The Londoners of Aberystwyth

If you were to stroll down Marine Terrace at any point between the spring of 1939 and 1945 you could be forgiven for thinking, upon first inspection of the grand Victorian houses which tightly hug the coastline, that these were the homes of local entrepreneurs, businessmen or important families. However, during this volatile period, these buildings played host to one of the oldest higher educational institutions in the world, University College London.

Shortly before the true onslaught of the Blitz was brought down upon London, it was decided that, to preserve the continuity of education and perhaps even the institution itself, University College and its departments would relocate outside of the capital to less dangerous areas. It may not be surprising that several, well-connected, university cities in England were chosen including Oxford and Cambridge; however, it was rural Wales whilst remote, yet with an established educational pedigree, which proved the ideal place for the majority of the University’s departments. These departments were consequently spread out amongst the colleges which made up the then University of Wales.

 

Map showing the distribution of UCL students during the WWII evacuation

 

 

As the above map shows, Aberystwyth, amongst the other colleges, provided refuge to several departments. The departments included Arts, Economics and Chemistry. As neatly summed up in the preface of the 1942 study handbook for new students, university life would be different, but still at its core the same:

 “Though exiles from their home, the Departments of the Faculties of Arts and Science, now at Aberystwyth, are far from having lost their life and vigour in the dwelling-place allotted them on the outbreak of war…While students will miss some of the cherished amenities of college life in London, which would have been theirs in happier days, they will also find some compensations for their loss. Their work will lie in the midst of a delightful countryside and among a kindly and hospitable people.”

It is almost impossible to not draw some parallels between students starting university during the Second World War and those who started during our current Covid-19 pandemic. Likewise, during this period of disruption student life did indeed continue. To keep a sense of community alive, the New Phineas magazine, was created to ‘unite the scattered ethos of U. C’ [University College London] and circulated amongst the evacuees. This was particularly important given that some of the students may have found it difficult settling into the culture of what was effectively, a different country. A cartoon from New Phineas in 1939, below, portrays a Beadle on the lookout for students in the evacuated UCL, with nearly all of the student lockers unsurprisingly available.

 

UCL students also continued in their extracurricular activities and the Dramatic Society shared their work with the locals by putting on a performance of Little Plays of St. Francis at the Kings Hall, a former hub of local life. Unfortunately, this venue has since been demolished and now provides a seating area on the seafront along with a restaurant and flats. The play was performed again to the students of the University of Wales the following year for students located in Bangor, North Wales.

 

University College London also shared its own educational expertise with the local community during its time in Aberystwyth. The physiologist and former President of the British Psychological Society, Dr. S. J. F. Philpott, gave an address on “The Price of Freedom” to the students of Ardwyn School. He compared the ideals of freedom in countries under totalitarian rule with those of democratic countries and how in the former they had been turning people into slaves of the state, whereas in the latter, the ideal of free citizens in a free nation is at its core. He also discussed some of the difficulties which were met in developing men and women with free minds and independence. He went on to comment that one of the key objectives of education should be to teach young people that they were born to be free to do any job they liked within the limits of their abilities but aided with the tools that a good education provides. He also shared commentary on the current issues of the day in the Welsh Gazette of 23rd February 1943, where he stated, “The state of Europe to-day seems to indicate that a new something is required”.  He concluded there was a need to protect young people against the poison of propaganda and extremism, and it was through education that they would be able to recognise it. It could be concluded this need for open-mindedness and tolerance is one that is especially relevant today.

University College London also generously commissioned a writing table for the senior staff common room, providing staff with a reminder of the ever-present link and history between the two educational institutions. However, this table is yet to be traced.

To many Londoners, Aberystwyth may seem a distant and remote place; however, for those London students between 1939 and 1945, the town and its university welcomed them with open arms and accommodated them within its unique community. Even today many Londoners come to Aberystwyth to study and holiday in a place far removed from home for the same benefits as those evacuees from UCL - tranquillity, reflection, and perspective.

 Blog by Andrew Wolckenhaar

 Many thanks to the Records Office at UCL and Ceredigion archives for providing access to the above documents.

