C. James (born 1894 - 1927).

Neath - William Phillips family

I live in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. My relative, William Phillips was born in Neath and lived at 14 Company Street, Llantwit Fardre. He was a collier. He married 6/1875 Rachel Thomas (b.18/7/1852 Pontypridd Llaneth Verdre).In 1886 he and his family emigrated to Australia and settled in Stockton, NSW, a suburb of Newcastle. They had 9 children. He was a co-founder... [more]

Coffee and doughnuts

A friend from work, and I took courses at the Neath Technical Institute. I left Swansea about 7:30am, and had to run down Mount Pleasant to the bus station in order to get to the Institute. For lunch we walked up town to a little Italian cafe and had  a doughnut and coffee for lunch. After afternoon classes we went back... [more]

Graig-y-Merched

Hello Ystalyfera!
I have just discovered your site and I am ecstatic!
Having been born and brought up on Graig-y-Merched in the 1950s and 1960s, I have loved your photos. Having 'emigrated' to Baglan a mere 26 years ago (not through choice) they have brought back memories of some of the best times of my life.
I grew up with 4... [more]