Cadeirydd – Mrs Elan Rivers
Nadolig 2012
Rhif. 10
Daw’r rhifyn Nadolig hwn o Daflen Newyddion Grŵp Hanes Deganwy gyda chyfarchion y Tymor i’n holl aelodau.
Fel y gwelwch o frig y Daflen, Mrs Elan Rivers yw Cadeirydd newydd y Grŵp yn dilyn ymadawiad diweddar Jason i’r UD o ganlyniad i’w ddyrchafiad yn ei swydd. Bu Jason yn Gadeirydd ar y Grŵp ers ei ffurfio yn 2009 ac rydym yn hynod o ddiolchgar iddo am ei arweiniad yn y cyfnod hwn. Rydym yn ei longyfarch rŵan ar ei lwyddiant ac yn dymuno’n dda iddo ef a’i deulu at y dyfodol. Mae Jason yn parhau i fod yn aelod o’r Grŵp ac mae yna restr fer o aelodau sydd eisiau mynd allan i’r UD i gasglu ei danysgrifiad! Rydym yn hynod o ddiolchgar a ffodus bod Elan wedi cytuno i gamu i mewn i’r swydd a chymryd yr awenau. Fel sy’n hysbys i chi i gyd, mae Elan wedi bod yn weithgar iawn, nid yn unig efo’n Grŵp ni ond efo llawer o fudiadau eraill.
Gwyn Hughes
Ers y rhifyn diwethaf o’r Daflen Newyddion bu’r Grŵp yn weithgar iawn a dechreuwyd ar raglen tymor yr hydref gyda sgwrs ddarluniadol gan Gwyn Hughes am y trychineb a ddigwyddodd yng nghoedwig Marl yn Chwefror 1944, pan ddaeth Awyren Avro Anson Mk 1 o Faes Awyr Mona i lawr gan ladd y pum awyrennwr. Awyren Hyfforddi Llyw-wyr oedd hon. Roedd sgwrs Gwyn i’r gynulleidfa fwyaf eto o dros 70, yn cynnwys rhai llygaid dystion, yn eithaf emosiynol. Mae Gwyn wedi gwneud llawer o waith ymchwil ar y pwnc, ac wedi cysylltu â pherthnasau rhai o’r dynion a laddwyd. Ei nod rŵan yw gosod plac coffaol yng nghyffiniau’r man lle ddigwyddodd y trychineb.
Ym mis Hydref cawsom sgwrs gan Philip Evans am yr Ysgol Danio Arfordirol a leolwyd ar lethrau isaf ochr orllewinol y Gogarth. Erbyn hyn, mae’n safle tawel ym Mharc Gwledig Pen y Gogarth, ond yn y 1940’au bu’n cyrchfan i gannoedd o filwyr a anfonwyd yna am hyfforddiant gynnau, diwifr a chwilolau.
Twnnel Conwy
Ein gŵr gwadd yn Nhachwedd oedd John Hawley, a chafwyd sgwrs ddarluniadol ganddo am adeiladu Twnnel Conwy, gwaith y bu ef yn gysylltiedig â’i adeiladu. Rhoddodd manylion hefyd am y dewisiadau o lwybrau eraill a ystyriwyd i osgoi ardal Deganwy a Chonwy. Ym mis Medi fe’n gwahoddwyd i gynnal Arddangosfa 2012 yn ‘Oriel Y Bont’ yn Adeilad y Cynulliad yng Nghyffordd Llandudno. Unwaith eto, cawsom nifer o sylwadau canmoliaethus am gynnwys yr Arddangosfa.
Aeth ein gwibdaith flynyddol a ni ar Reilffordd yr Ucheldir o Gaernarfon i Borthmadog ac yna i ymweld ag Oriel Celf hynaf Cymru ym Mhlas Glyn y Weddw yn Llanbedrog. Adeiladwyd y Plasty gan y Fonesig Elisabeth Jones Parry o Madryn ym 1857 a chawsom sgwrs hynod o ddiddorol am hanes yr adeilad a’r teulu ac am y goedwig gerllaw a adferwyd yn ddiweddar. Yna aethom ymlaen i Eglwys Beuno Sant yng Nghlynnog Fawr, lle daethom ar draws barti o ganwyr clychau o Ynysoedd Scilly a glywsom yn canu clychau Eglwys Llanbedrog yn gynharach. Yna cawsom sgwrs am yr Eglwys hanesyddol a’i rôl ar lwybr y pererinion ar eu taith i Ynys Enlli. Daeth ein diwrnod i ben gyda phryd ysblennydd yng Ngwesty Meifod Bontnewydd.
