Following on from David Hughes’s 1960 photo of Slaters – The Earl’s Court of North Wales – and this post about the same engine, here’s a photo sent by LL22 of Abergele’s old fire engine. It’s owned by Colin Knowlson and you can just see Colin behind the wheel here as the engine’s filled up at the Bee Filling Station.
Here’s the second of four photos / postcards sent in by Delyth Ann. It shows Slaters filling station.
Here’s a fantastic set of Walter Bond’s memories of life as patient at the Abergele Sanitorium. It was originally posted as a comment on this blog, but I believe Walter’s pice deserves its own article. So I’m handing over here to Walter Bond:
“It has been a long long time since I was in Abergele Sanatorium, I was in their for quite some time, I am not quite sure when I went in but it was in the early 1950s, I can remember watching the Queens Coronation on TV in the hall, the patients who where allowed to walk could do so but the rest of us where pushed down to the main hall in our beds.
“Her are some of the names that I can remember and who they where.
Doctors:-
Dr Morrison. I think he was the head guy or Superintendent.
Dr Day or (Dea) This doctor was from Asia I think maybe India.
“Sister King” on ward B4? A lovely larger than life Irish female nurse who stood for no nonsense.
“Sister Bonelle”. A male sister who came I think from Malta, I seem to remember him telling stories about the war and the part that the Maltese Air Force played in it. I think there where three aircraft called Faith, Hope and Charity.
Male Nurse, Mr Smith, A rough looking chap but a nice guy.
Male Nurse, Mr Timothy.
Male Nurse, Mr Thompson a young chap who wore glasses and had an unfortunate walk that the lads in the ward made fun of, but again a nice chap.
Their was also a Staff Nurse we called “Chiefy” he was ex Royal Navy, and we all knew it, he would take charge of the floor cleaning every morning, out of our beds (all those who where allowed) push all the beds to one side, soft polish on the floor with a stick , wipe with a brush covered over with a cloth, then follow up with a twin brush electric polisher with the man himself in control.
Male Sister King, (no relation to female Sister King).
Mable Parks was the Head Teacher, she lived in a cottage just outside the hospital gates, there where tow cottages, one of them was Miss Parks and the other I think belonged to the hospital because we where sometimes taken down there for cooking lessons, absolutely fantastic we where taught how to cook all sorts of goodies and when we had finished we all sat down to eat some of what we had made, I do remember one Christmas that we cooked Christmas dinner, wonderful!.
“Mr Tomlinson was the teacher he gave us books from a trolley that he pushed from ward to ward for those who could not attend the school at the far end of the wards, one day English the next maths,and so on.
Staff Nurse Eyeball, can’t forget her with a name like that and the rumers going around the wards that she was going out with one of the patients?.
Some of the patients David Bailey. Ken Hurstfield. David Parks. Jed Winterburn.
“One last memory and the one that stays with me is the visitors from all over the North who caught a special bus from Piccadilly Station in Manchester every week to come and see their sons and daughters in North Wales.
“We lived in Bolton and my mother walked into Bolton to catch the early Sunday No 8 bus to Manchester every week, to be on the Abergele Hospital bus for 0900hrs to arrive in Abergele for around lunch time, she did this for about 6 years the that I was in Abergele Hospital, from 1951ish (I was about 8/9 years old until I was just 13 years old).
“I also left part of my right lung in North Wales, removed by the most eminent of surgeons Sir Ivor Lewis, the same one who operated on the the King. I could go on but ….”
Abergele Facebook Group Xmas Drinkies is a special get-together on Saturday 1 December 2012 in the Gwindy, Abergele, of members of the Abergele Facebook Group: ‘Abergele People Pictures and its History’. If you haven’t already Liked this group, I urge you to do so as it’s packed full of gems.
If you’d like to join the fun of this reunion of Abergeleites from the town and from further afield, all organiser Juliette Roberts asks you to do is to let her know so that enough mince pies can be ordered. The other people named as organisers on Facebook are Michelle Knight-Gregson, Patricia Hayes and Jayne Jones. It’s going to be a fab festive night and AbergelePost correspondent David Hughes will post an update here after the event.
Here’s a picture from Rob Prince of his father and fellow Royal Artillery training battery members at Kinmel Army Camp by Abergele in 1956. Rob’s father is seated third from the left in the front row.
AbergelePost reader Noel Hughes has been in touch with some memories he wanted to share with us. I can remember Mr Roberts cutting our hair. I always saw him out walking his small white hairy terrier. Here’s Noel’s message in his own words:
“I remember Hywel y Barbwr very well. In 1944 as a 10 year old I had to visit his shop nightly and deliver the Evening News. He always used to tease me and one evening there was heavy fog and rain and I was an hour late with the paper and asked why it was so late. Trying my best Welsh on him I replied ‘mae yna fog ar y lein Mr. Roberts’ and he promptly corrected me and said ‘Niwl hogyn ddim fog’ His newly married wife was one of my teachers at Junior School. Yes, he was a very dear man and was always jolly.
“I also remember Mr. Roberts, the other barber very well. One hell of a character who played all sorts of tricks on his customers. His assistant was Eric who later had his own business in Chapel Street,
If anyone wants to know anything about Abergele during WW2 and the seige situation that we all found ourselvesa in, then please let me know.
