Catrin’s wartime
letters
Tyn Lon Fawr
November 9th
1942.
Dear Brother and
Sister,
I don’t recall not having being
so long in writing to you, especially as I am in such good health
and all my bones in tact and I hope that you are the same. I’ve been
very busy with the corn harvest, the weather turned very wet thus
creating more work and problems, but by now I’ve got it all in and
the thrashing has been done as well. Griff Tyn Lon was very lucky to
have got it all before the weather turned, Tyn Llidiart and I were
left behind and I was very worried as to whether I’d be able to get
enough men to do the thrashing, but in the end sixteen turned up
without my having to ask, all of them willing to work, some others
had meant to come but their work at the mines put paid to that. I
had a good crop of corn and it was none the worse for being left out
in the wet weather. After getting the harvest in the hardest job
then was to keep the mice out of the loft above the kitchen, I’d
cemented all the holes, but they still managed to get in from under
the window seat, so I put some poison down before cementing and I’ve
finally beaten them. I went to help make food for the men on
thrashing days at Tyn Lon, Tyn Rhos, Groeslon and Llawenan.
Some man came to
see all the farms in the area, to see about how many acres of
potatoes each farm could grow. He said that my place would need to
grow a quarter of an acre. Since then I’ve had a letter telling me
to plough three and a quarter acres, and that half of that should be
given over to potatoes. So you see I’m going to get enough food and
the corn is just fine for the hens. It’s a great change for me now
having to buy milk and eat margarine. The cow’s dried up and is
expecting a calf at Christmas. I’ve seven cats as well as Mickey
waiting for milk every day, the black cat has three black kittens
and the other one has a black one and a tabby, she’s a lovely
colouring and is really good at catching rats, I’ve seen up to three
in the barn some mornings, so I reckon the cats are well worth their
keep.
It’s been so long
since my last letter that I can barely remember what I wanted to
say. A lot of people who worked at the mines have gone away now,
especially the people who were staying at the Llwynfor Hostel. One
of the men’s wife (English) came to stay with her two children to
look after the place - she seemed nice enough, all powder and paint.
She’s gone now and has left the place in a real state, according to
the people who’ve been there it was absolutely filthy, there were
nineteen dirty sheets in one pile in the bedroom and when they went
to move them, they found them to be full of maggots and they had to
take a pitchfork to carry them out. All the cooking pots were filthy
or burnt, not one had been washed, Griff Tyn Lon has been there and
seen it all. They’re going to have to look for someone else to take
care of the place now.
There’s talk of
them starting work at Nant now, they’re already working on the level
near the jetty. Mr Wills and the young lady he married last year
have gone to Cornwall and Mr Perry, the lady from Lon Las’s friend
has also gone. Dick Lon Las is in Derby now and Lizzie and Gwynfor
have gone to stay with him for a week’s holiday. Doreen’s gone to
work to Abersoch she’s nearly as tall as May now. Wil Tryfan has
started work at the mines and his wife Kate is close to giving birth
to their fifth child. Well I’d better go now and have some lunch
before going up to Rhiw to post this letter. Best wishes to you both
and regards to Ivor.
~~~~~~~
February 1st
1943.
I received the parcel, it was intact and
neatly wrapped, and I am more than grateful for the cape, I’ve worn
it a lot already. Thank goodness for Ivor for it, I haven’t shared
out the rest yet, but I know that it’ll all be very acceptable, as
everything is so expensive and coupons are very scarce and many
things can’t be bought for love or money these days. Thank you also
for the newspaper, I had heard about the raid and I saw and heard
about the daytime raid, so many children and people lost in the
school, I had been asking what the name of the place was, as it was
so close to where you live in London. All these awful things that
are happening around you and you still manage to survive. I hope the
end is near and that Ivor won’t have to go away to war. Sion Plas
Coch’s son has gone out to Africa now and Ellen Bodgrigyn’s son
arrived in Africa just before Christmas. Quite a few of the local
girls have gone to work to the airforce or to some other service and
they are all apparently happy with their situations, it’s a worry
for some folk round here though as they can’t find maid these days.
There’s a lot of
firing round the coast, some of the mines don’t go off and there’s
one wedged between the rocks at Trwyn Penrhyn, there’s a lot of
driftwood there too, but no one dare go near the place for fear of
their lives.