Beagle cartoon and ULC distribution map reproduced from The World of UCL, eds. Negley Harte, John North, and Georgina Brewis, UCL Press, 2018

The Hinterland in WWII

The Second World War had a massive impact on civilian lives, town or country. The Emergency Powers (Defence) Act, 1939, mean that all lives could be controlled by diktat by the government in London.

Whilst farming families in rural Ceredigion were self-sufficient to a certain extent, war brought a demand for Britain as a whole to be far more self-reliant for its food. Pre-war it had relied on its empire to provide; by the middle of 1940, imported food supplied had diminished by 85% because of U-boat activity in the Atlantic. Growing potatoes was seen as a national insurance against starvation. The countryside was perceived as depressed and run-down. County War Agricultural Executive Committees (Warags) were set up, giving local officials responsibility for controlling all aspects of farming and rural communities. The popularity of this policy was not helped by the appointment of men from Aberystwyth University as Warag officials. Perceived by locals as youngsters who knew nothing about farming, they were drafted in because the Aberystwyth University agriculture department had been closed for the duration of the war.

The Thomas family, Southgate, harvesting. Image from People's Collection Wales 

The officials were responsible for ensuring that Ceredigion’s 15,000 acre share of the Welsh180,000 ploughing quota was fulfilled. Those traditional upland ways were deemed insufficiently efficient in producing those staple foods that would stave off starvation. Farmers, who knew all too well, the limitations of their land, were taken to court if they failed to comply. Growing potatoes at high elevation and in damp conditions has never been a good idea. Aberystwyth’s hinterland seems to have avoided the invasion of Irish labour to drain areas that was the fate of parts of Montgomeryshire. There were 116 court cases in Ceredigion, where farmers were prosecuted for failure to follow the strict rules, reported in the Cambrian News between 1940 and 1944. The ultimate penalty was the requisitioning of land. The case of a single woman being dispossessed of her farm in Rhydlewis in 1942 is well-documented in the paper. Branded an eccentric for her defence, she labelled the Warag across Ceredigion as ‘a pack of Gestapo’. The situation escalated to the point when she threatened to shoot the new tenant and was restrained by the police. Ultimately she was allowed to keep her house; the farm remained confiscated. 

The same threat - comply or be ousted - hung over the heads of all farmers across the Aberystwyth hinterland and the protection of their property was the highest priority for Ceredigion folk living off the land. But compulsory cultivation orders were just one threat to rural lives in the detailed new legislation. Those trying to feed themselves by catching rabbits, as they had done for years, provided a steady stream into the courts of people accused of poaching. Perhaps they were and heightened vigilance was catching them out. All minor infringements across the newly regulated countryside provided lucrative business for lawyers as they prosecuted ‘offences against the realm’.

Whilst farming was technically a reserved occupation, more and more men were called up. Shortage of labour led to the ‘invasion’ of the Women’s Land Army, the WLA, or  the Land Girls as they were known. Unwelcome until they became assimilated, their hard work earned them respect and local people realised how genuinely helpful they were. There were over 200,000 deployed across Britain between June 1939 and November 1950. Employed to increase food production and with little or no previous agricultural experience, they did the ploughing, milked cows, caught rats and took on any other jobs that needed doing.

The land army women of Bow Street at the threshing machine.

There is little documentation about WLA work across the Aberystwyth area but Meinir Jones Davies’ photographs of the WLA at Bow Street, above, present an invaluable record. (see our blog of March 2021 for more on the Bow Street Land Army)

WLA official uniform was smart yet practical. There are great tales recorded by women who loved Aberystwyth and remained in the area. For Aberystwyth town, a lively crowd with purchasing power and filling those cinema seats certainly had its advantages.

 

Mary Bott, land girl, in her uniform. Photo from West Wales Veterans Archive

Prisoners of war provided another source of rural labour. There was a camp south of Henllan in the south of the county, and prisoners were billeted to local farms. By 1943 there were thirty-two POWS  in Ceredigion. PC Evans-Vaughan seems to have been kept busy, dashing around trying to ensure there was no fraternisation with locals and that POWs were in their billets by ten o’clock at night. There are stories of him getting one POW out of bed, who was refusing to eat or work, and reassuring a single elderly lady who had seen one of them taking a walk at 11.15 at night.

