The sea was rough and we took as much sleep as we could as we knew there would be many sleepless nights later on. I was a Telegraphist on the HMS Kingsmill. As we approached the French coast we could see large clouds of smoke, shells from the big warships out at sea were passing over the ships. We were the Headquarters Landing ship responsible for lading the Green Howards on Gold Beach. As we neared the beach there was pandemonium, landing craft being blown up, machine guns and small arms fire, an awful din. Bodies, everywhere in the sea. The troops had been terribly seasick before going ashore. We could see lots of Germans running back over the sand dunes. Very luckily our ship was not hit but our Headquarters Ship on Sword Beach I heard was blown up. I heard the din as I was below deck working on the Radio, passing and taking messages from our boys who had been put ashore to set up a station. It could have been me, but again I was lucky as I didn’t go ashore until the second day. The messages we took were instructions from the Beach Master (R.N), reports on killed and wounded, reinforcements required etc. Boats of wounded were frantically coming off the beach seeking a bigger boat to take them back to the troop transports out at sea. We were off Arromanches, a major on our ship was sniped as soon as he put his foot ashore. They say there were women snipers on the church steeple. The first day was the worst. We were dive bombed several times but escaped. I believe we were attacked by e-boats in the night, as I heard a lot of shouting and guns. Some mines passed very close to our stern I was told. I did see a row of cottages containing Germans being blown sky high by what was called ‘L.C. (Landing craft) Rockets’ which could get very close. We had some sleep the second day when we were put back in seagoing watches – 4 hours off & on. After a fortnight the Navy had completed the landings and we returned to Plymouth, disbanding and returned to barracks. On the last day I did go into Arromanches village. No sign of anyone as I believe the population were in the cellars. Even in these circumstances some of our boys Made efforts to see if there were any girls about! The beach was covered in guns, machine gun bullets, broken down land craft, lorries etc. This briefly was my experience, We sailed back to Plymouth Barracks where we were sent on 14 days leave. We retuned and were immediately drafted out to the Pacific to take on the Japs. That’s another story. Gwilym Morgan March 1995 Elinor Gwilym (With thanks to Margaret Bevan Gwilym’s niece who gave me Gwilym’s story and photograph)

A General Election has been called! So let’s think about the secret ballot, something we take for granted today. Being able to vote in secret by placing an ‘X' on a ballot paper next to the name of our choice has not, however, always been our right. Though long campaigned for by groups such as the Chartists, the first general election using a secret ballot was not until 1874. The image above is of the ballot box used in the first ever secret ballot in Britain in 1872, a local election in Pontefract. Before the Ballot Act of 1872, those who were eligible to vote had to declare their choice in public, a system open to bribery and intimidation. Employers and landowners were able to influence the vote, putting pressure on their employees and tenants in advance and then checking on how they were casting their votes on election day. One of the people to fall foul of this system was Benjamin (Bensha) Evans then tenant farmer of Llety Shon, Aberarth, part of the Monachty estate, and later the first owner of Portland House. In his Aberaeron guide, W.J. Lewis states that: “An ardent Liberal, Bensha was forced to leave the farm of which he was tenant, Llety Shon, because he refused to accede to his landlord’s request to vote Tory. In Aberaeron he set up a slate and timber business which supplied the needs of builders and others as far afield as Llandeilo, Tregaron and even Crickhowell. Many of his goods were purchased in Bristol and brought to Aberaeron chiefly in small smacks which took 3 to 6 weeks to complete the voyage.” The Mynachty Estate, not only served notice on Bensha’s tenancy but apparently also subsequently boycotted his slate and timber business. In spite of this, the business must have thrived, as, by the early 1850s, he had the resources to build Portland House where he lived for the rest of his life. In her blog below, historical fiction writer, S.E. Morgan, writes of another local man who fell victim to an election eviction: the Reverend Gwilym Marles, grandfather of Dylan Thomas: https://semorganhistoricalfiction.wordpress.com/2020/10/28/gwilym-marles-poet-preacher-and-protester-the-eviction-scandal-76/

