Newsletter 22

Chairman – Eric Smith …..Newsletter no.22

A warm welcome to you to our Annual Open Day with Christmas time upon us once again! Where does time go?

It’s a pleasure to greet you and to record all of the Group’s activities since our last Newsletter.

Our autumn series of talks in September kicked off with a presentation by Adrian Hughes, a member of the History Group, about the young men from Deganwy who died in the First World War and who’s names appear on the war memorial at All Saints Church. We were given a vivid picture of life in the village at this time, but it was so very sad to hear about the loss of a generation of young men from one village.

Adrian Hughes

When will we ever learn?

In October, because of her incapacity, Vicky Macdonald’s talk about Maelgwn Gwynedd and early Deganwy was given by Elan Rivers.

Vicky Macdonald

Elan Rivers

Both of course are members of the History Group and we are so fortunate that our members can collaborate in such a way. Elan then gave her own talk about the history of Deganwy and North Wales during the medieval period.

We held our Annual lunch in November, at the Paysanne Restaurant in the village. Our guest speaker was mine host, Cai Ross and apart from giving his talk, he was also responsible for feeding us. His presentation about the films produced in North Wales was extremely entertaining and it was interesting to hear about the famous celebrities from the film world who had eaten at his restaurant.

Following the Group’s AGM in November, John Griffiths,

another History Group member, gave an illustrated presentation about the building of the Mulberry Harbour on the Morfa at Conwy during the 2^nd World War’ and the contribution of the local man Iorys Hughes to this work under the instruction from 10 Downing Street.

At our AGM, reference was made to the contribution of all the Committee members to the Group’s work from week to week and we are very grateful to each one of them for this. Congratulations to John Griffiths, Vicky Macdonald and Arfon Williams on their re-election to the Committee. Congratulations also to Lucinda Smith on her election to the Committee for the first time.

At our Open Day you will have an opportunity to re-enrol your History Group membership for 2017. The fee has remained the same at £12 for the year and £2.50 for visitors who call in for the occasional meetings. Thanks to Adrian for preparing the Open Day for us. This year’s theme is ‘Deganwy and its People’. You will have the opportunity to buy raffle tickets and we are very grateful to those who have provided the prizes. One of this year’s prizes is a notable Kyffin Williams print.

In looking back over the year it is good to remind ourselves of what we have achieved. Undoubtedly the one thing that stays in the memory is the unveiling of the Interpretation Panel at St Mary’s Well at Llanrhos by the Mayor of Conwy.

The Panel itself is a piece of special craftsmanship that has added to the dignity of the site. Go over there to have a look when you get the opportunity. In 2017 we are hoping to erect a fence and gate around the site that will blend in with the ambience of the place. We are extremely grateful to everybody who contributed towards the cost of the Panel and for the fence and gate to be erected, namely Conwy Town Council, the County Council, Hafod, the Gaynor Cemlyn-Jones Trust and Gwynt y Môr Community Fund. We are very anxious to keep the site in a tidy condition, so if you would like to be part of the Well maintenance team, we’d be glad to hear from you.

We have a full and varied programme for you in 2017 which we hope you will continue to support.

At our first meeting on 19 January, Erin Lloyd Jones will give a lecture on the Prehistoric Hillforts of North Wales and the Borders.

Erin Lloyd Jones

Our guest speakers for the rest of the forthcoming season are as follows:-

February 16 –

Conservation of Historic Buildings, with Elinor Gray- Williams

March 16- ‘Snippets of History’ where individual Group members have volunteered to speak about certain aspects of history which are of interest to them.

April 20 – Gwrych Castle – Mark Baker

May 18 – Visit to Gwrych Castle

We hope that the above menu is tasty enough to entice you to join the Group and its activities.

BARGAIN! We have a special offer at the moment with Betty Mills’ book ‘Flowers on a Path’, on sale from now until the end of January only, at a reduced price of £2.50 for one copy or 3 copies for £5 so take advantage of this bargain, an ideal gift for your friends and family this Christmas. Income from the sale of the book goes to the History Group funds,