It was the Irish workers, and their enthusiasm for tipple, who presented more of a challenge for the Aliens Office at Aberystwyth police station. There were thirty Irish labourers billeted around Tal-y-bont in 1943. Most of them worked on the Reclamation Scheme in Ynys-las. The task of overseeing their movements and checking their leave certificates fell to PC Evans-Vaughan. He felt sorry for them. In January 1944, he wrote to the Aberystwyth Aliens Office showing pity and sympathy for those who were illiterate and unable to fill in a simple form. He explained why he had typed out the forms and the addresses. PC Evans-Vaughan, proactive and compassionate, clearly had a great impact in safeguarding the emotional welfare and safety of the people of Aberystwyth. It would be great if someone could provide us with a photograph and more information about that admirable man. 

Blog by Alison Elliott

Sources:

County Council War Emergency Committee
R J Moore-Colyer. ‘The County War Agricultural Executive Committees; The Welsh                         Experience.’ Welsh History Review, 22 (2005)
Report of Chief Constable to County Council, 25 March 1944

 

The Women of the Aberystwyth ARP

This blog is as much a plea for help as a history. Researching the contribution of the women of Aberystwyth concludes with the sad though that many were indeed ‘Hidden from History’; including those who made such an effort to patrol the streets and help safeguard the town.  

 

Image Archify Ceredigion Archives

The Women's Voluntary Service (W.V.S.), formed in June 1938, was tasked to recruit and train women for various ARP duties. As you can see from the above photograph, third of the Aberystwyth ARP were women. They represent a fusion between the university and the town. For all the men in the photograph, the census records ‘ARP Warden’ by their names. Not so for the women; across Britain there are no archival lists of ARP wardens. Neither the National Archives nor the Imperial War Museum can help but if you spot one of your forebears, or someone you knew, in the photograph, please get in touch. That will help us to give credit where it is due and show the significance of the work of these women.

The generational fashion for the use of particular first names has made census and electoral data tricky to unravel. For example, which of the sixteen women called M. Edwards, all born around the same time, is the one in the photograph?  It has been easier to track down scant details about some ARP wardens who did not change their names through marriage, as in the women featured below.

G. Denley Spencer (Front Row, 8th from the left)

Alice Gwendoline Denley Spencer was born on 21 August 1908 in Aberystwyth and Baptised in Holy Trinity Church. Daughter of John Denley Spencer, born in Covington Kentucky, USA, in 1869, and Alice Annie Spencer, born in Chester in 1874. Alice Gwendoline had a brother eleven years older than her, Thos Hamphrey, and a sister a year younger, Marjorie. It seems another brother, the Denley Spencer’s second son John Dennis, born in 1894, had died aged just seven in Aberystwyth.

There must be an interesting story as to why John Denley Spencer moved to Wales from a booming city in the USA. Covington had a population of 743 in 1830 and had grown to a population of 42,938 in 1900. He was publisher for the Montgomery County Times and Shropshire and Mid-Wales Advertiser from his branch office in Chalybeate Street Aberystwyth. The first edition was published on 1 July 1893.

In 1939 Alice was living in the family home, Highfield, Dinas Terrace. Her occupation is recorded as a beauty specialist. She is the sole woman on the front row of the ARP Wardens’ photograph, something that presents an interesting conundrum. She is also the only woman who is not recorded as ‘Miss’, and why is she on the front row? If she had a particular role within Aberystwyth ARP, no record of that role is accessible. Was it because her father was a journalist and printer, the person printing the newspaper in which the photograph was printed? The Women’s Royal Voluntary Service recruited women for ARP duties. Was Alice the WRTVS official who recruited the other women? Unless someone can fill in the gaps, we are left to speculate.  Alice was still living in Aberystwyth when she died in 1990, aged 81.