“In recent years I saw a report in the Daily Post about some old tunneling in or near Kinmel Hall – I have the answer to that as well especially if they found some pasta down there!!!!!”
Here’s a gem of a photo from the personal collection of Karen Linley – aka The Lady of Gwrych. In the photo, she’s the one in blue dress between the women in green and orange. I love the movement of the dog in the pic. Thanks to Karen for permission to reproduce this here.
Every now and again, a gem of a comment is sent in to this website. I’ve just received this story from Karen, the Lady of Gwych, in response to a post “Booing the Black Knight at Gwrych Castle”. Karen tells of her time as one of the cast of Jousters and Banqueting crew of the Principality of Gwrych, living in the Castle over the summer. If I remember rightly, The Lady of Gwrych wore a silk gown and tall pointy hat with a veil on it and she handed her handkerchief or scarf to the White Knight as a favour as he prepared to do battle with the Black Knight (boo). Fast forward to 2012, with the old castle ruined but Karen’s grown-up children still call it ‘Mummy’s Castle’. So here – in her own words – is the story of the Lady of Gwrych…
hi there…i was part of the jousting team at gwrych in the late 1970’s…early 80’s….we where resident at gwrych castle usually from may to october..
we also did a few indoor shows at the lido club and some others i can’t remember…
i fondly remember gwrych as part of the happiest times in my life…i love gwrych with a passion to this day…it breaks my heart to see the condition it is in now…i still remember the condition it was in when i lived there…it was livable and ok som parts needed attention but nothing a good dty’er couldn’t do with a bit of money and time and a bit of love…
i remember when it was 1st put up for sale while i was there…50,000 quid they wanted..wow…now it i believe has dropped down to 1 and 1/2 million from 3 million and i know it has passed through many hands…
i wonder if the hoteliers are still planning the spa hotel with 80 plus rooms…i think they need to keep to the history of gwrych and should not swerve away from the design from the gothic period …the site as you probably know is rich in history and the was an ancient castle there originally from the day when gwrych was a principality……i believe that tourists come to the uk…not for our weather but for our rich history…and that someone with the right ideas and obviously enough money could make gwrych beautiful again…
i have many ideas but no money…if i ever was fortunate to win the lottery or come into enough money…gwrych would once become a tourist attraction and for me…it would also be an animal sanctuary and permanent jousting and banqueting home.. and events location with other added attractions in keeping of the history and bring a lot of jobs back to the area…not just from within the castle but in abergele and surrounding areas…oh if i only knew someone with money who loved gwrych as much as me and could make it arise again…
i remember the layout from when i was there…the decor and designs of the rooms and the banqueting hall and bars…
me and the rest of the cast and crew spent many a rainy evening in the banqueting hall…entertaining ourselves with our own private discos and ghost hunts and bbq’s on the beach made from an old iron bed base and lots of coal and rocks and plenty of food and wine…
early mornings turning the horses in and then lateish nights turning them out again in the field next to the golf course…before our time was our own each day.. memories also of wellies full of rain water and getting the occassional lift …soaked through to the skin , in an old rolls royce . from one of the owners of gwrych into abergele and the pub lol…if i only had a time machine….
also memories of when my children where small and taking them to see the the beggining of the decay, but gwrych from the outside still stood proud…even though the swuatters had by then moved in and had started to rip up the marble staircase and wreck the chapel and the rest of the building…selling of whatever they could tear up…they have a lot to answer for…if but for them gwrych would not be in the state it is now…
often we as my kids got older we passed through abergele or on the a55 and from the time they could talk they always called it mummies castle lol…and even now…my oldest is 32 …his sister 27 and my twins 22 years old and hey still call it mums castle…
if only words where wishes and those wishes came true…i will always be passionate about gwrych and i hope somehow…one day soon it can again be a part in people’s lives..and even my own..even as a visitor would do…if not..my ashes will be taken there when i pass over….
more than fond memories…with love to gwrych….karen
Gofal is Welsh for care and it’s also the name of the initiative the British Red Cross gives to its digital storytelling and befriending project for older people in north Wales.
The British Red Cross says “volunteers visit vulnerable older people in their homes for up to 12 weeks, helping them to combat loneliness and isolation and encourage social interaction by linking them up with services and social groups in their local communities.”
The focus for the project is digital storytelling, where people tell a short personal story over their own images. Sue Whalley, Red Cross senior team leader, says that “the idea behind the digital storytelling was to get people out of the house, meeting other people, and doing something different and fulfilling. Many on the course came from not knowing anything about computers to producing a really professional DVD. The hope is they now feel more confident to use computers in the future.”
It’s great to see a project like this coming out of the British Red Cross Abergele offices on the industrial estate on the old Llanddulas road. More info on the British Red Cross site…
In March 2012, Jayne Jones set up a Facebook group about Abergele people, pictures and its history. Juliette Roberts wrote to me on Friday to let me know about the group which already has 150 members. I’ve only had time to scratch the surface so far but I can already tell it’s a really valuable resource for anyone who’d like to share memories and images of our favourite town. I wish the admins all the best with the group and I’d urge you to go on over, Like it and add your own comments and pics.