Y newyddion trawiadol arall yn ystod y cyfnod hwn yw llwyddiant y Grŵp i gael grant o Gronfa Treftadaeth y Loteri. Bydd y grant yn cael ei ddefnyddio i helpu i greu cofnod gweledol a chlywedol o atgofion pobl am Ddeganwy. Enw prosiect ein grant yw ‘Ein Holl Hanesion – Dehongli Hanes Deganwy – Ymchwil trwy Gymorth Gweledol’. A dyma le rydym angen eich help chi. Rydym yn awyddus iawn i gofnodi eich atgofion personol chi, naill ai yn hanesion, cardiau post, llythyrau, ffotograffau ayb o Ddeganwy yn y dyddiau a fu. Felly dyma’ch cyfle i fynd i’r atic i weld faint o drysorau cuddiedig y gallwch ddarganfod! Bydd y prosiect yn rhedeg tan fis Hydref 2013, ac erbyn hynny rydym yn gobeithio, gyda llawer o help gennych chi, bydd gennym groes doriad eithaf cynhwysfawr o sut le oedd Deganwy ar droad y 19eg ganrif. Rydym ar hyn o bryd hefyd yn chwilio am syniadau am logo addas ar gyfer y Grŵp, felly dyma fwy o waith i’r rhai mwyaf artistig o’n haelodau i roi cynnig arni dros y Nadolig ac i gyflwyno eich syniadau. Unwaith eto mae ein Diwrnod Agored yn dangos, mewn geiriau a lluniau, yr amryw weithgareddau a gyflawnwyd gan y Grŵp yn ystod 2012.
Mwynhewch. Unwaith eto, mae’r Pwyllgor yn dymuno Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i’n holl aelodau.
Nadolig 2012
Chair – Mrs Elan Rivers
Christmas 2012
No. 10
Elan Rivers
This Christmas edition of the History of Deganwy Group Newsletter comes wishing all our members the compliments of the Season As you will see from the heading of the Newsletter, Mrs Elan Rivers is our new Chairman following the recent departure of Jason to the US as a result of his promotion in his post. Jason has been the Chairman of the Group since it was founded in 2009 and we are tremendously grateful to him for his leadership during this period. We congratulate him on his success and send him and his family every good wish for the future. Jason continues to be a member of the Group and there is a short list of members wanting to go out to the States to collect his subscription! We are extremely grateful and fortunate that Elan has agreed to step into the breach and taken over as Chairman. Elan’s contribution, not only to our Group, but to other groups is widely recognised.
Avro Anson MK 1
Since the last Newsletter the Group has again been very active and our autumn programme started with an illustrated talk by Gwyn Hughes about the tragedy which occurred in Marl Woods in February 1944, when an Avro Anson Mk 1 Navigational Trainer Aircraft from Mona Airfield came down killing all five airmen. Gwyn’s talk to a record audience of over 70, including some eye witnesses, was quite emotional. Gwyn has done such a lot of research on this subject, having contacted the relatives of some of those who were killed. His aim now is to have a commemorative plaque located in the vicinity of the site where the tragedy occurred.
In October we had a talk by Philip Evans about the Coast Artillery School located on the lower slopes of the west side of the Great Orme. Although it is now a tranquil spot in the Great Orme Country Park, but in the 1940’s it played host to hundreds of soldiers who had been seconded there for gunnery, wireless and searchlight training.
In November our guest speaker, John Hawley gave an illustrated talk about the construction of Conwy Tunnel, work with which he was directly involved. He also gave details of the alternative routes which had been considered to avoid the Deganwy and Conwy area.
In September, our 2012 Exhibition was displayed, by special invitation, at ‘Oriel Y Bont’ in the Welsh Assembly Building in Llandudno Junction. Once again we had many complimentary comments about the contents of the Exhibition.
Our annual outing this year took us on the Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and then to visit Wales’ oldest Art Gallery at Plas Glyn y Weddw in Llanbedrog. The house, Plas Glyn y Weddw was built by Lady Elisabeth Jones Parry of Madryn in 1857 and we were given a very interesting talk about the history of the building and the family and the recently restored woodland. From here we proceeded to St Beuno’s Church in Clynnog Fawr where we met some visiting bell ringers from the Isles of Scilly who we had heard earlier in Llanbedrog.. We were given a talk about the historic Church and its role on the pilgrim’s trail to Bardsey Island. We finished off the day with a splendid meal at Meifod Country House Hotel in Bontnewydd.
The other outstanding news for this period is the Group‘s success in obtaining a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund grant. The grant will be used to help to create a visual and audio record of people’s memories of Deganwy. The title of our grant project is ‘All Our Stories – Interpreting the History of Deganwy – Research through Visual Aids’. And this is where you come in. We are most anxious to record your own personal memories, be they anecdotes, photographs, postcards, letters, etc. of Deganwy in order to have a record of Deganwy in bygone days. So here’s your opportunity to pop into the attic to see what hidden treasures you can unearth! The project will run until October 2013, by which time we hope, with a lot of help from you, to have a fairly comprehensive cross section view of how Deganwy was at the turn of the 19th century We are also at the present time trying to find a suitable logo design for the Group, so here’s a little more work for the more artistic of our readers to spend a little time over the Christmas period to submit any ideas of your own.
Our annual Open Day is once again on display to illustrate in words and pictures the Group’s many activities during 2012.
Enjoy. Once again, the Committee wishes a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our members.
Christmas 2012