Dr Reynolds of Llanhilleth

Records show that Harold Reynolds married Margaret Jenkins at Glandwr Baptist Church, Aberbeeg on 6 July 1917.

Dr Reynolds was well respected and an important person within Llanhilleth.   He was very concerned that people helped each other and arranged for boy scouts to collect coal from the tips for the old people in the community who were to infirm to do it themselves.    Local people, grateful for his presence in the village, freely maintained his large house and gardens.   Any  expenses for paint or other materials would be covered by a bill handed into the housekeeper.

The death of this mainstay of Llanhilleth community life was totally unexpected by his patients and his funeral became a grand event for the whole area.   Dozens of local doctors attended as well as from London, Cardiff and the Royal Gwent, Newport.  

At the head of the procession to the cemetery was the Salvation Army Brass Band with teams of six people from each of twenty-five chapels and one church taking turns to carry the coffin the four and a half miles on foot.      Shops in the village closed for the day, and their blinds were drawn in respect.    The four public houses en route closed their doors until the cortege had passed.   The local pawnbroker, although closed, placed chairs outside for the elderly or infirmed to rest while walking to the cemetery. School children stood at the roadside, the girls curtseyed and the boys bowed as the coffin passed. 

The flags at the Workman’s Hall were at half-mast – both English and Welsh and the many coffin bearers retired there for refreshment  after the ceremony, but the Doctors who attended returned to Dr Reynolds' house for the funeral supper.    The brewery at Aberbeeg sold tea at 1d. a cup from a stall set up for people who would not attend their public house.

Dr Reynolds' passing would be remembered.   The villagers of Llanhilleth and Aberbeeg  had paid their respects to a well loved local man whose duties were often called on in those days before Health & Safety Laws and ante-natal clinics.