Ernie Broad - Whitchurch from End to End with input by Diane John

Ernie Broad is undoubtably the ‘Sage of Whitchurch’

Very little is known about him, but of those who knew him we’re told that he was an unassuming chap who’d lived in the village all his life

He lived through two world wars and into the cold war era

In his later years, Ernie wrote two ‘chronicles’ about his memories of early life in Whitchurch:

The Farms of Whitchurch, and

Whitchurch from End to End

Without these stories, our recent history would be sadly diminished. Here are his memories with helpful updates by Diane John

ERNIE BROAD.                                           OLD WHITCHURCH, CARDIFF

‘Old Whitchurch from end to end’ by Thomas Ernest Broad.     Possibly written around 1980?

Heading north along North Road from Cardiff City Centre as we approach Whitchurch, we pass the Three Horseshoes Public House to our left then come to a boundary in the form of a brook with a garage on the left. Opposite is the entrance to the Manor Way dual carriageway which at the time I am narrating was a plot of market garden tended by a lady, Mrs Howells.

2026 The garage is Majestic Wine.

Next, we come to Violet Place where I once lived prior to the 1939-45 War. This street was badly hit by the bombs of German aircraft with fatal casualties. It may be of interest to know the reason that I left Violet Place was that the rent of the house was fourteen shillings a week. I think that explains it.

At the corner of Waun Treoda Road was a Butcher’s shop which is still there. The house next door was used for register of births and deaths.  Opposite on the corner of Birchgrove Road (previously Philog Road) was the house where Richard Lougher the village Blacksmith lived. He and his wife walked to St Mary’s Church every Sunday morning always wearing black, with Mr Lougher wearing a top hat. On the opposite corner was a bakery run by Mr Keeping noted for his good baking. Further along was newsagent shop run by Mr Loveluck Jenkins, this shop is still there.

2026 The Butchers mentioned is now Lemon Tree Nail Bar. The Bakery became Eddys during the 1950/60’s then demolished and small apartments built on the site named Baton Court. There is now a hairdresser named Gee and Hayes and further along another hairdresser named Brodan also one of the bygone shops has been turned back into a house.

As we approach Whitchurch Common along Merthyr Road on the left, we come to Flay’s Farm where they kept Shire horses to pull the big dust carts for the refuse of the village. Along the road at the beginning of the Common was Rosedene, the only house at that time on that side of the road.  

On the right after Ararat Baptist Church was Ealing Dene House (20 Plas Treoda nowadays) where Mr Eli Rees lived whose son built most of the Greenclose Estate which are the roads situated behind Ararat Baptist Church.

2026 Flays furniture removal company had premises on the corner of Cradoc Road, 62 The Philog in the 1960’s after moving from behind the Hay and Corn Store in Bishops Road. Their farm field ran behind this store. There was Poyners Dairy in Maelog Road on the corner of The Philog, the diary site has been rebuilt as a house. Is the present day small coachouse opposite the Laundrette building originally belonging to Rosedene or the original Waun Treoda Farm? (verification needed here).

Opposite, on the left-hand side of the Common still heading north stood the Three Elms Public House, the name of which was taken from three large Elm trees which stood outside Ararat Church Hall.

Between the Three Elms Public House and Whitchurch Brook stood the Blacksmith shop of Mr Lougher at the side of which was an opening to the brook in which was an iron plate used to fit the iron bands on cartwheels as required. At one time the Ararat Baptist Minister used this opening to Baptize his flock in the brook.

Over the College Road Bridge and alongside the brook was Island Cottage Private School where those who could afford it would send their children. This was run by a very able school mistress, Miss Evans. She had two bachelor brothers living with her, one brothers hair was going grey, so he tried to dye his hair black, but something went wrong and it turned out olive green for quite some time. Island Cottage was so called because the brook ran both sides of it fed by a watercourse at the top of a one-time waterfall. This same watercourse ran down to the Little Mill which was situated behind the row of terrace houses called Taff Terrace on College Road, driving the wheel of the mill.

2026 Is the old shed to the right of the Three Elms carpark the old Blacksmiths? with the brook running behind it and which runs parallel to the row of terrace houses behind which is still part of College Road.

At the back of Island Cottage was a 14-acre field called the Polo Field where Horse Polo was played. There was a Pavilion where refreshments were provided to the Polo players. Where the Funeral Home now stands was a house where Mr Jones, who cared for the stables of the Polo ponies lived. At the back of the stables were cowsheds which housed cows belonging to Mr Fred Hale, a local farmer.

On the left-hand bank of the Whitchurch brook in Brook Road is the old Jupp’s Sweet Factory. It was originally owned by the Jupp Family in 1921 who took the name of Cecil Sweets Ltd. At first it was an old army hut erected in the lane behind Brook Road. They sold the sweets they produced to all the children of the village. Later, the present Factory was built by Edwin Williams, and the firm expanded their sales to the Rhondda and Wye Valleys’.

2026 Jupps closed in 1966 then the building became the Fish Fryers Association before being demolished for the current modern office block.

Across the road and down the lane alongside the brook were the workshop and yard of Edwin Williams and Son, a builder of no mean repute. His works included Tabernacle Chapel, two houses on Brook Road and four houses on Merthyr Road. He also built a row of houses on Glandwr Place which is at right angles to Merthyr Road. His biggest job was building the Coryton Mansion, now used by the Post Office. It was built for Sir Herbert Cory who resided there for many years. Another two of his major jobs were the Parish Council Offices in Bishops Road and the Old Police Station in Llandaff City. Part of Church Road was also built by him. It was the firm I was apprenticed to which was to my advantage in learning a good trade.

2026 Maybe now the site of the Turkish Restaurant Mangal Cuisine before arriving at the Maltsters. The Parish Council Offices in Bishops Road are now an Architectural Services Company, Edwards Dance and a Nail Bar.

Incidentally Tabernacle Church had one of the first suspended ceilings ever installed, the whole of the ceiling consisting of two inch by one-inch wooden battens.

Next but one to the Merthyr Road premises of Mr Edwin Williams was the farmhouse. There was a dairy at the rear with stables for the milk cart, which was driven by Isabella Hales, the daughter of Fred Hales who ran the farm. This house was converted into two shops which are there at the present time.

2026 Is this where Aquapets now stands?

 

Further up the road on the left was a lane leading to a large yard owned by Mr Fred Hale. In the yard was a large open barn used to stack hay and corn. Also, large stables with farm horses used for ploughing and such jobs. This is now Blandon Way.

