Atgofion Abergwaun ac Wdig / Fishguard and Goodwick Memories

Cas y ‘County School’ ei godi tua 1908 ac ar y pryd we Jo Havard, cefnder John (Captain Jo yn ddiweddarach) yn labro yno tra bo’r adeilad yn codi.

YSGOL HENNER

We adeilad ar safle hen ysgol yr Henner cyn yr un presennol.  Adeilad zinc we hwn, a phan cas yr ysgol newi ei hadeiladu sy’n sefyll mor gadarn hyd heddi, fe ailgylchwyd yr hen un.  Symudwyd e i Dresior ger Rafael a’i ddefnyddio fel byngalo tan ei ddymchwel ym mis Hydref eleni (2010) a chodi ty brics a morter yn ei le.  Yn Nhresior, we teulu yn byw we’n godro ac yn mynd rownd Abergwaun gyda cart a cheffyl i werthu llaeth. We dwy o ferched gyda nhw, a’r un ifanca yn flwyddyn neu ddwy yn hyn na Mr Havard.  Wedi priodi daeth hi’n Mrs Davies ac fe fu fyw, er yn ddall yn ei henaint, ar y ffordd gewn rhwng Cefnydre a Scleddau tan ei bod tua 93 neu 94 oed.

MORAWEL

Chwech gweinidog sy wedi bod yn byw ym Morawel, mans Capel Hermon ym Mhenucha’r Dre,  oddiar iddo gael ei adeiladu – Y Parchedigion Dan Davies(   -1934), R M Williams (1936-1938), G. Wynn Owen (19939-1961), John Lewis(1962-1966), D. Osborne Thomas (1968-1980), D. Carl Williams (1982-   20??).  Dim ond Parchg Wynn Owen gafodd blant – dau fab ac un ferch.  Priododd y ferch, Mair gyda Morty Reynolds, mab David Arthur y stonecutter.  Wedd e’n un glew ac fe ddaeth yn M.O.H. – yn cael e gyflogi dros y Sir i fod a gofal am iechyd pan fyddai epidemics o hyn a’r llall.

BWTHYN HERMON

Pan ddaeth yr Ail Rhyfel Byd, we Mr Havard wedi bod yn gweithio am 5 mlynedd yn barod. Cafodd ei eni  yn 1920, gadael y ‘National School’ yn 1934, a dechreuodd y rhyfel yn 1939.  Mae e’n cofio mai cartre gofalydd Hermon we’r bwthyn pan wedd e’n grwt.  Wedyn, we cyfarfodydd ‘Toc–H’ yn digwydd yno (mudiad hen filwyr y Rhyfel Mawr – yn enwedig y Western Front). Mae Cymdeithas St John wedi bod yn defnyddio’r lle ers degawde nawr ar gyfer hyfforddiant cymorth cyntaf. (Daeth y trefniant i ben adeg y Pamdemig Covid tua 2021)

SIOPAU TRIN GWALLT ABERGWAUN

We Mr Havard yn cofio am 3 siop barbwr yn Abergwaun. We siop Benny Young ar y llaw dde wedi mynd mewn i adeilad Neuadd y Dre, gyferbyn â siop Harries James yn gwerthu sgidie yn wynebu Benny ar y llaw chwith i’r drws. We siop barbwr Cornock lawr yn Y Wesh, lle mae Ann yn torri gwallt heddi.  Rhwng y ddau we Morgans Shafo yn cadw siop ar gornel Penslad.  At Benny Youngs mae Mr Havard yn cofio mynd.  Mae e’n cofio cael ei wallt wedi ei dorri gan wyddel, un tro, we’n gweithio fel ‘assistant’ yn siop Benny. We wir angen torrad gwallt ar John ac wrth edrych arno’n cerdded i mewn , dyma’r Gwyddel yn bloeddio ‘B’Jesus! What ‘ave we got here! It looks like a cow’s kicked you in the head, mun!’

We llun wedi ei fframio ar y wal yn y siop ac we John yn sylwi arno bob tro. Wedd e’n dangos un dyn yn y gadair yn cael ei wallt wedi’i dorri gan y barbwr, a rhes hir o ddynion yn aros eu teo, pob un yn edrych yn grac ar y cyntaf. Y geiriau o dan y llun oedd – ‘Wo betide the man who asks for a haircut on a Saturday night’ Bryd hynny we dynion yn mynd ar y nos Sadwrn i gael ei shafio erbyn y Sul. We’r sawl we’n gofyn am dorrad gwallt bryd hynny yn dal y lleill i fyny yn imbed.

