Emily & Captain Titus George. Glanafon, Dinas
Emily George (Nee Reynolds) was born in 1873 in Cilwenen, Dinas Cross. One of 9 children, her parents were James Reynolds (B. 1841) & Sarah (B. 1841) both of Dinas Cross. Emily had 8 brothers, 4 of them were to become sea captains. Being a girl, Emily had to help her mother around the house and to look after the hens & pigs. When old enough, Emily attended a private school in Fishguard where she was taught manners and English which would have been like a foreign language to her.
Emily knew Titus George from an early age as he and his family lived near Cilwenen at Hescwm farm with his siblings and parents (Daniel & Catherine George). When older, Titus George was often away on long sea voyages; he had his 1st mate and Captain’s ticket long before he and Emily ever thought of getting married. At the same time as they became engaged (1894) Titus George was the 1st officer on the “Arctic Stream” and his first command as captain was the “Janet McNeil”. In the same year 1894, Emily & Titus married at St Paul’s in Liverpool but after 2 weeks together, Titus returned to sea and Emily went back to her family home in Dinas Cross.
By 1903/4 Titus was Captain of the sailing ship “Comlibank” and was often away from his young wife for as long as 2 years at a time. Eventually, Titus was able to obtain permission for Emily to accompany him so from about 1905 – 1914 Emily went on long sea voyages with her husband seeing many wonderful sights and enduring frightening storms especially when sailing around Cape Horn!
After her sailing days were over, Emily continued to take an interest in her local community. In 1936 when a member of the Bardic Circle, she carried the Hirlas Horn at the 1936 Fishguard Eisteddfod flanked by two of her nephews as “Pages”. In 1942 Titus George passed away but Emily continued to live in Glanafon and involve herself in the life of the community. During the years of the second World War, she housed refugees from London at the time of the London Blitz and again the same family came to stay with her when the V2 rockets were falling in London.
After the war years Emily George took part in several in several radio broadcasts, recounting both in English and Welsh, some of her interesting experiences when at sea. On May 27th, 1948, a programme called “Dinas Master Mariners”, prepared by Mr T.J Francis and directed by Mr John Griffiths of the BBC was broadcast. In it a number of retired master mariners from Dinas (Including Emily George) spoke of their experiences when they too had sailed on the sailing ships of long ago.
On September 12th, 1952, Emily George then 80, broadcast in a Welsh programme called “Modreb Emily” (Aunt Emily) where she again recounted many stirring tales of her experiences of life at sea with her husband Captain Titus George sailing the seven seas on the Comlibank a four masted barque.
In the following year 1953, Emily broadcast in English, and this ensured that a much larger audience could tune in to listen to her experiences. The new broadcast was called ” Aunt Emily, Sailor” and soon after the broadcast several publishers were vying with each other to get her to write a book!
In 2005, Dinas Historical Society re-created the radio play “Aunt Emily” which was read to a packed audience on 28th August and held at the Old School in Dinas Cross.
To learn more about Emily George and the 1936 Eisteddfod, see Emily George 1936 Eisteddfod
Emily George died in April 1960 and lies buried with her husband Titus George in Macpelah Cemetery, Dinas Cross.
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I was born in Glanafon in 1944 & visited her in later years and was named after her.
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