Then there are a few houses with shops at street level as we approach Bishops Road from Hales Farm with the large three storey Hay and Corn Store on the corner of Bishops Road behind the Post Office.

Over Bishops Road is a farm run by Mr Tom Samuel whose cows used to cross Bishops Road and also cross the main Merthyr Road to where there were more fields that they would graze in. Another grazing ground were the fields at the back of the farm where Whitchurch Grammar School now stands.

2026 The Post Office has moved numerous times around the village, I think the position Ernie is talking about here is now a Morrisons Daily shop with Post Office inside.

The shop in Bishops Road where Seconds is now was a grocer’s shop kept by Mr Richard Day which also had a Bake House at the rear.

2026 The ‘Seconds’ shop is now the Health Plus Pharmacy. But the three-storey building which was the Hay and Corn Store for the old farm which today also houses an indoor children’s play area owned by Tom Champ.

In the lane at the back of here were several large sheds where there was a Taxi service, one Taxi was a Ford with number plate BO 500 driven by Mr Stockford. In one of the sheds there was a Hansom Cab which was also for hire. This was driven by Mr William Hill who also ran a Haulage business.

I recall an amusing incident related to this. Mr Williams the Builder hired Mr Hill to haul some heavy timbers to Radyr Electrical Sub Station. The timbers were required to make a gantry to lower a transformer into the Sub Station. Mr Hill had a large white mule to pull the flat-bottomed cart. On seeing the heavy load Mr Hill hired a gypsy’s horse from where they were camping on Whitchurch Common. The gypsy insisted on going as well. They started from Merthyr Road and a labourer and me cycled by a short cut over the river bridge. On arriving we expected a fifteen-minute wait, but this lasted much longer. Mr Williams turned up and asked where Mr Hill was? We didn’t know so I cycled back to see if I could find him. I found him at the bottom of the steep hill into Radyr as Mr Hill said they couldn’t pull the load up the hill. So, I suggested he unload half and then return for it. He said he’d have another go and try galloping along the flat before the hill. Now the gypsy’s horse was harnessed in front of the white mule, so they started off. Halfway up the hill the gypsy’s horse stopped, and the mule landed on top of him. Whereupon Mr Hill and the gypsy came to blows. When all the fuss had calmed down, they decided to unload half the timbers and return for them. Upon eventually arriving at the Sub Station Mr Hill asked me to loan him tuppence for a packet of cigarettes as he only had sovereigns in his money pouch. I don’t think Mr Williams made a lot of profit out of that job!

The lane at the rear of the right-hand side of Merthyr Road opposite St Mary’s Church housed all the available transport for the village and is nowadays a car park.

On the left- and right-hand side of Merthyr Road from Bishops Road to St Mary’s Church were a series of houses, cottages, pubs and shops.

On the left side were a row of very nice houses with veranda, porch and very long back gardens, this is now Kwik Save Supermarket. Next was a grocer’s shop run by Mrs Keirl. The shop next door was a Ladies Millinery shop on one side and the first Post Office on the other both run by ladies with the title of Messrs Gibbon and Gee.

2026 The fine houses that were demolished for a large modern building originally housed Batemans Supermarket in the 1960’s before becoming Kwiksave and now the CoOp. Shops that were mentioned have varied since the 1960’s. There was a toy shop named Kindercraft, a television shop but now there is an Opticians, Iceland, Estate Agents, Betting Office, Coffee One and a modern Butcher Shop. More research needed here for other shops.

Then a few houses to the main Butchers shop owned by Mr Griffiths who had a Slaughterhouse at the rear. The Butcher had a son Howard who moved to the Vale of Glamorgan with his father to open a business there. This shop had a cellar where the acetylene gas to light the gas was generated. One day Howard went to operate the gas in the cellar and there was an explosion which badly injured him.

After the Butchers was a shop which was the premises of Mr Hentych whose son was a hairdresser. When Gibbon and Gee gave up the Post Office Mr Hentych took it over. He managed it until the 1914 Great War when it was taken away from him owing to his German origin. The Post Office was then sited in Bishops Road.

2026 Think Ernie is talking about the lane with the Farmers Pantry Butcher on one side and the Monmouthshire Building Society on the other corner and Hutton’s Solicitors on the side that leads to the Tyre place and Dugdale Garage.

Next to the Post Office were a row of cottages with front gardens reaching to the main road. On the corner at the crossroads at Church Road stood another grocer’s shop called Edward’s Stores which was in business for many years.

2026 In the 1960’s The Bon Marché took up some of the cottages with various retail establishments along until you now reach h the Charity Shop on the corner of Church Road.

On the right-hand side of Merthyr Road where the New Empire Chinese Takeaway is now was a cottage with the front door in the lane which leads to the Car Park. This was followed by two cottages then a few shops including Mr Whitsun’s hairdressing establishment which is now a general shop. Further on is Forest Farm Dairy so named because it was opened by Mr Spence Thomas who lived at Forest Hall and ran Forest Farm and Dairy.

2026 Now all retail establishments on street level. Need much research to name the different establishments since the 1960’s. The Tin Mill is the site of the original Forest Farm Dairy.

I must tell another story to brighten up this narrative. There was a bad fire in the garage attached to Forest Hall as the tank used to keep paraffin oil caught fire which spread to the cellars where the wines and spirits were kept. These cellars were actually above ground being the old coach houses. I had the job of measuring up the damage to renew it all. Going into the cellars I found many boxes of alcohol unopened, so I informed Mr Spence Thomas of the fact. He said throw them out as they must all be ‘furred’ with the fire. Preparing to throw them a case became opened and as I thought the bottles looked alright, I tasted one. Tasted fine so I stacked them to one side. When we started to rebuild the cellars, we were not very sober going home after work!

When I was a lad three friends and I decided to go bird nesting at this same Forest Farm. There were some very high fir trees there with many crows’ nests on them. To reach the eggs you climbed the tree, take an egg from the nest putting it in your mouth enabling you to descend the tree with both hands. One of my friends was halfway down when he slipped and fell landing on his shoulder and jaw breaking them both, what a mess blood and egg covering his face. We had to wait in one of the farm cottages all afternoon for an ambulance to take my poor friend to hospital. The Forest Farm Dairy is now managed by the Miss Jones sisters who have been there very many years. It is a haven of refuge for a good many people who are never turned away.

