South Wales Coalfield
Collection University of Wales
Swansea Library South Wales Coalfield
Collection
| Ref No. | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| AUD/257 | Interview of Williams, Glyn. Recorded memoirs of Glyn Williams, Bridgend. Includes his family moving down from North Wales to the pits; working in Ynyscorrwg Colliery, its closure, and the 1926 General Strike; unemployment and losing benefits, soup kitchens and seeking poor relief; early political and trade union influences, his father being a Lodge officer; his part in the Cymmer riots, and in the persecution of black-legs; working experiences in the pits, and becoming active on the lodge Committee and in local elections; the coalfield during World War II and the Porter Award strike. Covers period : 1900-1945 (c). Running time : 1hr 50mins. |
21.5.1974 |
| AUD/263 | Interview of Evans, Dai Dan. Recorded memoirs of Dai Dan Evans, Cardiff. Includes his family background, and recollections of the communities of Abercraf and Caerlan, including initial hostility towards the Spanish immigrants; influence of chapels and public houses on community life; work experiences and dislike of the pits; industrial accidents; characteristics of various pits; mobility between anthracite and seam coal areas, and differences between the communities; propaganda and effects of World War I, and becoming a conscientious objector; political influences; migration to Canada in 1920's and imprisonment there; development of political thought and working class education; influence of coal combines; and his involvement in various strikes. Covers period : 1910-1945 (c). Running time : 2hr 14mins. |
5.12.1972 |
| AUD/264 | Interview of Evans, Dai Dan. Recorded memoirs of Dai Dan Evans mainly concerning company unionism in the 1930's, and the role and purpose of the combine committees within the structure of the South Wales Miners' Federation. Includes management and working relations at Bedwas Colliery and the 1933 strike; his personal involvement in the Bedwas disputes; the 1934 Taff-Merthyr strike and agreement, and Arthur Horner's influence; scab unionism; development and strength of the combine committees; SWMF and Arthur Horner's attitude during World War II; influence of religion and the coal owners in the community; week-end schools and lectures, and Noah Ablett's role; attitudes towards nationalisation, and the future of socialism. Covers period : 1930-1947 (c). Running time : 2hrs 8mins 21secs. |
7.8.1973 |
| AUD/283 | Interview of Thomas, Mel. Recorded memoirs of Mel Thomas, Maesteg. Includes his family background; influence of trade unionism, and his growing interest in politics and the Lodge Committee; his opinion of North Navigation Collieries Company; anti World War I movements in the Maesteg area; his role in the establishment and development of local branches of the Communist Party, Miners Minority Movement, National Unemployment Workers Movement, and the Youth Communist League; influence of the National Council of Labour Colleges' classes; his recollections of incidents during the 1926 lock out and General Strike, and political changes; decline of Communist Party membership during the 1930's; and his opinion of Arthur Horner. Covers period : 1900-1940 (c). Running time : 1hr 50mins 30secs. |
17.5.1973 |
| AUD/284 | Interview of Thomas, Mel. Recorded memoirs of Mel Thomas, Maesteg. Includes his experiences of persecution for his political activities, being mainly unemployed between 1928-38; unemployment problems in Caerau during the depression and World War II; the position of the Communist Party during the War; hostility towards Communist members; opinion of D R Llewellyn; the Boys Strike 1942-43; threat and effect of the Porter Award; activities of the Communist Party and the Lodge Committee during this period; and his role as Lodge Compensation Secretary. Covers period : 1928-1945 (c). Running time : 2hrs 5mins. |
29.5.1973 |
| AUD/287 | Interview of Paynter, Will. Recorded memoirs of Will Paynter, London. Includes his recollections and the influence, of David and Gwen Ray Evans; his activities as a Communist Party member, and prison experiences; the expulsion of Mardy Lodge from the South Wales Miners' Federation; WP's opinion of Arthur Horner and his activities; his personal experiences in the Lenin School in Moscow, and general involvement in adult education; unemployment and being a "professional revolutionary"; election onto the South Wales Miners' Executive Council; campaigning during the Spanish Civil War; being a miners' agent in the Rhymney and Tredegar valleys; effects of the depression on the community and the Communist Party; and religious influences. Covers period : 1926-1940 (c). Running time : 1hr 11mins 26secs. |
