William Dennis

William Dennis

William Dennis was the man that should have been my grandfather. 

This was a story that was never talked about amongst my family. It was my Auntie Doreen that told me this story shortly before she died. Apparently, William married my grandmother, Ann Smith in July of 1900, just a few months after his cycling fine. A few months after that, I was told that he was killed in a mining accident.

It is a really creepy thought, but if he hadn't died, then it is likely that myself, my brother, my cousins, my mother and my aunts and uncles would never have been born.

I've managed to find his obituary, but so far I have been unable to find any mention of his death in newspaper archives.

We record the death of a young friend William Dennis to the place above who died 26th February at the early age of 26 years old.The son of John and Hannah Dennis, Gadlys Street,Aberdare.

His mother died when he was just a small child.Soon after this, his father moved to Ferndale to live there and he spent the greater part of his life living comfortably in the house of his aunt,Elizabeth Williams of Taff Street.

He was buried the following Saturday at Aberdare public landfill site . The service was carried out by the Reverend D Silent Evans, Aberdare. He left a young widow of six months to mourn him who participated in the ceremony.

Let the widows comforter and father of the fatherless look after her in her misery and longing.

Here is a copy of their wedding certificate.

Here you can see the Smith family's census entry in the 1901 census. It was this clue of my grandmother being named as Ann Dennis that led me to believe that she had indeed had a previous marriage.

After William's death, she discovered that she was pregnant. She had a little boy and named him William John Dennis. I'd love to learn what became of him.

My grandmother, Ann Davies, as I remember her.

W56 Consecrated Maerdy Cemetery.

Blaenllechau.

A Mystery Solved

One day, during my teenage years, I was out with my parents driving around South Wales. My mother saw a road sign for Ystradgynlais. She became really animated and asked, "We must go there. I'd like to see my Uncle Reg (or did she say cousin?) She had no idea where he lived but she appeared determined to find him. We were actually stopping the car and asking total strangers whether they knew where Reg lived. Eventually, we actually found him. I remember him being quite a tall man, with grey hair. We had quite a welcome, with the best china brought out for us. Problem was, I never fully understood who Reg was. Looking through our family tree, nobody in the Davies or Smith line has a Reg,

Then, a few days ago, from the depths of my memory I remembered my mother asking those people on the road in Ystradgynlais. She wasn't asking about Reg. She asked after Reg Dennis.

Look back at the Scorching Cyclists newspaper clipping. There was another Dennis mentioned. Gomer Dennis. To my mind, this was probably William Dennis' brother.

Looking at the 1911 census report, I found an entry for Gomer Dennis who at the time, was living in Ystradgynlais. Also listed, was his eight year old son, Reggie. Mystery solved.

It makes me think that there must have been contact between the Davies and the Dennis family for years after William Dennis' death. I'm pretty sure that I can remember my mother saying that they used to visit Reg.

I managed to find one other newspaper story relating to Gomer Dennis.

William Dennis is buried with his father in Plot E52 at Aberdare cemetery.

I have tried to visit the grave. We made a visit on a Sunday. Sadly, the cemetery is huge and none of the plots appear to be numbered. I've been advised that it is best to visit on a weekday, timing your visit to coincide with the grave-diggers morning tea break. Apparently a packet of biscuits makes them more helpful.

Recently, thanks to Facebook, I've managed to contact Kevin Dennis. He is Gomer Dennis' great grandson. He runs a transport firm in Ystradgynlais.

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The Smith Family

I believe that this picture shows my great grandparents, Martha and William Smith together with my grandmother, Ann. The child could be my Auntie Phylis. For many years the Smiths lived in New Street in Ferndale.

My grandmother went on to have seven children. One of them was my mother. A few months before my Auntie Doreen died, I was told that my grandmother had a previous marriage. She had married a young collier, but just a few weeks after the wedding, he was killed in a mining accident. 

I told this story to my brother and cousins. We were all somewhat dubious about the story. We all felt that it was often best not to believe anything that Auntie Doreen ever told us. However, from research I have found out that it was true. Ann married a young man called William Dennis in July 1900. He was killed in 1901 although so far I have been unable to find any details of his death.

I've found two items relating to William Smith.

The first is a report on his inquest. This definitely relates to my Great Grandfather as I know that he lived at 40 New Street, Ferndale.