CAS were delighted to host an update regarding the Aberaeron Coastal Defence Scheme from BAM's local representative, Gwen Clements, after last night's AGM. As expected, there was plenty of lively audience Q&A interaction throughout the update, particularly in light of the recent storms, high tides and the excellent support from the BAM contractors and local businesses for Quay Parade residents. Many thanks to Gwen for fielding the broad range of questions and for confirming the scope of work within the BAM contract. The scale of the 250m North Pier extension and central walkway along the spine certainly became apparent based on the simulated image (from BAM) below. Not sure if it's a par 3 or par 4 hole ... perhaps it will vary with the tide! A collage of historical photos of the harbour from the CAS archive was also displayed by Gwen. This will be passed on to Elizabeth Evans of Aberaeron Town Council to decide a suitable location for display in the town. Bilingual versions of the BAM newsletters were also made available (Q1 & Q2 versions are attached for reference). This includes FAQs, upcoming works, traffic management, articles and photos. Thanks again to Gwen and to all who attended and participated.

Dyma ddetholiad o ffotograffau o orymdaith Gŵyl Dewi Ysgol Gynradd Aberaeron ers yr wythdegau cynnar. Mae’r digwyddiad yn un pwysig yng nghalendr blynyddol Aberaeron, ac sy’n dal i ddenu tyrfa luosog i’r dre bob mis Mawrth. Erbyn hyn mae nifer o drefi ar draws Cymru yn cynnal parêd, ond credir mai Aberaeron oedd y cyntaf! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Ty8qGmJFkAfEqScT/?mibextid=KsPBc6

Here is a selection of photographs from Ysgol Gynradd Aberaeron’s annual St. David’s Day Parade since the early 80s. This is a popular event in Aberaeron’s calendar which draws a large crowd to the town every March. Although St. David’s Day parades have become popular lately, it is believed that Aberaeron’s was the first! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/Ty8qGmJFkAfEqScT/?mibextid=KsPBc6

Cranogwen has long been an unsung Welsh heroine. The author and historian Jane Aaron is doing much to address this in her book of that name published in 2023. We were privileged to have her come to give a presentation in Welsh at our February meeting. The striking cover image of Cranogwen, in her home village of Llangrannog, is by local artist Meinir Mathias. Below is an article by Jane, summarising the remarkable life of Cranogwen, or Sarah Jane Rees, to give her birth name.

What stories these walls could tell. Portland House has witnessed political intrigue, lives lost at sea, commerce and public service, temperance and drunkenness, feisty women, an elopement, abandoned wives and much more. At our March 2024 meeting I told the story of some of the first residents of Portland House: Bensha and his daughters. Well two of them anyway. You can read more about them and other remarkable residents of Portland House in articles on the Heritage page of this website : Portland People Portland House Captains The barque Glenara and the newly added The Aberaeron Post Office Scandal of 1874

Summer newsletter from our chair. The dark days of Covid restrictions thankfully over, Cymdeithas Aberaeron Society (CAS) was able to resume some sense of normality in 2023 ... Download the attached .pdf for the full article. Right-click to open in a new tab or window.

Local legends are always good to hear again. When she came to give a talk to CAS in 2022, historical fiction writer, S.E. Morgan also took the opportunity to explore the local area. Here is the resulting blog, with a description of her walk from Llangrannog and some history thrown in too: https://semorganhistoricalfiction.wordpress.com/2022/04/01/a-walk-from-llangrannog-in-the-footsteps-of-giants-the-tale-of-bicas-toothache/

