FRANCIS FRITH

My grandfather was a miner in the South Celynen. He started off at the age of 13 and was made redundant when the mines closed! But what's more interesting about him was that he had two hobbies. 1. was the love for repairing old clocks and watches and 2. and the more interesting to me, was his love of walking. My mother would take me & brother down to visit every other Saturday where we would go walking what ever the weather & today we still walk some of the paths he use to take us. But it wasn't until he passed away that we discovered a local councillor would pay him 1/2 crown to keep the paths open. I remember him removing the overgrowth as we walked and even moving fences when the farmer had blocked a path! As far as I am aware my great grandparents were born in the valley (Cwmcarn) so were my grandparents; so were my parents and so was I. I remember quite a few stories from this picturesque valley like the Cwmcarn Colliery disaster and how the reservoir was used to put out the flames from the explosion. My nan worked in the toy factory then as a cleaner in my grandfather's local called The Commercial which still stands today! I remember the ranks being pulled down. My parents are still alive today and my mother's maiden name is Dight, her mother's maiden name is Greenslade. I have been told that my grandfather's nickname was gluey because 1. his name was Harold Dight and 2. because he rescued many a man from the falling props! If anyone has any other stories it would be interesting to here from you .