Fatal Accident to Ferndale Man- Struck on the Leg by Overhead Wire. Inquest Adjourned. An inquest was opened at the Salisbury Hotel. ferndale. on Saturday morning last by Mr. R. J. Rhvs. district coroner, touching the death of William Smith, married, 58 years of age. residing at 40. New Street, Ferndale, and employed as pulleyman at the No. 1 Pit of Messrs. D. Davis and Sons. Ltd. Henry Davies. son-in-law of deceased, gave evidence of identification, and stated that he had been in fairly good health during the past twelve months. The Coroner: Had he been injured previously ? Witness: Yes. on the hand. George Jones, rider, the next witness, said that lhe was riding on a journey of twelve empty trams on a single road about 8.45 a.m. last Wednesday. When he first saw Smith he was then fifteen yards ahead of the journey, but when passing he noticed that he was lying on the ground, shouting for help. "At this time we were travelling at a slow pace. Immediately I heard his shouts I assisted in taking him to the locking station, where he informed me that he had received a cut on the leg." Thomas John Davies, haulier, who was an eye-witness of the accident, said that he. was standing only half a yard away from Smith when he saw him being struck by the overhead rope, which broke and flew back, hitting him on the leg, thus causing him to fall on his seat. Thomas Johns, manager of the pit, described the breaking of the rope. The doggy had got on to the drum of the engine (the other side of Midwinter, the engineer), which he could not possibly see, and thus caused the two ropes at the main and tail-to overlap each other until they came to a standstill. Mid-winter re-started the engine, which now caused the rope to snap at the cap. The engine had been in that place for about seven years, and the rope was a new one, the latter having only been in use since July 23rd, and during all those years everything; had gone on quite satisfactorily without any accident. Dr. John Williams was next called. He said that he attended Smith at 10 a.m. at his home in New Street, when he found him suffering from a. shock, but quite conscious. He ordered him to take cocoa, and whilst dressing tho leg Smith drank two cupsful. The nature of the injury was a cut on the shin 3 inches below the knee, with much discolouration around the knee. The Coroner Did you see him afterwards ? Witness: Yes. I again called at. 2 o'clock in the afternoon. This time I found him in a semi-conscious state, and it was with difficulty I was able to arouse him. and after I had gathered a little information he collapsed. It was 7 p.m. the same day when I saw him next, and he was perfectly unconscious. "I could not possibly rouse him in any shape or form." said the doctor. At 10 p.m. he again went to see him. but this time life had expired. The Coroner How do you account for his death ? Witness: Some injury to the brain caused coma. It could have been concussion followed by extreme congestion, but there were no symptoms whatever externally. It was decided to adjourn the inquest till Wednesday morning next at 10.30, in order that a post-mortem might be held.

This report was from The Rhondda Leader,
  6th September 1913

The witness, Henry Davies, was my grandfather, George Henry Davies, also known as Harry.

I'm not so sure about this report. William Smith must be a really popular name. This happened on  11th August 1900. In the 1901 census, William Smith's occupation was listed as a coal haulier. I suppose that he may have found a new job between the two dates.

A delivery cart on Pontygwaith bridge. Could this be William Smith?

Ferndale Colliery.

40 New Street, Ferndale.

Thomas Smith

Thomas Smith was my great great grandfather. In 1861 he is listed as owning a farm called 'Hermitage' in Haycastle, Pembrokeshire.

Farmer of 105 acres.

Which begs the question, why didn't his son William inherit the farm? What became of the farm?

Some interesting facts about Thomas Smith.

Another family member having a brush with the law.....speeding. This time, a fine o £1/9/3.

A big fine in 1864.

He was married in 1845.

His wife Mary died in 1863

He re-married in 1866 to Jane Roberts.

Alexander and Ann Smith.

I've managed to trace the family back to the late 1700s. Before Trafalgar. Before Waterloo. When people wrote with a quill pen. This is what the Davies / Smith / Deveraux side of the family tree now looks like.

Alexander and Ann Smith would be my great-great-great grandparents. Miles back in time but I've still managed to find a few things relating to them.

Alexander and Ann's Wedding certificate. Note that they mark their names with a cross. 1813.

Alexander's death certificate. Note, no reason could be found for his death. 1845.

Ann's baptism certificate. Note the 'B'word. 1790.

Ann Smith Death Certificate. Lived until 1800. Died age 92.

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Bill

Bill Edwards 1922-1998

Richard William Edwards, or Bill to his friends.  He lived in number 3 Prospect Place, Tylorstown in the Rhondda Valley. His father was a collier.

Along with many men of his age, he took an active part in World War Two.

Bill was the son of William Edwards. Brought up in Tylorstown. He started work as a collier but only survived for one week. He hated it. He went to work  at the Morgans’ Brothers grocery shop. Shortly after the outbreak of war, he signed up for the R.A.F. hoping to make air-crew. Thankfully, he had poor eye sight. and became a truck driver. He served in North-Africa through the war.  Afterwards, he returned to the shop, after a brief spell working as a bus conductor. He was involved in a terrible bus accident.

He was working as a bus conductor. One day, his bus was returning home along the road that runs from Quaker's Yard towards Pontypridd. The driver approached the corner at Fiddler's Elbow too fast. He tipped the bus over. At the time, my father was sitting on the long back seat of the bus. The bus fell over a ravine. My father flew through the air, straight through the opposite window of the bus. When the bus came to rest, he found that his legs were trapped with his body half way through the bus window. As if that wasn't bad enough, the seat that he had been sitting on housed the bus's battery, which was now leaking acid onto him. Thankfully, the next vehicle travelling on the road that day was carrying a bus full of colliers. They quickly dug him out.