Miss Sally E Mathias (Second Row, 7th from the left)

Sally E Mathias was born in Aberystwyth on 16th June 1903. She worked as a cashier in an Aberystwyth cinema during WWII. It is not clear whether she was employed in the Coliseum, now the home of Ceredigion Museum, or the Pier Cinema. In the first week of the war, in September 1939, the BBC reported that all places of entertainment were closed on the orders of the Home Office. Aberystwyth was the only town in Great Britain to ignore the instruction and cinemas remained open. Ceredigion Museum holds a priceless photograph depicting would-be cinema goers in London who were confronted by a notice showing an arrow, pointing toward Aberystwyth, telling them it was 239 miles to the nearest cinema open that evening. The government climbed down; all venues opened again by the weekend. 

 

Image Amgueddfa Ceredgion Museum

We can imagine Sally wending her way home from work, after the last film, easily able to spot any shafts of light escaping from windows along the way. Her home, which she shared with her father, Thomas C Mathias, and her younger sister Rachel E Mathias, was at Glan-Hafan, Pen-yr-Angor. Those homes since demolished and replaced by a more modern estate. She died in 1978 and is buried in Plascrug Cemetery, Aberystwyth. 

Miss I M Wilson, MSc, PhD (Second Row, 16th from the left)

Born on 10 May 1904, Irene lived during the Second World War at 11 South Marine Terrace.  Irene was welcomed to Aberystwyth University in October 1936, when she arrived from London having already been awarded a MSc. Her role is recorded, in the 1939 Report to the Court of Aberystwyth University Governors about College Staff, as a Demonstrator in Botany. She is praised for her role in conducting field work excursions to North Wales, where first year Honours students observed inland and coastal floras.   Irene was a specialist in ‘peziza rutilans’ an orange fungus which grows on soil, in particular its cytology, its cell-structure. In 1937 she presented a paper in Nottingham and its publication coincided with her PhD (London) award. Irene was busy publishing in academic journals during WWII.

Miss D E Carr (Second Row, 8th from the right)

Doris E Carr lived at 1 Maesheli, Penparke during the war. The only available record of Doris suggests that she married a Peter M Devereux in north Ceredigion in January 1960. More speculation, the Devereux’s seem to have come from Ireland. Was Peter one of the Irish workers who moved to Wales during WWII?

Miss Kathleen Ellis (Second Row, 6th from the left)

Kathleen was born on 3 September 1903 and is recorded as attending Alexandra Road Board School in 1908. Alexandra Road School was built in 1874 for 600 children aged 5-14. There were boys’, girls’ and infants’ departments, all with their own headteachers.  During WWII she is listed as a single person, living at 15 Portland Street. Her occupation is recorded as ‘domestic home duties’. Clearly her sense of duty far exceeded that modest description.  

Miss (Florence Gwendoline) Rees D.Sc, FRS. (Second Row, 14th from left.)

Incorrectly recorded on the ARP photography caption as Miss G. R. Rees, Gwen was an eminent Welsh scientist. Born on 3 July 1906 in Abercynon, she was the younger daughter of Ebenezer Rees (1865-1948) and Elizabeth Agnes (nee Jones) of Cilybebyll (1877-1921). On Gwen’s father’s appointment as Superintendent of Police, the family moved to Aberdare. Educated at Abercynon Intermediate School for Girls from 1918-24, Gwen went on to study chemistry, biology and zoology at Cardiff University. Her doctorate in zoology was awarded in 1930, after just eighteen months’ research. It established her expertise as a parasitologist researching trematode parasites in snails - her science was literally down to earth, involving the collection of snails. She is said to have collected more than 5,000 for her research, from 90 locations in Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Focused on the practical, Gwen endeavoured to find a scientific solution to the problem of infested snails which were causing liver fluke disease across flocks of sheep.

Meticulous attention to detail and faultless scientific method were the hallmarks of Gwen’s work. Of significance beyond the life of snails, and hours spent foraging in Welsh fields, Gwen developed a wide understanding about the relationship of parasites to their hosts. Whilst she delivered lectures abroad, she was too modest to accept the posts she was offered to spend a year in some overseas universities. She appeared in ‘Vogue’ magazine, in 1975, as shown in the above photograph, in an article about influential female scientists.  