The Royal Oak Public House is close by where once upon a time the back room or saloon a holy of holies was where only the upper crust were welcome. Against the Royal Oak was Ducks the Chemist, where Boots the Chemist is now. There was a big conservatory on the right-hand side of the shop where exotic plants were grown. Next door in the first of the small cottages was a miscellaneous shop in the front room kept by Mrs Fishlock, I would be sent there when I was a naughty boy to buy a penny cane with which I was deservedly punished. After the small cottages was Barclays Bank which later became a Fish and Chip Shop, the owner did a book making business on the side. As you know the Plough Public House is the next premises. I have seen fights outside The Plough been settled by a one Sergeant Arch who stood over six feet tall by the simple method of banging their heads together and told to behave and go home.

2026 Those cottages demolished to house a large modern building which has housed Peacocks of late (there were smaller shops previously, one being a Halewoods or Milwards shoe shop) more research required!

Over Old Church Road opposite St Mary’s Church was a Wool and Linen shop managed by Miss Evans. Higher along where Lloyds Bank now stands was the Butchers shop of Mr Sam May who also took bets on the side. He had a slaughterhouse at the back where I often watched him kill pigs and begged him for the pig’s bladder to use as a football, he never refused.

2026 Became the new site of Barclays Bank after being in one of the cottages demolished by the Plough Public House and now Coles Funeral Directors.

Along the road lived the village undertaker Mr Tom Evans whose son Mr Harry Evans carried on the business of Undertaker and Builder after him. The coffins were made at the rear of Barclays Bank, and he had a pair of magnificent black horses to pull a glass hearse. A friend of mine Mr Tom Phillips worked for Mr Harry Evans as a Mason and Pall Bearer. One day he was given the job to open a vault in St Mary’s Churchyard. He removed the stone slab entrance to the vault the day before the funeral, that night it poured with rain. On the funeral morning Tom Phillips and another bearer took the coffin to the vault with Tom going down the steps backwards. As he went down, he found himself getting colder and colder and discovered the vault was half full of water! When they placed the coffin on the stone shelf and released it floated off the shelf, so they had to weigh it down with heavy stones.

2026 The Earl Haig Site and car park behind.

Another job that Tom Phillips was given by Mr Evans was at Beulah Church in Rhiwbina. This was a very old churchyard, and the job was to open a brick grave ready for internment, Tom did this then on the day of the funeral he covered the bottom of the grave with sawdust as was the custom. Watching the coffin come from the church he went back to the grave and to his horror saw the sawdust moving, he jumped in the grave to level it thinking it was disturbed by water but as he landed, he saw two large grass snakes moving the sawdust. Jumping out in terror he saw one bag of the sawdust he had not used and poured it on the snakes and unbeknown to the mourners the coffin was lowered on top of them.

To come back to Whitchurch and Penlline Road, halfway up on the right-hand side was a very large house named Plas Y Llan owned by a man called Ignatius Williams. It was eventually demolished and the Cul De Sac Plas Y Llan with houses were built there.

Almost opposite stands the very fine Church Vicarage then higher up towards the roundabout is the Methodist Church.

Back to the right-hand side of Penlline Road and past the houses after Plas Y Llan was a grocer’s shop started by Mr Gummer which supplied the top end of the village. It is now a select gown shop named Jennifers.

2026 Now Coffee Lab.

On the other side of the roundabout is the Fine ‘Free Library’ built with in 1904 with donations from the Carnegie Foundation. The Whitchurch War Memorial stands in the front. There are Park Gardens at the rear adjoining the Whitchurch Hospital Site. This Park was used at weekends in the 1930’s by all the Jazz Bands formed by out of work Colliers from the Valleys, bringing fun and entertainment.

In the first house opposite the Park on Park Road lived a man called ‘Whisky Man’ because of his capacity for drinking. One day a workmate of mine went to the house to do a job of work. The whisky man asked him would he like to see his ducks. Thinking they were in a pond in the garden my friend made to go outside. ‘Not that way’ said whisky man ‘they are up the stairs’, my mate followed him up and there were two live ducks floating in the bath. No doubt too much whisky!

At the end of Park Road opposite the gates of Whitchurch Hospital was the Post Office that served the north of Whitchurch managed by Mr Marsden. There were also Tea Rooms for visitors to Whitchurch Hospital.

2026 Demolished for flats, Blanthorn Court. 

At the top of the hill at the extreme end of Park Road was Cardiff Railway Station Halt. Although this line went to Cardiff Docks, Sir Herbert Cory living in Coryton House preferred to walk to Llandaff Station every morning to take the train to his Business in the Docks. Every year there was a Fete in the grounds of Coryton House attended by the well-known Melingriffith Band, it was a very well attended occasion with the two beautiful daughters of Sir Herbert giving pony rides to the children. If we go back down the hill from Coryton House on the left is the very old established Hollybush Inn. By now we have been proceeding north for nearly two miles in a straight line.

2026 Coryton Railway Station, the end of the line that could have, with aforethought, been extended to join the main Radyr to Cardiff Valleys Railway but no longer because of subsequent building over the available land and most especially the A470 being built. Coryton House when the family left became the Civil Defence Headquarters for Cardiff then replaced by housing and the Village Hotel built on the kitchen gardens. The Coryton Coach house was used by British Telecom for many years and is now used as a children’s nursery (verify).

 

 

I now intend to return to College Road by Whitchurch Common and branch off.

On the left-hand side of College Road by the Whitchurch brook were the barns and cowsheds belonging to the Waun Farm, now used as a Builders Yard. The Waun farmhouse is situated just behind the Common and behind the Builders Yard, College Road but is visible from the main Merthyr Road. Lower down the road is a cluster of cottages we knew as the doll’s houses, so called for their peculiar shape and size, these houses had to have low walls built in front of them to stop the water entering when the brook overflowed. These walls are still there. Further down were the fields where the cattle from Waun Farm used to graze. There was a severe outbreak of foot and mouth disease at the farm, and a pit was dug in the field, and the cattle were killed and burnt there.

2026 Been a builder’s yard since 1946 and is now called Whitchurch Builders Merchants. They extended their site so all previous has gone… Old Nessberts Yard and Garage. Gerry Whelan’s Blacksmith works with steps to his door. Used as a motorbike club with Brian Ashleys garage below. The Brookside Club etc etc...more research needed.

Opposite the fields on College Road were a row of houses, company houses, named Taff Terrace where every tenant worked on the Taff Vale Railway. I remember an eccentric family living there who kept a donkey in the kitchen, they eventually emigrated.

