After publishing the fantastic guest post by Suzanne Phillips about our traditional Whitsun March, readers Carol and Andrea sent me some pictures of the march from the 50s and 70s.
These first two photos are from the 1970 March. Notice the old Bethesda Chapel in the first picture. The banner in the second picture is from Hermon Chapel.
The following photos were sent to Andrea by a friend and are from the mid 1950s. The girl looking at camera on the left is Marilyn.
The second picture shows Geoff Bowden and John Bowden (first and second from the left). The boy wearing the tie is Roger Whitehead.
The last picture was taken at Ton park around 1950. The gentleman is Malgwyn Bowden with Gwyn and Marilyn. The baby is Susan with her mother Edwina. Malgwyn’s wife Marian is seated next to Sandra.
I absolutely love these photos and can’t thank Carol and Andrea enough for sharing them with us.
If you have any old photos of the village, or know someone who has, please get in touch. I’m collating as much information as I can about life in the village and would appreciate anything you have.
Hi! Colin Reeves here! I used to live in Tongwnlais from 1950 to 1975. I remember the Whitsun Marches very well. I used to attend Bethesda Chapel until about 1963. It was indeed a special occasion with a new outfit purchased for the occasion. Shoes were purchased from Bob Davies shop which was located near the Post Office. After the March we used to return to the Vestry at the back of Bethesda for a slap up tea of sandwiches and jelly etc. I remember two of my Sunday School teachers were ‘ Aunty’ Beryl and ‘ Aunty’ Ross. I also remember the excitement of going on the Sunday School outings either to Barry Island or Porthcawl. We all used to sit on the beach with the deck chairs placed in a circle! I now live in Kent but once a year I make a visit to my Sister Enid who lives in the Rhondda Valley but I always make a visit to the ‘ Ton’ for nostalgic reasons! As the say’ you can take the boy out of the Ton but you cannot take the Ton out of the boy
Great photos! Here’s hoping force great turnout next Sunday!