Appointed to the Zoology Department of Aberystwyth University in 1930, she was a lecturer throughout the Second World War, progressing to the post of Professor in 1971, after she became the first Welsh woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. The Linnean Society presented her with their medal for services to zoology in 1990.  Gwen lived at Grey Mist, North Road, Aberystwyth for the rest of her life. She died on 4 October 1994 in Penglais Hospital.

Blog by Alison Elliott

To mark VJ Day 15th August: 'Strange Living - authentic story of a Aberystwyth Repatriate'

On the same day as the bombing in Pearl Harbour, the Japanese had started their invasion of the Malayan peninsular, threatening Singapore. Captain Richard George Read, a veteran of WWI, had re-enlisted in 1939 with the 102nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, at Aberystwyth, having already spent 25 years in the Royal Horse Artillery. Early in 1941, he transferred to the 118th Field Regiment Royal Artillery, part of the newly formed 18th Division, which was to depart the UK late in 1941 bound for the War in the Middle East. However during their journey Winston Churchill decided to send them to the Far East, the war there was not going well there at his point, and Churchill had decided to send additional troops to bolster the defences and hold off any invading forces.

As with the rest of the 18th Division, the 118th were not prepared, trained nor did they have the correct equipment for war in the Far East, nevertheless they landed on 29th January 1942 during Japanese bombing raids of the harbour and , little did they know at the time, just days before the British Surrender on the 15th February 1942. On the 15th February 1942, the British and Commonwealth troops finally surrendered to the invading Japanese troops. The Japanese Commander, Lieut-General Yamashita had successfully led his 30,000 troops to overcome the 85,000 defending allied troops on Singapore.

To this day , it was the largest surrender of British led forces in history. Winston Churchill called it ‘the worst disaster’ in British Military History.

And so started three and a half years as a prisoner of war for my Great Grandfather along with 140,000 Commonwealth troops. The Japanese had refused to sign up to the Geneva convention and many of the camp guards were notorious for their acts of cruelty to their prisoners, the Japanese used the prisoners as slave labour, either on the infamous ‘Death Railway’ built by the POWs between Burma and Thailand or in Japan or their invaded territories.

My Great Grandfather was fortunate to survive the ordeal and was shipped back after the Japanese surrendered in August 1945. Upon his return to the UK in late November 1945, he caught the train home to Aberystwyth. I have an original copy of a Cambrian News article dated 7th December 1945 telling of my Great Grandfathers return and his time as a POW, transcribed below, where he was given a hero's welcome by the town and dignitaries. 

He had never really recovered from his ordeal as a Prisoner though, and in August 1946, he was rushed to Chester Military Hospital again, suffering from what was later found out to be stomach cancer, he died there on the 26th September 1946. He is commemorated on Llanbadarn Fawr War Memorial.

'Strange Living - Life in a Jap Camp - authentic story of a Aberystwyth Repatriate'

Thanks to the National Library and the Cambrian News for permission to reprint this article

 Transcript

'Strange oddities like snakes and snails being used as foodstuffs and secret listening to the B.B.C. News from wireless sets installed in water bottles and tin cans, these and other thrills were all packed into the life of Capt. Richd. George Read, 3 The Broadway, Llangawsai ,Aberystwyth, whilst a prisoner-of war in the Far East.

Capt. Read arrived home on Wednesday week, and was given a tumultuous reception at the Aberystwyth Station. Owing to misunderstanding his wife, who had travelled to meet him at Shrewsbury, was not present, as the train that carried her husband was not the one expected. Capt. Reed was, however, met at the Station by his two daughters the Misses Eileen and Mary Read, who incidentally, he said, "I could hardly recognise, they had altered so much in that comparatively short time."