Back to Brook Road that runs behind the brook by Island Cottage. The first cottage had a pump at the back of their house which supplied them with all their water. One day two neighbours quarrelled and one threw a bucket of ice-cold water over the other, you can imagine the commotion.

At the corner of Beatrice Road, the first house was occupied by an undertaker’s manager with the unusual name of River Jordan who walked to work every day in a box hat and frock tailcoat. A few doors away lived a Mr Jones who kept six ducks. The ducks spent the day on the brook but at night they walked back through the house to a shed in the back garden.

Up the road to Bishops Road.

On the corner of Bishops Road just behind the NSS Newsagent and the building which was used to cut chaff and mangoes for cattle fodder is the previously mentioned three storey Hay and Corn Shop managed by Mr Tom Samuels’s son. Next to this was Public Convenience, now gone. Then came the Parish Council Offices, the upstairs was used for Council Business and downstairs housed the Whitchurch Fire Engine, all the firemen were voluntary at that time. After was the aforementioned Post Office.

Across the road is the Police Sation where an Inspector Bennett lived who was a well-loved keeper of the peace. At that time crime in the village was virtually nil. All law breakers were duly taken to task by Inspector Bennett and were birched at the Police Station. These were rare occurrences, it was mostly a clip around the ears with a Police cape, which really hurt and the words ‘don’t do it again’. At that time if you told your father the Policeman had hit you, your father would also give you a good hiding!

2026 As mentioned before the site on the left after the old three storey building is now a medical practise and the council offices an architectural business. The Old Police Station demolished for modern flats named Bishops Gate.

 

Now onto Church Road where all the upper class lived.

In one house on the right named St Arvans lived Dr Wayne Morgan retired who kept horses in his stables with which he and his daughter used to ride with hounds. He was a real gentleman. Further up the road lived a Dr Stewart with strange medical ideas, he told one patient’s wife whose husband had pneumonia to give him an ice-cold bath. For all that he was a good doctor. At the end of the road in a very large house lived Miss Ann Powley a spinster whose father had been a sea captain. I did many jobs for this lady and one day when we were upstairs, she opened a large drawer and showed me her trousseau that had lain there for fifty years. Her father had forbidden her to get wed. She had a parrot and six Pomeranian dogs kept in the stables. The dogs were very old and blind. Halfway down on the left just before Mr Apjohn the well renowned dentist was Dr Dover’s surgery, he was one of the finest doctors of his time. He came to Whitchurch as a young man with a cycle and as his practise grew, he bought a motorcycle then later on a dark blue motorcar’s car aged it turned red. In his middle years Dr Dover was invited to take over the health of the whole Melingriffith workers Tin Plate Works. Then he had a house built on Penlline Road which is now the Conservative Party Headquarters, nothing was too much trouble for this doctor, and everyone was treated to the best of his ability.

Into Heol Don Road now starting at Benton House on the left where Mr Morgan Rees a Magistrate lived. He owned the Wire Rope Works on Caerphilly Road which was built by the Whitchurch builders Edwin Williams and Son. When sitting on the magistrates’ bench, he was known as ‘old fourteen bob’ because that was the usual fine, he doled out. The large house next door was named Vaynor and had fine gardens, next door again was Flowergate and the son of this property owner was nicknamed the Prince of Wales because he copied everything the prince wore. (Prince Edward the Eighth who later became the King who abdicated). This gentleman from Flowergate was getting wed to a Miss Sampson who lived almost opposite. The lady’s mother put on a big show having a red carpet laid down the steps from the hall and secured Mr Edwin Williams the builder to paint the drawing room ceiling an eggshell blue. When Mr Williams and I arrived to paint he was surprised to see the bride’s trousseau spread out on the settee and he asked the eccentric mother with only one eye what he should do. Mrs Sampson told him to get on with the job but in the process of painting some very spots of eggshell blue were flicked onto the pink underwear, and he said to me’ what shall I do’ I advised him to forget it as it will look like ‘shot silk’ in time! No more was said.

After the marriage the couple took an upstairs flat in Cathedral Road. One day I was sent down there to do some work, and Mrs Sampson was weeping when she opened the door at the top of the outside back stairs and I asked her what was wrong, she said I am in awful trouble as my husband has shot next door’s parrot because of its squawking on its perch in their back garden. I told her he could buy them another parrot that could not squawk but I never found out the outcome of this drama!

To come back to Heol Don at the end of the road is one of the oldest cottages in Whitchurch where the village midwife Nurse Green lived. Her husband met with a very tragic end. At one time he played cricket for Whitchurch Cricket Club and in one match the ball struck him in the throat causing him to lose his voice. He had a workshop opposite his cottage where he would repair shoes. One day the paraffin heater caught fire turning the wooden workshop into a blazing inferno, in which Mr Green lost his life.

Turning the corner to the left of Heol Don is Velindre Raod. The first building was the Electricity Depot, next to this was the Council Depot where their vehicles were kept. Then came the first row of four-bedroom Council Houses to be built in Whitchurch. The rent when they were first built was fourteen shillings a week. These houses were tenanted by folks whose roots were in Whitchurch, and I knew every one of them.

Proceeding down Velindre Road hill to the left was the Melingriffith Works so called because it started as a flour mill named Griffith Mill. The stones which ground the flour can be seen down by the Glamorgan Reservation.

2026 Site of electricity and council depot now built over with flats named Tredegar Court.

After the medieval corn flour mills closed and sometime before 1750 it was taken over by the Tin Plate Works. At one time there was a manager named Mr Spence Thomas. My grandfather was the yard foreman for years and his son my Uncle Cliff followed in his footsteps. At one time there was as many ladies as men working there. You would see them walking from Whitchurch and Llandaff North wearing white tough aprons and clogs on their feet, there were many accidents in the works, it was a very tough job. For minor injuries a salve was invented by one of the nurses called ‘Melingriffith Wax’. It consisted of a lump of brown substance like sealing wax which was made to run at the application of a match or taper and applied to a cut or burn which would heal it very quickly. The worst fatal accident I recall was to a chap called ‘Snowball’ because of his snow-white hair. There was a steel catwalk over a very large acid tank used to clean the tinplate and Snowball walked over it for some reason with his studded boots on. To everyone’s horror he slipped and fell to his death in the acid.

2026 The Melingriffith Tin and Iron Works were the largest tin plate works in the world by the end of the 18^th century; it closed in 1957. See history on Google Wikipedia.