6.3.1973 |
| AUD/317 | Interview of Arthur, Will. Recorded memoirs of Will Arthur, Neath. Includes his family background; working underground as a boy with his father; moving around collieries for work; suffering from nystagmus; joining Cardiff police, and enrolling in army service; interest and influence of trade unions; persuasion of blacklegs to return to work during the 1926 General Strike, and his persecution for his militancy during the strike; an incident of a dispute concerning afternoon shifts; and the status of a checkweigher in the community. Covers period : 1893-1930 (c). Running time : 2hrs 10mins 10secs. |
21.5.1973 |
| AUD/318 | Interview of Arthur, Will. Recorded memoirs of Will Arthur, Neath. Includes a discussion of people moving to Glynneath from various places in the coalfield to work in Aberpergwm Colliery; Glynneath men killed in action during World War I; effect of army service on religious beliefs; negotiations with miners on a stay-in strike in Fernhill; disputes in Nelson during the 1934 Taff-Merthyr strike; visit to Nottingham in 1936 to gain support for the South Wales Miners' Federation; personalities on the SWMF Executive Council when WA started on the Executive; and the appointment of Arthur Horner as President of the Executive Council. Covers period : 1906-1940 (c). Running time : 2hrs 7mins 6secs. |
24.5.1973 |
| AUD/319 | Interview of Arthur, Will. Recorded memoirs of Will Arthur, Neath. Includes the disaster at Abercynon; the cosmopolitan community of Glynneath; his interest in rugby, football, choirs, and boxing; discusses his brother who played rugby for Wales; position of the Welsh language; the influx of miners into Aberpergwm due to the boom in the anthracite coal market; collecting trade union contributions, and consequent disputes; evictions of families; safety of Aberpergwm Colliery; the intergration of the Merthyr and Aberdare workforces; and drinking habits. Covers period : 1904-1973 (c). Running time : 1hr 58mins 51secs. |
13.6.1973 |
| AUD/320 | Interview of Arthur, Will. Recorded memoirs of Will Arthur, Neath. Includes attitudes to World War II; Communism; contrasting attitudes in the Vale of Neath and Dulais Valley; the cosmopolitan community of Glynneath; the grade seniority rule in the anthracite; issue of absenteeism and its connection with industrial diseases; and the certification of sufferers of pneumoconiosis. Covers period : 1935- 1973 (c). Running time : 2hrs 1min 4secs. |
31.5.1973 |
| AUD/321 | Interview of Arthur, Will. Edited extracts of the recorded memoirs of Will Arthur, Neath. Includes a discussion of the cosmopolitan population of Glynneath, the boom period in the anthracite coalfield, and the closure of the Rock Colliery (see also AUD/317-320). Covers period : 1900-1940 (c). Running time : 13mins 51secs. |
13.6.1973 |
| AUD/337 | Interview of Arnot, Robin Page. Recorded memoirs of Robin Page Arnot. Includes his first recollections of the South Wales miners; his interest in socialism; personal contact with miners; an account of Tom Mann's meeting with Lenin; his wife discusses her own memories of A J Cook and Arthur Horner; his own involvement in the Sankey Commission; opinion of Frank Hodges; the visit of M Borodin as a representative of the Communist International to Great Britain, and RPA's own visit to Russia as a representative of the Communist International; his speeches in South Wales; discussion of trade union leaders, and the comparison of Arthur Horner and Noah Ablett. Covers period : 1910-1973 (c). Running time : 1hr 44mins 22secs. |
6.3.1973 |
| AUD/446 | Interview of Paynter, Will. Recorded memoirs of Will Paynter beginning with his family background, and political and religious influences; beginning work in the pits, and his early political activities with the Communist Party, Cymmer Lodge and the National Unemployed Workers Movement, especially during the 1926 and 1931 strikes and the later hunger marches; an account of his arrest and imprisonment; and his involvement with the South Wales Miners' Federation. Covers period : 1920-1940 (c). Running time : 50mins. |
18.4.1969 |
| Archivist: Elisabeth Bennett |
Web development: Martin Price |
Enquiries: library@swansea.ac.uk |
Last updated on: 31 January 1997 |