En route from Singapore to Madras on the SS Rajula, Capt Read met Dr. J. M. Cribbs, the ship's medical officer, who, prior to enlisting, was in practice at Aberystwyth, and will be well remembered by the residents. At Bangalore, India, the ex-prisoners were very well looked after and cared for by the Red Cross, and thorough overhaul was given to each man, and it was estimated then they left that most of them had gained about two stone in weight. Capt. Read sailed home on H.M.S. Llandovery Castle, and arrived at Southampton on Nov. 4th, whence he was moved to Chester Military Hospital before finally being supplied with clothing coupons and such like effects at a Liverpool camp to pre- pare him for a new life in his own country.

Capt. Read, who joined the Army in 1914 as a trumpeter in the Royal Horse Artillery, has now completed 32 years with the Colours and was Lt.-Quarter-master to the 146 Field Regiment at Aberystwyth in 1939. He left this country from Liverpool in October,1941, is the SS Arcadia, and sailed across the Atlantic to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the whole company disembarked and boarded the SS America, renamed West Point, which was Americas largest liner. After visiting Cape Town, where the local organisations gave them grand welcome, the troops to whom Capt. Read was attached were given hardening-up training course for three weeks about 100 miles inland from Bombay. Finally, he and his comrades arrived at Singapore on January 29th, 1942, and were subject to heavy aerial bombardment before being captured on Feb. 15th. 

Spending most of his time as captive in Changi Camp, with but a brief spell at Towner Road Camp, both in the vicinity of Singapore, Capt. Read said that beriberi broke out in March,1942. This was followed by skin troubles, eye ailments, diphtheria and general malnutrition, in spite of the prisoner's efforts in local gardens, which covered about 150 acres of land, where the captives grew as much as possible of green produce and tapioca, Ceylon spinach, etc. As food supplies decreased the health of the whole camp deteriorated; the fish that was sent in was rotten, but prisoners ate it, including the heads At this stage, Capt Read recalled the wonderful moral of the prisoners, "In spite of the shortage of food and clothing," he said, "We always knew that were on top. and the end for which we all prayed came about by our people arriving and the Japs capitulating. Whilst prisoner of war, we knew that the spirits of the people at home were such that it enabled us to keep our own high."

Referring to the hidden wireless sets, Cap Read said that they wore made from odd pieces which the men from wireless vans whilst on fatigues and were made secretly in the camp. During the whole time Japanese guards made regular searches, but all proved fruitless.  Speaking on the brighter side of their lives, he said that the British and Australians made up good concert parties, and the Japanese did allow the prisoners to buy material for making instruments, many of which that were used in the orchestra were made by the men, such as basses, 'cellos, guitars, flutes and yin whistles.

As food went down in scale, the officers complained and the Japanese reduced the deductions for food and accommodation, instead of increasing the ration. They invested the remainder of the prisoners work pay, and when their country capitulated they wanted to pay using this money, but their money was worthless. "I might add' , said Capt. Read, that most of our valuables, such an watches, cigarette cases, lighters, and pens were sold to get food, much of which was obtained through the black market of the Chinese."

Capt. Read was met Aberystwyth Station by the Mayor and Mayoress (Cllr. and Mrs. A. W. Miller), the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress (Cllr. and Mrs. Griffith Davies), Cllr. Emile T. Evans, and a host of old friends and acquaintances. In a car he was slowly driven to his home, where the neighbours had prepared the street with lighting flags, and for a part of the journey headed by the Army Cadet Band, in charge of Drum Major H. Humphreys. “Speaking as an old soldier, said Capt. Read, "I admired very much the turn out of the Band, both their turn out and drill." Capt. Read wishes to thank everyone for their kindness and good wishes. “I was really and truly struck by the wonderful reception” he said.'

Blog by Simon Burgess

Author's website : https://www.richardgeorgeread.com/

VE Day celebration party 1945 in Llangawsai, Llanbadarn Fawr

These photos were taken my my Grandmother Eileen Read (or possibly her sister, Mary) who lived in Broadway Llangawsai, Llanbadarn Fawr.

 

Taken at a VE day party in May 1945, celebrating the end of hostilities in Europe, though an occasion to celebrate, this must have been especially poignant to the family as Eileen and Mary's father (husband of their mum Daisy) Richard was still a Prisoner of War (POW) of the Japanese at the time. and was to remain overseas until finally arriving home back in Aberystwyth in December 1945.