There was a single railway line running from the works to the Tin Plate Works at Taffs Well at the Ynys. This line passed Radyr Weir on the River Taff. This was used to drive a very large power wheel by water, this wheel turned at a very fast rate and on one night shift the steel band on the edge of the wheel parted, it flew in all directions causing many injuries. My Uncle Claud who was working in the power shed at the time was so shocked that he ran down the canal bank and did not realise where he was until he reached the Gabalfa Lock! This same canal carried all manner of materials from Merthyr to Cardiff. My Uncle Tom George drove a steam barge on it, but it was mostly horse drawn barges, At Gabalfa Lock which is now Gabalfa Avenue there was a dry dock where Mr John James made and repaired canal barges.

Let’s get back to Tyn y Pwll Road, Whitchurch.

Halfway down is St Francis Road which led to the Whitchurch Cricket Ground, this flourished for many years, at one time there was a full-time groundsman called Mr Solley, He had previously played for Surrey County Cricket Club. My grandfather was once Captain of the Whitchurch Cricket Club.

2026 This area is now Whitchurch Tennis Club.

Opposite St Francis Road there was once a farm owned by Mr Billo Davies. The cows’ pasture was where St Francis Road is now. At the end of Tyn y Pwll Road was a large house named ‘The Pines’ where at one time Squire Phillips lived. At Christmastime the village boys and girls would go there singing carols, they would be given a bag of sweets and a penny for their trouble. Later on, this house was occupied by Mr Harris who kept several ponies in the stables. After this was a shop and a large bakery which supplied bread and cakes to the whole district and was owned by Mr William Evans. As children going to the boys’ school opposite, we would gaze in the shop window and crave a Chester Cake made with bread and dried fruit. This premises is now a freezer centre.

2026 The Pines is now a Dental Practice accessed from Heol Y Forlan. The original high wall still exists. Parallel to Heol Y Forlan runs Tyn y Pwll Road.

In Old Church Road at the corner by the boys’ school stood the village pump, on the other side was a Butchers shop managed by Mr Tilley. After the row of terraced houses came a large house approached by a drive and tenanted to a Mr Haddock which is opposite the Victoria Fish and Chip Shop, it is now flats.

2026 The Whitchurch Old Boys School has been demolished; it was originally built in 1855 in Tyn y Pwll Road as a Church school then in 1885 became a Board School transferring to Glamorgan County Council in 1904 renamed Eglwys Newydd then Cardiff Council in 1967 then South Glamorganshire in 1974. The school closed in the mid 1970’s and was demolished in 1991. Whitchurch Community Centre and Cwrt Eglwys Newydd were built on the site. Opposite where St Marys Court is now was Edris Evans and then Merrett’s Bakery also a Deep Freeze Caterers. The school in Glan Y Nant Road was the original girl’s school of Eglwys Newydd schools which is now a Welsh medium Primary,

Next and still almost opposite the Victoria Fish and Chip Shop was a Pawnbrokers run by a Mr Povey, then came a hairdresser Mr Horatio Thomas who had a club foot. When he left the hairdressing business, he became a private investigator. Then there were two Shoemaker shops and a Wet Fish shop. In the lane off the road first stood a general shop which has been in the Merrey family for many years and did a good trade with the patrons of the Whitchurch cinema close by. The Cinema built by Whitchurch Builder Mr Samuel Bennett was first named the Whitchurch Palace, later the name changed to the Rialto. The entrance fee to the Saturday matinee was two old pence and on occasions there was a stage show and everyone had a bag of sweets given them, the Rialto eventually made way for flats.

Retracing our steps up Old Church Road opposite Tyn y Pwll Road stands St Teilo’s, the Catholic Church. This is the first established Catholic Church to come into being in the village. Behind this there was a Fishery in the brook where trout were bred, After the church was an old building about thirty yards long by sixteen feet wide. This was the old school where my father attended. The schoolmistress Miss Meyrick was very strict and lavish with the cane. Then came the Public House the Fox and Hounds so called owing to the Foxhounds meeting there when the village Gentry went to hunt.

Over the road once stood the ancient White Church St Mary’s Church from which the village derived its name. There were some magnificent tombstones in the cemetery graveyard. One very unusual one was surrounded by heavy iron railings which were six feet high, this was the resting place of the Booker family who once lived in Velindre House which stands in the lower grounds of Whitchurch Hospital. The old Cemetery is now a ‘Garden of Rest’.

Continuing on the side of the church we are in Heol y Forlan which was originally named New Station Road owing to it leading to Whitchurch Railway Station. At the beginning of this road there were three low barns in which Mr Charley Smith supplied a Hay and Corn business. Next to this has been built the Post Office sorting office. On the opposite side of the road was Mr Poyners Milk Dairy.

At the back of Heol y Forlan was a large field where in bygone times a travelling fair would visit. I visited this fair with three friends when I was a teenager and we decided to have a ride on the Chair’ O’ Planes. I sat in the chair behind my friend’s girlfriend and as the machine gathered speed and height she began to slip out of the chair. Seeing the danger, I swung forward and gripped the girl around the waist and as the thing went at more speed my arms grew tighter, this had the effect of pulling her clothes up and showing her underwear. I held on for grim death until the attendant seeing what was happening stopped the machine. When I released the girl and she left the chair she turned around saying ‘how dare you’ and slapped my face, upon seeing this her boyfriend said, ‘fancy doing that to someone who has saved your life’. When I pass by this lady in the village she always gives me a sly grin. As I have mentioned before Heol Y Forlan leads to Whitchurch Railway Station.

2026 The Post office sorting office has now become houses called Ashchurch Close. Tyn y Parc Road begins at the junction of Heol y Forlan at the end of Old Church Road. The large field mentioned would now have Manor Way dual carriageway built through it.

As a boy during the time of the 1914-18 Great War, Whitchurch Railway Station was a gathering place after school. One of my friends and I used to watch the ambulance trains arriving carrying the wounded soldiers from the front line. These casualties were then taken by ambulances to Whitchurch Hospital which had been made part of a Military Hospital at that time. When these boys were on the mend they would wander around the village and we boys would be told lurid tales about the fighting on the frontline. Several girls in the village married some of these wounded soldiers. One chap by the name of Joe Simpson was ‘Shell Shocked’, this being an injury to the mind caused by the constant shelling from the big guns. He was from Birmingham and his sister came to visit him for a week; she stayed with us at our home in Chapel House. Upon seeing how ill her brother was her visit lasted over a month. At that time, we kept Bantam Cocks in the backyard one day one of them flew onto her head getting his feet entangled in her hair. She kept screaming ‘The Germans are here’ much to our amusement. Her brother attended the church service on a Sunday evening and when it was time for him to be back at the hospital he would stand up and say, ‘I’m sorry but I have got to go back’. When Joe Simpson recovered from his bad state he returned home and went to work at his trade as a Glass Blower. He sent me a big box of glass marbles that he had made. Joe was one of the lucky ones as some of those shell-shocked casualties never recovered.