Did you know that Ostium Ayron is the first recorded name for Aberaeron from way back in the 13th Century? I don’t think many of us did until our November lecture when Dr James January-McCann of The Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments of Wales gave a fascinating talk about his work collecting the historic place names in Wales. Here is his brief introduction to the List of Historic Place Names of Wales: https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk is a groundbreaking and innovative resource, unique to Wales. The List contains over 700,000 historic place names collected from a variety of sources, which provide a fascinating insight into the land-use, archaeology and history of Wales. The place names included in the List reflect the various forms and spellings used from the Middle Ages to the present day, often including elements that refer to buildings, people, archaeological or topographical features. The creation of this List and its availability online, as well as through four regional Historic Environment Records, means that for the first time, members of the public, researchers and those involved in decision making on matters affecting the Welsh historic environment are able to easily make reference to a geo-located, national, authoritative record of historic place names. The names are collected from a variety of sources, such as historic maps, local history projects, books of place names, medieval poetry and old documents such as wills or deeds. We also have many thousands of names contributed by members of the public. The List is used by local and national government, developers and governmental bodies such as Cadw and Natural Resources Wales in the naming and renaming of new sites, streets and housing developments, to ensure that they are named with historic names, and that our place name heritage remains visible in the landscape.” Dr James January- McCann Dec 2023. Below is a copy of James' Powerpoint presentation that sadly we were unable to see on the night. It contains a number of helpful links:

Stori Aberaeron Story is getting off to a flying start – 40 – 50 students from Aberaeron School, the Pupil Referral Unit and the Youth Club are building a mosaic to go on the riverside shelter. Community Artist Pod Clare is leading the design and it’s growing very fast! We are delighted that so many are enjoying the process and look forward to the building of the community mosaic for the Tourist Information Office.

Our first post-Covid outing took place in June 2023, our destination, Strata Florida. There we had a fascinating visit to the abbey itself, the Mynachlog Fawr exhibition of Ceredigion rural life and the archaeological dig on the site at the time. Lunch followed in Tregaron; at the cosy and atmospheric old coaching inn, Y Talbot. This has long been a favourite of mine. When researching my family tree some years ago I was surprised to discover a closer connection with the inn through my great-great-great grandfather, Thomas. While waiting to be served, this is the story I shared with members: Thomas Jenkins (1819-1850) Thomas, a local customs officer, died on 19th January 1850 and, I quote The Welshman, in ‘mysterious circumstances’ following a night in that very hostelry. Foul play was suspected - customs officers were probably not exactly popular in those times - and his drinking companion for the evening, a German clock-maker, Herr Christian Moser, was arrested. They had left together but Thomas never made it home. His body was found several days later, 2 miles down the river from Tregaron after the river had been dragged all the way to Lampeter and back. The Welshman gave a detailed report recording the subsequent inquest, held in The Talbot, on 24th January. Its title: ‘Inquest on a drunken dead tax-man.’ Through witness statements, it tells how Thomas had gone to the Talbot at about 10pm. He had drunk one glass of brandy and water then went home to fetch his fiddle. He then remained in the pub drinking amiably with Herr Moser until about 2am drinking brandy and gin, by which time he was ‘far gone in liquor’. As he was having trouble walking, Moser accompanied him towards home & shortly returned to the pub where he was staying. He asked for a torch as Thomas had dropped his hat and asked Moser to look for it. A small search party set off from The Talbot: the hat was found, as was a portion of Thomas’ coat sleeve. Of Thomas there was no sign and it was assumed he had got home. The next morning his maid came to the Talbot looking for him and the alert was sounded. Evidence from Avarina Evans, a servant girl at the Talbot, shed light on Thomas’ behaviour when intoxicated - and I get the sense from the various statements that this was a fairly regular occurrence. He had the habit of pouring water over his face and washing his hands. On several occasions he had asked Avarina to pour a jug of water over his head. Others reported how he had also been seen a number of times going to wash himself in the river when in such a state. The surgeon found no evidence of an attack on his body, just a few abrasions on the body consistent with a fall in the river. It would therefore appear he had simply slipped into the Teifi in his drunken stupor and died. The eventual verdict was therefore ‘accidental death from drowning’ and Herr Moser was released without charge. And that was the sorry end of my great-great-great grandfather!