 

 

Sometimes known as 'The forgotten army', the War in the Far East continued for many months after the war ended in Europe. People were eager to move on with the lives after so many years of hardship, which meant that by the time of the end of fighting in the Far East, those arriving home were often not given the heroes welcome that they expected. Many POW's of the Japanese were given strict instructions by the Government to 'Guard your tongue' specifically instructing them not to speak of the horrific experiences that they had endured, leading to many keeping their experiences to themselves, with families of the prisoners often having to deal with the aftermath.

 

VE Day 1945 in Mrs Evans' Brynteg

 

If you or any of your family were present at the Llanbadarn VE celebration in 1945, or if you recognize anyone in these photographs, Simon would like to hear from you. Please get in touch with him via his website :  https://www.richardgeorgeread.com/contact 

Blog by Simon Burgess 

Salvage for Victory!

We are all very used to the constant publicity about the need to recycle as many materials as possible to help the environment.  What we may not realise was that from 1940 onwards householders in Aberystwyth were being urged to do the same but, at that time, to help the war effort.

At the end of December 1939, the British government established the National Salvage Campaign. Memories were still strong of the severe shortages of materials and the consequent rises in price which occurred at the end of the First World War and there was naturally a desire to prevent this happening again. The government through the Ministry of Supply informed local authorities about what they were expected to do in a series of circulars about the salvaging (or recycling) of refuse which were sent out regularly throughout the war.

Aberystwyth Borough Council discussed the first circular on 12th January 1940. This was an appeal to local authorities to improve their refuse collection services and to separate out paper, rags, metals and foodstuffs from other waste material. At this stage, the Ministry was only requesting co-operation in this undertaking, but in June 1940 it became compulsory for all local authorities with populations of over 10,000 to offer efficient salvage collection.

The collection of the main materials was far from easy to arrange. Not least of these difficulties was the job of convincing householders of the importance of saving waste materials and then motivating them to carry it out. Then practical arrangements had to be made for the waste to be collected from houses and stored somewhere until it was sold. As a last step, the Council was responsible for finding where to sell its salvage for the best price by putting out tenders to a variety of companies for each type of waste.  The single most important material right from the start was the collection of paper which was re-pulped and reused.

By the end of February 1940, after consulting with other local authorities about how best to go about setting up a salvage scheme, Aberystwyth Council came up with the following plan:

•    To try out for three months the salvaging of paper using the saleroom in the Smithfield and to offer the paper for sale to the Cambrian News 

•    To obtain quotations for purchasing a paper baler and tin baler

•    To prepare 3,000 leaflets with instructions to householders which would be distributed by refuse collectors.

Two months later the council had set up arrangements to collect rags, scrap metal, bones and bottles in addition to paper. The places selected for storing the salvage were the Smithfield and Domen Dre. Waste food stuff collections to provide food for livestock were on the list provided by the Ministry of Supply but this was not undertaken in Aberystwyth as farmers had already started their own scheme.  

At a meeting on 24th May 1940, the Borough Surveyor was able to report that he had managed to sell two and a half tons of paper for £4 a ton. At the same meeting there was discussion over approaching the Vicar of St Michael’s Church about the possibility of removing the railings at St Michael’s Churchyard to be used for scrap. Later in the year there were several attempts to identify other railings in the town that could be similarly used but apart from a few on the Castle Grounds not many others appear to have been removed.

From the beginning of the salvage scheme, the Council also had the problem of finding a way to transport the collected waste.  They were helped out in the short term by Hancock's Brewery of the White Horse Hotel who generously offered the use of their lorry and one man free of charge for two days a week.

In July 1940, the District Advisor of the Ministry of Supply (Salvage) visited Aberystwyth and the meeting he held with the recently formed Salvage Sub-Committee reflected the key role of women in the salvage scheme.  A number of women’s groups in the town were invited to attend, including the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS), the Women’s Institute, Penparcau and The Women’s Cooperative Guild. The Advisor also arranged to give a talk in one or two schools to get children involved.  