Back to Heol y Forlan, there was an old gravel road which went over a bridge this led to the Whitchurch Golf Links, in the middle of the links was a large pond full of frogs and newts, it was also from time to time filled with stray golf balls. As lads we used to paddle into the pond to retrieve these balls and the golfers would give ius sixpence each for them. This was a small fortune to us at the time. At the end of the Golf Links was a large farm in Pantmawr Road whose pastures led to Tongwynlais, the farm was so prosperous that my aunt was once employed there as a seamstress. The farm is now a builder’s yard.

2026 Can’t remember a builder’s yard in Manor Way so must research.

Towards the Merthyr Road stood a large house called Llwyn Celyn (Hollybush) at one time it was the residence of Mossfords Monumental Masons. I always remember the Great Dane dog they owned who used to gallop down the drive like a racehorse.

2026 Was Llwyn Celyn by the Hollybush Hotel?

 

We shall now retrace our way back to Tyn Y Parc Road.

At the beginning of Tyn y Parc Road on the corner of Manor Way stood the house Minavon which was severely damaged by a land mine that dropped in the old Whitchurch Rugby Club opposite. This mine exploded and lifted off the roof of the nearby school building, by a miracle it settled back down one inch out of line. At that time there lived in Glan Y Nant Terrace a gentleman who was a little deaf. He used to sit close to his wireless set and said to his wife ‘I think the aerial must be down I will go and look. He went down the garden and returned saying to is wife ‘those dratted boys have pushed a big metal drum over the wall, and it has broken the aerial down’. This drum was a landmine that had not exploded, it was later dealt with by the Bomb Squad. All people within a mile radius were evacuated from their homes. We were living in the Chapel House, and my wife was having a bath, and we were told to go to the Beulah Chapel until it was all safe. When the mine was exploded it brought down a plaster ceiling rose about fifteen feet in diameter from the chapel ceiling.

Over the crossroads from Minavon on the Manor Way junction was the first of many farms in Tyn Y Parc Road, this was Mr Roberts farm whose daughters used to deliver the milk. Next on that side was a farm on the side of the Masons Arms Hotel. Over the road was Mr Victor Skeats farm through which the public footpath ran. This footpath is still in existence. Further along the road on the right where the Gospel Hall now stands was a very large stone archway. From this archway ran a high wall as far as Pantmawr Road (does Ernie mean Pantbach Road?). The archway led to a very large farmhouse and stable. The Tenant was a Russian noble, Count de Lucovitch, I saw the Count and his sister ride to hounds many times and they made a magnificent pair. Later this residence was tenanted by Mr Harmer who farmed extensively around Whitchurch.

2026 This area has vastly changed; The Bethesda Gospel Hall has recently been renovated to a huge church community building help with loneliness. Does the archway still exist? Does the public footpath still exist? And does Ernie mean the high wall went as far as Pantbach and not Pantmawr Road?? Need lots of verification here,

Proceeding up Tyn y Parc Road we come to the Monico Cinema. On turning left, we are on the road to Rhiwbina which is a part of Whitchurch. Down the bottom of Pantbach Road hill to the right is the old Beulah Chapel, behind is the Public Convenience which is built over the Whitchurch Brook. Down the lane opposite were the workshops of Mr Ben Thomas a well-known Rhiwbina Builder. Higher up the road on the left is the garage of Mr Smart whose father started the business there after the Great War. At the rear of the garage, he ran Tea Gardens where trippers to the Wenallt could refresh themselves before climbing the hill, which was an extremely popular pastime and making a picnic of it at holiday time. There were also some pets in the Tea Garden to amuse the children.

2026 Rhiwbina and Whitchurch were in Glamorgan, The Pantmawr Estate built over the Pantmawr Road from the Golf Course from the late 1950’s into the 60’s was considered to be in Whitchurch, it is now deemed as Rhiwbina. The Monico cinema closed in 2003, and flats were built on the site. I guess the lane mentioned opposite the Beulah Chapel is Lon Fach. Smarts Garage was family run garage for decades and became one of the first video rental shops in the 1980’s before being demolished and social housing built called Clos Yr Ardd.

Further up on the right at the start of the very long Rhiwbina Hill Road stood the Deri Farm of Mr Ivor George who farmed the land at the bottom of the Wenallt Hill. This farmer was a bit tight with his purse strings. One day one of his sheep was caught in a hedge at the bottom of the underground reservoir, failing to get it out he hailed my brother-in-law and his mate on the reservoir to come and help him. Upon the deed of extricating the poor sheep Mr George gave the tuppence for their trouble. Up the road at the side of this farm where now stands a hotel is the Wenallt Reservoir. The materials for this building were carried on an overhead skip railway from Whitchurch Railway Station. There was a double track which enabled one skip to deliver and one to return. Returning to the Deri Farm of Mr George on the junction of Wenallt Road stood a very old oak tree hence the name The Deri. This spot was at one time the terminus of the bus service.

Proceeding up Wenallt Road on passing the reservoir on our left, on the right we come to another farm. This was the Bassett Farm. Bassett Farm also had an entrance on Caerphilly Road, further along on the right was a stone quarry worked by Mr Llewellyn.

Back to the Deri.

Proceeding higher up Rhiwbina Hill Road past the turn off to Wenallt Road, we come to the Pantmawr Road junction. Proceeding just after junction we see on the right a lane which leads to a bridge of the brook. The brook at this spot was called by local inhabitants Nant Y Waedlyd which translates to Bloody Brook. It was called so because over the brook bridge is a steep field where at the top is a very big mound and history has it that once a battle was fought there and the dead soldiers blood ran into the brook then the bodies were piled on top of one another in a dug-out trench and earth shovelled on top of them. This hollow ditch can still be seen. The name of the large mound is called the Twmpath.