He spent quite a few weeks in hospital after that. Thankfully, no serious damage but for some huge scars running the length of his legs.

After that incident, he returned to work for Mr. And Mrs Morgan at their shop at 181 East Rd. He worked as their assistant for many years, but around 1964 he decided to try to better himself. Now, during his war service, he had picked up two strange but useful skills. He could fix watches and clocks and he could fix radios. Later on, he discovered that the early televisions were very similar to radios. Consequently, our house often had clocks radios and watches in pieces. He applied for a job fixing T.V.s with a local company and got the job. The next day, he handed in his notice at the shop.

Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were really upset as by now, Bill was virtually running the shop. They then told him something very strange. They had decided some time ago to sell the shop to Bill. Bill couldn't understand this as he had so little money. They ignored this and told him that they would loan him enough money to buy the shop. This was simply an offer too good to refuse. The Morgans retired the next April. The day Bill took over he had just a small handful of change to put into the till to provide change to the customers.

He made a tremendous success of the shop and managed to repay the loan in just three years.

As time went by, things got harder and harder for small shops as supermarkets took over. As a result, Bill always worried about the business. He worried about retiring and what he would do with the shop. One day, when he was about 55 a complete stranger came into the shop and offered to buy it from him. When he examined the figures he realised that the offer was so good, he could buy another house outright, take the cruise that he had long dreamed of and still have enough money to finance themselves until his pensions started. Soon after that, Bill and May retired and moved to Penrhys Avenue. Well, they didn't quite retire as soon after, I moved house and then started my own family. For many years Bill painted and decorated my new home and together with May often covered baby-sitting duties.

Bill's birthday cake. (70 I think)

Bill died in 1998.

Two pound weight from Bill and May's shop.

Bill's Kodak Hawkeye camera.

Apparently this was a free gift from a magazine called 'John Bull'

You had to save coupons then send them off for the camera.

That camera sailed with him to Egypt.

One of Bill's wartime photographs.

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May Edwards nee Davies.

May was the last in the line of the Davies family. It consisted of six daughters and one son. They had all been brought up in a tiny, two-up, two-down miners' cottage at 16 Club Row, Blaenllechau.

May

16 Club Row

Admittance Register from Blaenllechau Infants.

Before the war, she had worked 'in service' for a couple living in Cardiff. She had also worked in a grocery store in Ferndale. During the war, she moved to Bristol, where I believe she lived with some of her sisters. I don't know whether they all lived together, but they were very close. At the time, they had a cat which they called Monty, after Field Marshal Montgomery, hero of the battle of El Alamein. They had that cat for years, believing that it was male, then suddenly, one day, it had a kitten. They continued to call the cat Monty though.

She married Bill in January 1946 after his return from Egypt. Friends and family took a collection around Blaenllechau for small quantities of cake ingredients, as the makings of a wedding cake were all still on ration. Afterwards, I believe they lived in London for a while, where Bill worked on demolition sites. They also lived together  for a while in Bristol.
She had met Bill at a dance hall in Ferndale. They continued to love dancing through their lives.

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The Edwards Family

For a few months, I've been taking more of an interest in my family history. This followed being asked to make a presentation to my computer group on how to trace your family tree using the Internet. I'll be honest, at the time, I wasn't that interested, but it appears to have fired a spark. To be quite honest, if I don't write this stuff down, then nobody will. So, here are my findings, the rough with the smooth and the black with the white.

Bill  and May Edwards were married on January 25th, 1946. He had just returned from North Africa. He'd served there as a leading aircraftsman. Most of his duties involved driving trucks. Strange, because when he arrived in Africa, he couldn't drive. He was simply told to get into the truck and drive it.

He drove ammunitions to the planes at dispersal. He also drove the squadron ambulance or as he called it, 'the blood wagon'.

He told many tales, Quite honestly, it sounded like he'd had a great time, and for a boy from the valleys, with no other options than to work in the coal mines, it probably was quite an experience. He told me how he'd stay awake on guard duty by fixing his bayonet to his rifle, then standing with the point just under his chin. That would stop him from falling asleep. He told me of driving in endlessly long convoys, driving very slowly, but not permitted to stop. Then he'd cook himself dinner by placing a tin of corned beef onto the engine cowling of the truck.

He'd met May in a dance-hall in Ferndale just before the war. The two of them were really good dancers. Waltz, quick-step and tango were the dances of their generation. They wrote to each other throughout the war. My father once told me that during a guard duty at night, he'd often look up at the moon and wonder whether May was looking at the very same moon at the same time.

He always wanted to take May back to North Africa to see the sights that he'd seen....but although the opportunity did arise, he never did.

You can find out more about Bill here.

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