Symudodd y ddau fusnes – Harries James (sgidie) a Benny Young (gwallt) o’u cartre yn Neuadd y Dre i’r Wesh, yn y pen draw. We ‘ladies outfitters’ wedi bod yn ‘Railway House’ yn y Wesh ond digwyddodd tan yno. (We rhyw son am insurance claim ar y pryd!) Wedi i’r adeilad gael ei atgyfodi daeth siop Emrys Phillip y Jeweller i fodolaeth ar un ochr iddo a Mrs Young, loshin ar yr ochr arall. Yng nghefn siop Railway House we stafell i’r gwaith barbwr gan Benny, wedyn. [Mae Bil Thomas yn cofio cael ei wallt wedi ei dorri gan Lolly Youngs, perthynas arall. Wedd e’n rhoi’r wablin ar y dynion we’n cael ei shafio. We Percyn Youngs hefyd yn perthyn]

GWAITH BRICKS WDIG

Cafodd un gweithiwr ddamwain gwael yn y gwaith brics yn Wdig tua 1938 ac fe gollodd ei fraich.

The County School was erected around 1908 and at the time Jo Havard, John’s cousin (later Captain Jo Havard)  was employed as a labourer.

YSGOL HENNER

There stood a building on the site of the old Henner school before the current stone building.  This was a sheet zinc building, and when the new school was built, the old one was recycled.  It was moved to Tresior near Rafael and was used as a bungalow until its demolition in October of this year (2010) when it was replaced with a bricks and mortar house.   At Tresior, there lived a family who milked and ran a milk round in Fishguard with a horse and cart.  They had two girls, the youngest of whom was in school with Mr Havard.  When married she became Mrs Davies and lived independently, albeit blind in her old age, on the back road between Cefnydre  and Scleddau until she was about 93 or 94 years old.

MORAWEL

Six ministers have lived at ‘Morawel’ – the manse belonging to Hermon Baptist Chapel at the top of High Street. These were the Revs Dan Davies (     -1934), R M Williams (1936-1938), G. Wynn Owen(1939-1961), John Lewis (1962-1966), D. Osborne Thomas (1968-1980), D Carl Williams (1982 -20??).  Rev Wynn Owen had children – two sons and one daughter, but all the others were without a family.  Miss Mair Wynn Owen married Morty Reynolds, son of David Arthur Reynolds the stonecutter . He was employed by the  M.O.H. (Ministry of Health) to be responsible for appropriate reponse to epidemics and diseases within the County.

HERMON COTTAGE

When the Second World War came, Mr. Havard had already been working for 5 years. He was born in 1920, left the National School in 1934, and saw the start of war in 1939.  He remembers that Hermon’s caretaker lived at the cottage when he was a lad.  ‘Toc–H’ meetings then took place there (the ‘old soldiers’ association of the Great War – especially those who saw action on the Western Front). St John’s Ambulance  has been using the place for decades now for first aid training. (The arrangement ended at the time of the 2021 Pandemic).

FISHGUARD HAIRDRESSERS

Mr Havard remembered 3 barber shops in Fishguard. Benny Young’s shop on the right hand side of the Market Hall building, opposite Harries James’ store selling shoes on the left hand of the door. Cornock’s barber shop was down in West St, where Ann’s haidressing shop is today. Between the two, at the corner of Penslade, was ‘Morgans Shafo’ –another barber shop. Mr Havard used to go to Mr Benny Youngs for haircuts.  He remembers having his hair cut by an irishman, one time, a who was working as an assistant in Benny’s shop. John’s hair was long and shaggy and looking at him walking in, the Irishman bellowed ‘B’Jesus! What ‘ave we got here! It looks like a cow’s kicked you in the head, mun!’

There was a framed picture on the wall in the shop and John always noticed it every time. It showed one man in the chair having his hair cut by the barber, and a long row of men waiting their turn, each looking crossly at the first. The words under the picture were – ‘Wo betide the man who asks for a haircut on a Saturday night’ At that time, men would go on a Saturday evening to be shaved in time for Sunday. Any man asking for a haircut would hold the others up somthing awful.

The two businesses – Harries James (shoes) and Benny Young (hair) eventually moved from their premises in the Town Hall to West St. A ‘ladies outfitters’ had been at ‘Railway House’ in West St but it was destroyed by fire (Some rumours circulated about an insurance claim at the time!) After the building was rebuilt, the jeweller, Emrys Phillips, opened a shop on one side and Mrs Young, opened a sweetshop on the other side. At the back of the new ‘Railway House’ sweet  shop there was a room for the barber shop of Benny Young. [Bill Thomas remembers having his hair cut by Lolly Youngs, another relative. He would cover each customer’s chin with shaving soap prior to them being shaved. Percyn Youngs  was another relative of the family]

GOODWICK BRICKWORKS

One worker had a bad accident at the brickworks in Goodwick around 1938 and lost his arm.