The Twmpath has another old wives’ tale …many years ago a cobbler coming down Rhiwbina Hill with a sack of shoes on his back ready to repair. As he got to the lane leading to the Twmpath there was a great flash of lightening & when he opened his eyes from the glare a huge man was standing in front of him carrying a great shovel of earth on his shoulder and he asked the cobbler ‘how many chapels are there in the Rhondda Valley?’ and when questioned the man said ‘I am going to dam the Taff River with this shovel of earth to drown the too good people there’. Now sensing that he was being confronted by the Devil the cobbler said it is a very long way to walk there. ‘How far’ asked the Devil. Upon this the cobbler turned his sack of shoes onto the ground and said I have worn out all these shoes walking from there. Hearing this the Devil said, ‘much too far’ and with that he threw the great shovel of earth onto the field where now is the Twmpath!

A mile or so continuing along Rhiwbina Hill there is a sharp left-hand bend into Heol Y Fforest where you travel through a beautiful forest downhill road until you reach a wonderful fairy tale castle called Castell Coch. This is the beginning of the north of Tongwynlais which once came under the jurisdiction of Caerphilly Council and the Cardiff Rural District before becoming a sister village to Whitchurch. Down the hill from the castle on the left are Council Houses at the back of which ran a brook in which wonderful beds of watercress grew. Lower down were kennels which housed the pack of Greenmeadow hounds. A few yards further on was the Band Hall built to accommodate the Tongwynlais Band. At the start of the band practising, they had a very smart Bandmaster Mr Evan Jones who was a Sanitary Inspector, he looked magnificent with his black and gold uniform marching in front of the band.

Along the same road which has changed its name to Mill Road since the entrance of Castell Coch, we come to the junction at Merthyr Road where there are three public houses, The Lewis Arms, The Cardiff Castle and the Old Ton Inn.

2026 Only the Lewis Arms remain.

Turning left and travelling southwards down the Merthyr Road towards Whitchurch we pass the St Michael and All Angels Parish Church. Then on the right is the Tongwynlais Primary School. On the side of the school is Ironbridge Road named because when the Glamorganshire Canal was in use there was an iron bridge over it. Over the iron bridge on the right-hand side stood a mill where I can remember a big mill wheel working driven by the brook which ran down underneath it. This ground is now built on. To the left are that are the ‘Long Woods’ which pathways end at the Melingriffith works in Whitchurch.

There was once a well in these woods and a ghost of a lady in white was reputed to have been seen there.

Back to Merthyr Road, Tongwynlais on which crossing Ironbridge Road and to your left you come to the entrance of a large house called ‘Greenmeadow’. Where at one time the Squire of the village Colonel Henry Lewis lived, he had the reputation of being a kind and feeling man. My great grandmother at that time was District Nurse for the area and she attended the birth of one of the Lewis children. There are two children of the family who died young and are buried in the old ‘White’ Church Cemetery in Old Church Road, Whitchurch.

2026 Greemeadow House and outbuildings were demolished after the 1939-45 War and the vast Greenmeadow Council Estate built.

At one time one of the ladies of the Lewis family was courted by Mr Benjamin Disraeli who was at one time Prime Minister of England. He would travel down to Llandaff North and reside at the Cow and Snuffers Hotel, this is commemorated by his face on a headstone which is fixed above the front window and can be seen there today, He would proceed to Greenmeadow to pay his respects to the lady whom he did eventually marry. It is believed there is a ghost at Greenmeadow and having heard of it my son who was about sixteen at the time went up to the house which had been vacant for some time. On reaching it in the light of the moon he watched for the ghost but on arriving home in fear he said he had only heard the loud sound of galloping horses’ hooves close to him but not seen them and vowed never to visit there again.

At the mention of ghosts may I relate a very strange occurrence which happened at my home 82 Merthyr Road, Whitchurch about forty years ago. My son slept in the back bedroom in his teens and in training for cycle racing against Reg Harris the Racing Cycle Champion. He would train many miles during nighttime. My wife and I slept in the front bedroom and some nights we heard the scaping noise of our large rim lock on our bedroom door, and it slowly opened. My son was out cycle training so we were alone in the house, this went on for about a year then one afternoon my wife was standing in our bedroom in front of the mirror combing her hair when she felt a hand gripping her free bare forearm but could see nothing, she screamed and when I returned from work she showed me the bruise marks of four fingers and a thumb, but that incident ended these strange occurrences in the house.

2026 82 Merthyr Road is a terraced house next door but one to ‘Talking Heads’ Hairdresser and opposite the Mangal Cuisine Turkish Restaurant.

In my school days there was not such a thing as Secondary education in Whitchurch. You either left school at fourteen or pay to win a scholarship at Penarth County School, Caerphilly Technical College or pay to go to university. It was just prior to the 1939-45 War that the High School on Glan Y Nant Terrace/Manor Way and the Penlline Road Grammar School were built. The Grammar School on Penlline Road was built by an eccentric builder named Jack Makin who used to ride to his various building sites on an old cycle. He had a habit of sliding down the scaffold poles to surprise lagging workmen, this habit was cured at the building of Whitchurch Grammar School by the simple act of driving in halfway a few large headed Lath nails. A school friend of mine was working on the site and one day Jack Makin told him to go home and when he asked why he was told ‘it will pay me better’. That was the way he gave my friend the sack.

At one time in my teens there was a small Eisteddfod held in the fields where the Grammar school now stands. Many choirs, singers and reciters entered this affair. The different bands of choirs were placed in all the Skittle alleys of the Public Houses and in the various side halls of many village chapels to practise the pieces they would be performing at the Eisteddfod. There was also a competition among the surrounding schools for the pupils best handwriting, I entered this event and won second prize. My headmaster was so proud he paraded me around the Whitchurch Old Boys School classrooms to show me as an example of good handwriting.  This headmaster was named Mr Samuel Jones the son of a Neath Miner, he once taught me to make brickettes out of small coal which added to the life of a coal fire. The small coal was sprinkled with a little cement & water then placed into a wooden mould which when placed on the fire would burn slowly with the coals. This method was taken up by a few firms who made the fuel the shape and size of a large egg. They marketed it under the name of ‘Patent Fuel’.

I must make mention of a very fine young Methodist Minister who came to Tabernacle Chapel to preach the Gospel before the 1939-45 War. We were the same age and became friends then when I was discharged from the Army in 1943, he did much to rehabilitate me, shortly afterwards he became an Army Chaplain serving with an Anti-Aircraft Battery as I had done. While on Service in Italy he took hundreds of Italian prisoners unarmed…they must have come to his Field Service. Also, out in the firing line he wrote a small book entitled ‘The Victorious Cross’, he autographed one and gave it to me which I highly treasure. He married a Whitchurch girl and the last I heard was that he held a high position a North Wales Religious College. He must be retired by now.

