SwanseaFamilyHistory

November marks the centennial anniversary of the guns on the Western Front, falling silent. The impression of the First World War are often tinged with shades of brown, from the sepia tint of old photographs and the flickering films, which were marking major achievements during the conflict such as the First Day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916, but also images of seemingly inescapable mud. Looking at the weather records, I tried to establish what kind of day it was on 11 th November, 1918.  It was a cool and wet autumn, where rain had swept across the UK and northern Europe, which obviously affected military operations. There is a wide interest in the state of the weather with the British public, on whether one should take a coat or umbrella and it seems that in Swansea it always rains! Weather reports date back to 1766, when the England and Wales Precipitation Series were first published. Back to remembrance. Swansea certainly does have som...

Two blue plaques were put in place last month to commemorate the Welsh composer, pianist and mezzo-soprano Morfydd Owen . Owen (left) , was born at 68 Park Street, Treforest in 1891, the daughter of amateur musicians and drapers. At the age of 16 she began to study piano, and by 1909 she published a hymn tune entitled “Morfydd”. Owen won a scholarship to study at University College, Cardiff, graduating in 1912. Moving to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music, she began to study singing. During her time in London, she formed two separate circles of friends. The first was centred on the Welsh Presbyterian Chapel, in Charing Cross; a gathering point for Welsh people living in London. The other circle of friends, were the London literary intelligentsia. In 1913, at a concert at London’s Bechstein Hall, she sang four of her own songs, Chanson de Fortunio ; Songs from a Persian Village ; Suo Gan and The Year’s at the Spring . The same year, at the regional Eistedd...

I was saddened to hear of the death of Charles Thomas , ex-Mayor of Swansea. I met Charles last November at the Remembrance Service at the Swansea Cenotaph. After the service we spoke, and he told me of two things that he thought he might be the last living person to have known about. Firstly, about the mysterious French submarine, Creole , that arrived under the cover of darkness to Swansea Docks from La Pallice during June 1940, and disappeared within 24 hours. Also about PLUTO (Pipe-Lines Under The Ocean). A 45 mile length of pipeline laid across the Bristol Channel, in December 1942, one end here in Queen’s Dock, Swansea and the other at Watermouth near Ilfracombe, Devon. The task was carried out by the cable laying ship London , under the command of Commander Treby-Heale .   Copyright – The Bay Magazine – October 2018

Jewish Cemetery Gates Mount Pleasant In October 2016, I wrote an article entitled Exploring Swansea’s Graveyards . In the piece, I revealed that “The oldest Jewish cemetery in Wales was opened in 1768 and by 1965 was practically full. The ‘new’ cemetery was opened in 1962, and located in Oystermouth Cemetery”. It is here, in the old cemetery, located off North Hill Road, Mount Pleasant, that Mr Michael Howard , MP, QC’s father, Bernat Hecht is buried. This 2016 article referring to information about the Jewish Cemetery, was read with interest by Canadian reader, Susan Boulanger , who contacted me via email, with regard to a distant relative, Levi Michael , who she thought was buried at this cemetery. The question was to find out who Levi was? My research, and using information provided by Susan , makes for interesting reading. Swansea has the distinction of being the “home” to the oldest Jewish community in Wales, dating from the 1730s. During this period ther...

Harry Norris is an 88 year old veteran of the Suez Crisis in 1956, a subject that I hope to return to in a later article. If you or any of your family were involved in this short lived conflict please drop me a line. I asked Harry if he had an ancestor, Charles Norris buried at St. Peter’s Church, Cockett. Charles had been a casualty of the First World War; I showed Harry a photograph of the headstone, ( pic below left ) which I had taken some time back. Harry said that it was his uncle but that they were yet to find the grave. Harry also told me that Charles Norris’s name is also inscribed on the War Memorial, Mumbles Road. Charles was born circa 1893, in Buenos Ayres, Argentina, while his father, William Norris , was working the Copper Trade Route from South America to Swansea. Four of the Norris children were born in Argentina. The family emigrated to the UK, on board the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, Clyde, a wooden, paddle pro-pulsion ship. Departi...

At 250 acres, Singleton Park is the largest park in Swansea. Originally it was known as the Singleton Estate and comprised of 12 farms; it was owned by the Vivian family. In 1919 the estate was purchased by the then Swansea Borough Council and in 1920 Kew Gardens trained gardener, Daniel Bliss began to transform it into the wonderful open space that we know today. In 1918 an event occurred that would make a good story for Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot to get his ‘little grey cells’ working on. Using primary sources [1] let’s see what we can piece together. On 5 th June 1918, a complete skeleton of a man was found in a secluded part of the woods on the Singleton Estate, following the discovery of a skull by two schoolboys on the night before. Imagine the mother’s surprise and shock, when she was making her son’s bed to find a skull. She told her son to take the skull to the police. Swansea Police passed the case on to the County Constabulary. Sergeant Wood ...

Prior to the First World War the Canadian military force amounted to 3,110 men of a regular army and a fledging navy. 620,000 Canadians answered the call to arms and enlisted to fight for the British Empire, at the outbreak of the First World War, of this figure 67,000 had been killed with a further 250,000 being wounded by 1918. In this piece about Remembrance, one man comes to the forelight who has a connection with Swansea. I want to take you back to 1915, following the chronicled events of the 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), Canadian Expeditionary Force, consisting of 100-200 men. They moved up to the Front for the first time on 16th April, at St. Jean near St. Julien, western Belgium. The evening before the Second Battle of Ypres, (22nd April – 5th May), the battalion progressed to the Front Line, without any casualties. 23rd April, the Germans performed the barbaric act of releasing chlorine-gas for the first time. The attack was against the French, who ...

International Nursing Day was mark-ed on 12 May. It’s a day celebrated around the world to mark the contributions that nurses make to society. 12 May is the day that Florence Nightingale (left) was born, she’s remembered for her nursing during the Crimean War. In this centenary anniversary of remembrance of those who fought and died during the First World War, I would like to look at the important roles that women had during the duration of both conflicts. They fought on the land, at sea, and in the air and I will be looking at the different aspects of the military services – I will be looking at the women from Swansea. Land During 1907 the full title of First Aid Nursing Yeomanry or for short FANY was established by Captain Edward Baker . At the same time of the Women’s Suffragettes movement, where women were achieving their rights to be able to vote, finally succeeding in 1918. FANYs were the first-aid link between front lines and the field hospitals. Each...