As a result, the following month a Women’s Salvage Committee was established in the town with Mrs K.P.Davies of the WVS appointed as organiser. Following another Ministry Circular, Number 27, women’s organisations in the town were asked to carry out a house-to-house canvass about the importance of salvaging and how to do it. The campaign not only encouraged members of the public to save their materials by approaching individuals directly but the women also organised the collection of the salvage from houses - something that that council seems to have been reluctant to do because of the cost.  As well as the obvious practical benefit of increasing amounts of salvage, this approach was also an important way of boosting morale by showing exactly what those at home could do and how their contribution could make a real difference to the war effort. 

Huge publicity campaigns were conducted on the radio, in cinemas, in newspapers together with many posters and leaflets which had varying degrees of success. Below are two examples:
 

Three generations of women contributing to the war effort, August 1941, IWM

Poster showing how salvage materials were used to build a bomber, IWM

By July 1941, the Labour Superintendent of the Council (now in charge of refuse and salvage collection) was asked to provide a monthly report on the collection of salvage.  Here is a typical report submitted in April 1942:

Various means were used to try to maintain public support and commitment to the cause. A salvage slogan competition was organised by Aberystwyth Borough Council in 1941 with a prize of one guinea for the winner. It was shared between Miss P. Davies of Elysian Grove and Miss Bradshaw of Penglais Farm. Unfortunately, there is no record in the minutes of what the winning slogans were but it was noted that they were used to produce two slides for exhibition at local cinemas at the Council’s expense and the WVS organiser, Mrs K.P. Davies, was invited to speak at cinemas showing them.

Competitions seem to have been a popular way to focus the public’s attention on the importance of salvaging. 1942 saw the launch of a national contest to see how much waste paper could be collected between 1st January and 31st.  The prize on offer was £20,000. Aberystwyth Borough Council seems to have been keen to participate in this, asking headmasters to arrange for children to help with the collection and placing advertisements in local papers. The manager of Howells was thanked for offering the use of the window space in his shop to advertise the campaign and other retailers in the town followed suit.  Later in the month the Borough Accountant was asked to dispose of obsolete records that could be added to the paper salvage. The mayor went so far as to make a request that schoolchildren at elementary schools in the borough be given a day off on 30th January to assist in the salvage drive There was no mention in the Council’s minutes of the outcome so presumably Aberystwyth did not win a prize.

In February 1942, Circular No. 70 from the Ministry arrived in in the town. This contained the suggestion of appointing volunteer Salvage Stewards to help increase the amount of salvage collected. Many of these stewards in Aberystwyth were once again recruited from the WVS, and the organisation was made responsible for advertising for people to join. The role of the stewards was to provide support to their local community - ideally one individual appointed to a street - to encourage people to collect waste, how to sort it and also to give feedback to the local authority about where improvements to the system could be made.   The stewards were given a certificate and a badge as shown below.
 

 

Early in 1943 the possibility was raised by Mr Read of the Cambrian News that the Borough of Aberystwyth together with the Rural District should plan a Book Drive. This idea was something apart from the ordinary salvage scheme but the salvage scheme would benefit by receiving the books that were not of special value nor of use to war-damaged libraries. In July 1944, the Town Clerk was instructed to find out where to send books collected for libraries that had been blitzed.

By May 1945, the Borough Council writing to the Ministry seems to have hoped that the need to continue collecting salvage might have come to an end, but they received the reply that their efforts were to continue. However, the local authority did receive a letter in September 1945 from the Ministry of Supply thanking them for their great help given throughout the war by means of their salvage schemes.  The same month salvage collections in the town were reduced to twice a week.

Salvage collection can be seen as an important contribution to the idea which is at the centre of our project – the people’s war. This concept came into use in 1940 – the idea of all citizens becoming combatants on the front line, contributing in a very real way to winning the war.

Blog by Frances Foley 

Sources: Borough of Aberystwyth Agendas and Minutes 1939 – 1945 by courtesy of Ceredigion Archives.