There’s a lot of
activity up near Clip Bach and a large building has been erected,
there are only two others in the whole of the British Isles, and no
one knows what they are for. They even work on Sundays with the
lorries carrying stuff up there. They’ve built a gateway and a road
from the Comins road and the men work there even in very wet
weather. It’s very wet and has rained heavily day and night, no one
can work the land apart from tractors ploughing greenfields where
they can but many fields have been left unfinished because it’s too
wet. I’ve never seen so much water round the house, but none came in
near the clock, where you’d been filling in, however it comes in
under the tiles in the kitchen. I haven’t been such a home bird for
years, the weather preventing me from venturing out other than to do
the work that has to be done around the farm, and I seem to have the
worst colds I’ve ever had.
I haven’t yet
thanked you especially for the porridge, many, many thanks for it. I
haven’t seen porridge in a box for months, the points now mean that
things are worse for someone like myself, having only the one book
and the shopkeepers are very tight with the things when they get
them in. They make sure that they set aside some goods to give out
to some people, whilst others are given none. But they’ll be sorry
when rationing’s over and we can shop where we choose, we won’t
forget how we’re being treated now.
I forgot to tell
you that Wil Tryfan has gone to the soldiers at Sheffield.
All the best for
now Catrin.
~~~~~~~
10th
March 1943.
Dear Brother and
Sister,
I hadn’t heard about the raid
until I received your letter, Thank God that you have been spared
yet again. The disaster on the tube was awful, I read about it in
this week’s Herald. I just don’t know how anyone can cope with these
raids indeed, hearing an explosion once would be enough to finish me
forever. When the planes started to bomb the islands at night I used
to tremble with fear and that’s ever since I was frightened by the
earthquake, but I’m much, much better now. I hope May doesn’t get
called up to do anything, and what about you? Mr and Mrs Roberts
that came to live at Cadlan Isaf are very worried, he has to go
before a medical tribunal to Caernarfon next Friday. He’d been
before some farmer’s committee telling him that he’d be called up
and that they would put an older man in his place at Cadlan.
I feel sorry for
Gyggi having to leave his workplace before he needs to, and I’ve
been thinking what would happen if the war ended, as everyone
expects it to, would it be easy to get such a good job or would it
be the same as it was after the last war. I don’t know if they are
preparing for the end of the war or is it all talk?
Miss Hughes who
was at the school when Trevor was there is getting married at Easter
with Griff Ty Canol, and they are going to live at Moelwyn View with
his mother. She’s at Waenfawr at the moment, she lost both her
father and mother within a short while of each other.
James Parry’s
wife has just received news that her husband is missing, The ship on
which he was captain was sunk somewhere close to Africa, some of the
crew were rescued, but at the time they sent word he was still
missing, unless they hear otherwise. It’s dreadful hearing news like
this about the boys, it’s awful having cared for them and brought
them up only to loose them like this. Robert Bryn Mawr has died as
well, I’ve sent the Herald so you can read about it.
Griff Tyn Lon
Bach
I bought some hay
from Griff I’d gone without for the cow and her calf, Talafon bought
it here and it’s much better hay than I had. I’ve dug nearly half
the garden and have had the papers telling me how much to plough up
they want me to give half an acre for potatoes. Griff Tyn Lon wanted
me to send a quiet word to some Dr Alun Roberts who is head of the
agricultural committee to tell him about my situation and how it was
so difficult not to mention expensive for me to get anyone to help
with picking potatoes and of course about my age. I sent a letter
and got a satisfactory reply telling me not to let it go below a
quarter of an acre and to do the best I could. I told him that I’d
ploughed the land as was stated in the regulations, I‘ve kept the
letter, just in case someone with less authority starts threatening
me.
The brick
building that’s going up near the Clip can be seen from here now,
and the lorries are busy taking up stuff to build a concrete road to
the Clip, and there are other men busy at work laying electricity
poles to go over Rhiw to Uwchymyndd. They haven’t come into my
fields, but a big lorry’s going to come and bring poles and put them
here and there along the roadside. Well you’d better visit me pretty
quick, otherwise you won’t know the way or where the road is!!
Warmest greetings to you all. Catrin.
~~~~~~~~