Before I end this epistle to Whitchurch, I would like to mention ‘The Parade’ which runs above Llandaff North Railway Station. There are many fine houses in this road which leads to a steep hill, at the bottom of this hill turning right you come to a steep drive which leads to a large house called Great House Farm. Here lived a family whose son David was my uncle. His father kept many carthorses of which he had the job of hauling all the materials used to build Whitchurch Hospital. My uncle used to tell me of what they thought was a ghost at home. It was the sound of a lion’s roar. Taking down a crumbling stone wall, they came across an iron door they did not know existed, upon prising this open there was a roar like a lion. When they filled in the doorway of the wall the ‘ghost’ roar was not heard again.

Well, I have written from end to end of Whitchurch leaving out the streets of least interest. Now I should like to relate one of my Wartime experiences of 1943.

I had been discharged from the army and was working at repairing war damage for the firm of Hewett’s in Talygarn Street, Cathays. One night the air raid siren started, and my aunt wife son and I went downstairs to the middle room and took cover under the Morrison Table Shelter, when the enemy planes came roaring overhead, it became like hell let loose, the ground was shaking with the amount of bombs dropped then about four am the all clear sounded. After a few hours’ sleep, I got up to go to work. Mounting my cycle outside Chapel House I proceeded down the main Road past the Common towards Cardiff. Upon reaching what is now the beginning of Manor Way Dual Carriageway I had to dismount my cycle owing to the fact there was about three inches of earth and rubble on the main road. This had been thrown up with the blast of a bomb that had taken two pairs of semi-detached houses clean out of row of houses at Violet Row at the side of the main road. Trudging through this earth and rubble with the cycle on my shoulder I went about fifty tards before I could remount my cycle. On reaching the Cross Inn Hotel I met a friend who was also in the building trade, and I asked him where he had been and he told me he had been digging them out in St Agnes Road and most of the road has been raised to the ground.

Pedalling down Whitchurch Road I had to dismount my cycle again, on reaching Maitland Street there was about two inches of glass across the road as far as the Barracks Fields which is now built on. When I reached Mr Hewett’s yard where I worked as a Foreman, I was informed that Allensbank Crescent had been bombed so I went around to see if I could help. Most of the side of the street was in ruins but two of the houses were only roofless. Getting a ladder, I went up to the first roof to see what materials I would need to repair both. Looking next door, I could see a large tombstone resting on the ceiling joists, it had been blown up from the Allensbank Cemetery about a hundred yards away and had to be removed by crane, it was a very hard and sad job on War Damage at that time.

2026 The Barracks Field has Companies House built on it.

I have tried to give the reader a hit of Whitchurch history ‘from end to end’. Also hope I will be forgiven for a little autobiography.

THOMAS ERNEST BROAD

Postscript

They say what is ‘nearest to the eye is farthest to the mind’. This must be the reason for me omitting to write anything about The Maltsters Arms Hotel. It is situated near the brook and only a stone’s throw from where I live. At one time it had a plain whitewashed front with no bay windows or projecting flat roof. There were iron rings set in the wall at the front which were used to tether the horses ridden by customers, also there were two pillars of stone against the front wall which were used as mounting blocks for the horsemen who visited there. At the side of the Public House were two thatched cottages where once beer was brewed, thus the name The Maltsters Arms. These cottages had oak flooring boards twelve inches wide and an inch thick, this were supported by a large oak beam which I think is still there, the shop in front facing Merthyr Road was once a Drapers shop owned by Mr Jack Lewis who lived at Summerfield Close.  Mr Lewis gave up the business it was taken over by Mr Dan Phillips who ran it for many years employing three lady assistants, he was that busy. In about 1930 he purchased three terraced houses opposite his shop which he turned into shops. One was occupied by Mr Dan Morgan a Butcher, the second was Prangleys Wet Fish Shop and the third was a Chinese Laundry whose name escapes me. I have well-travelled friends who say ‘I wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world but Whitchurch’, it has a friendly kindly and good neighbourly atmosphere you will not find in many places. That is why it is a much-desired residential area.

THE END

2026 The Drapers Shop is probably now Villagio Restaurant? The other shops mentioned opposite maybe Talking Heads Hairdresser, Brooks Bistro, Millenium Blinds, Viney Hearing Care MGY Estate Agents and Terrys Hairdresser. Across Blandon Way are more shops until Bishops Road.

 

Some research on Thomas Ernest Broad Born 1910 in Whitchurch.

In the 1911 Census Ernie is recorded age 1, living with his parents George Broad (1885-1960) and Gwenllian Frances Broad (1892-1972) living at the house of George 42, Louisa 39 and Herbert Stephens 18, at 81 Merthyr Road. Ernie’s parents married in 1909.   Number 81 is Tabernacle Church.

1921 Census it’s just Ernie 11 with George and Louisa Stephens and lodger Ed Solly 39, Single and a Groundsman for Whitchurch Cricket Club at 81 Merthyr Road. Ernie’s parents had moved to 26 College Road (a former Cardiff Council house) with younger children Douglas 8 and Margery 5.

1921 Census. 9 Grange Terrace, Llwynypia, Rhondda. Maggie Hadridge age 12 with her family. Joshua 49 Coal Hewer at Glam Colliery, Harriet 40, James 20, Joshua 18, Ivy 14, Maggie 12, Doris 10, Beryl 9, Thelma 9. Cassie 17 working away.

1928 Marriage of Ernie to Margaret A Hadridge at Kingston, Surrey.

1932 October, Raymond T Broad their son is born.

1937 Cardiff Directory records their family address as 15 Violet Place with Margaret Ann Broad.

1939 Census. Margaret Broad is living with George and Louisa Stephens at 81 Merthyr Road.

1939 Directory. Ernie and Margaret living at 15 Violet Place.

1939 Census. George Broad born 14 Aug 1885, Gwenllian born 6 July 1891, Margery later Holloman born 24 June 1915 and Mary later Drucker born 28 Feb 1922. All living at 26 College Road. (Ernie’s parents and sisters.)

1946 Register of Electors: Thomas E living at 82 Merthyr Road with Margaret Broad and Raymond T Broad and also a Joshua Hadridge. Then over the road at number 81 Merthyr Road (The Chapel House) lived Louisa M Stephens and Margaret Broad.

1970 Register of Electors. Raymond and Patricia (nee Thompson) live 12 Cae’r Berllan, Pencoed, Glam.

1980 Maggie died age 71.

1997 In August, Ernie died age 8.7