H W Bailey

A Brief Life Story by H W Bailey, a previous resident of Llanhilleth

This was forwarded to me from Loughborough when Bill was in his eighties. Brief and to the point it was contained within three e-mails.

            My family came from Cornwall where my father was a fireman on the Great Western Railway. I was born in 1928, the youngest of three sons.   In January 1938 the GWR promoted my father, Bill Bailey, from Fireman to Driver and sent him to work in the Aberbeeg  Depot. In the run-up to the Second World War the Steelworks at Ebbw Vale was being re-built and most of the mines were active again.

            It took my father three months to find a house and in Easter 1938 we moved into 93, Aberbeeg Road,  just above the Prims Methodist Chapel. My elder brother Philip was almost 14 and started School at Brynhyfryd Central School.  I was almost ten and with my eleven-year old brother Francis (known as “Mac”) started at the Aberbeeg Junior School.

            Mac and I welcomed the move to Aberbeeg as we realised we would have an opportunity to pass the exam to Newbridge Secondary School under what became later known as the “Eleven Plus”. Back in Cornwall this was only possible if your parents could afford to pay the fees. There was strong competition between the junior schools to “pass the Scholarship”. The candidates had to go to the Secondary School for the day and take the written examinations and the results were later sent to the junior schools in rank order and later published in the local “Argus”.    There was always great rejoicing for those who had “passed” and heartache for those who had “failed.”    My brother “Mac” was second in 1939 and I was top in 1940. My mother proudly sent these results to our old Headmaster in Cornwall who submitted an even prouder article to the “Cornish Guardian”.

            My older brother, Philip was too old for all this, but left Brynhyfryd School in the autumn of 1938 to become an errand boy at a Chemist Shop in Abertillery.   He earned ten shillings a week, but later followed his father on to the GWR (Great Western Railway.)   The sons of railway men were given priority for jobs.

In the War Years, Alderman George Gibbs was the local politician and chair of most committees.    He often reminded us that the Llanhilleth Hall (Institute) originally had a swimmimg baths in the basement, but this proved to be unpopular and was changed into a Snooker Hall.    

Any charity could apply for free use of the committee rooms or the 500-seater theatre. Though no function should clash with Sunday Services.

I remember there was a Library which was very popular.

Dances were held at the nearby Drill Hall which had separate Territorial Army Management,

Llanhilleth had its own Home Guard. Which met in the Drill Hall. I remember the older boys making wooden guns at Brynhyryd School .

We had Air Raids during the early years of the War but the only bombs fell on the Farm at the top of the Zig Zag Hill above Aberbeeg and the Pant Side Farm between Crumlin and Newbridge which was later to become a Council Housing Estate created by Abercarn District Council.

            I was a pupil at Brynhyfryd School in the Summer of 1940 and during air raids those children who lived near enough had to run home while those, like me, who lived farther afield, were allocated to nearby houses to seek shelter.

The War in Europe ended in April, 1945 and Winston Churchill called a General Election soon after in July – although the War in the Far East went on until August.

Churchill had been a very popular Leader and the Tory Party took the slogan “He Won the War, now let him Win the Peace”. I remember going to a Labour Party Rally at Llanhilleth Workmen’s Institute just before the Election. One of the Star speakers was a young man who had fought in the Spanish Civil War. The Election was a Labour Landslide.

By 1944 and after D-Day, the Government drew up legislation concentrating on the Youth Service. All sixteen and seventeen year olds had to register and every area (including Llanhilleth and Aberbeeg) had to organise a local Youth Committee tasked to promote activities for that age group. I was still at Newbridge Secondary School but became very much involved in this. In retrospect too involved, as I went to Caerleon College instead of doing my Highers and going to a University Degree Course.

Many of the already established organisations like the Scouts, Guides and Ambulance Cadets were helped and pre-service Air Training Corp and Girls Training Corp came into being. There was an Annual Youth Week with a Sunday Parade followed by a Sunday Evening Rally in the Workmen’s Hall (institute).    In these Annual Youth weeks there were events each day with football and rugby matches between teams from Llanhilleth and Aberbeeg and on Thursday night a “Go-as-you-please” competition which was held in a packed Workmen’s Hall.    They were rather like the present day “Britain’s Got Talent” and the prizes were equivalent to a week’s wage.

The use of the Workmen’s Hall was freely given to all of these events. Respected members of the Community freely gave their services as Judges, Referees and Speakers.

On the Friday evening of Youth Week there was a Dance in the Drill Hall which was always packed.

The County Youth Service organised a Monmouthshire Youth Sports for all the districts. The first one in 1944 was won by the combined Llanhilleth/Aberbeeg Team.   I think I won the 880 for the under 17’s!   Some our best runners came from Brynithel Boys Club which met in the Catholic Church.   I remember that for one Youth Week we were without a piano for the Friday night dance in the Drill Hall; a friend and I took a day off from School and borrowed a trolley from Llanhilleth Station and used it to carry the Catholic Hall piano down to the Drill Hall. Permission was freely given by the Priest.

The Workmen’s Hall supported all of these events. Thinking back these organisations were all run by unpaid volunteers who regularly gave their services often for several nights in each week.

In September 1945 I started my two-year Teacher Training Certificate Course at Caerleon College.  Normally you had to be eighteen before starting, but we were allowed to start at 17, and were then given a year’s deferment to complete the course before being called up to do our two year National Service. So after the Summer of 1945 I had very little contact with The Hall.

 (In 1947 Bill wrote his college dissertation on “The History of Llanhilleth,” which goes back to Roman Times.   With his permission, excerpts have been included in this blog.   The full document can be inspected at Newport Reference Library in the Local Collection.)

The War in Europe ended in April, 1945 and Winston Churchill called a General Election soon after in July – although the War in the Far East went on until August.

            
Churchill had been a very popular Leader and the Tory Party took the slogan “He Won the War, now let him Win the Peace”.   I remember going to a Labour Party Rally at Llanhilleth Workmen’s Institute just before the Election.   One of the Star speakers was a young man who had fought in the Spanish Civil War.   The Election was a Labour Landslide.

            
So I lost touch with the Llanhilleth Workmen’s Hall. However my daughter Julia who lives in Herefordshire, acts as a Consultant in Social Work.   She had been to a Conference in the refurbished Hall and was full of praise for the excellence of the present facilities. 

             
She was able to travel a short distance up the valley afterwards to visit her Uncle and family who live across the road from Christchurch, Aberbeeg.