Cadeirydd Eric Smith / Hydref 2016 Wel am haf prysur cawsom unwaith eto fel Grŵp Hanes! Ar wahân i’r ffaith bod Cymru wedi gwneud mor dda yn y pêl-droed bu’r tywydd yn ffafriol i ni hefyd. Cynhaliwyd ein cyfarfodydd misol fel arfer yng Nghapel Peniel, ar gyntaf ohonynt oedd cyflwyniad gan John Lawson-Reay a’i wraig Barbara. Daethant atom ar fyr rybudd i son yn gyntaf am fadau achub Llandudno dros y blynyddoedd ac yn ail am y cynlluniau ar gyfer yr Orsaf newydd yng Nghraig y Don a’r cwch newydd a gomisiynwyd gan yr RNLI. Ym Mehefin cawsom ein tywys o amgylch Fynwent y Gogarth gan Adrian er mwyn iddo ddangos i ni lle claddwyd rhai o enwogion y fro. Roedd y rhain yn cynnwys James Cecil Parke (1881-1946) a wnaeth enw iddo’i hyn fel chwaraewr tenis o fri, a Llewelyn Roberts (1882-1939) a fu’n Prif Beiriannydd ar brif long Cwmni Cunard sef Queen Mary ar ei fordaith gyntaf o Southampton. 
Yn ystod y mis hefyd, roedd gennym stondin yn garej Vicky ar adeg Diwrnod y Prom ac fe ddangoswyd cryn ddiddordeb yn y cyflwyniad ffilm a baratowyd gan Vicky am anturiaethau’r Lido amser maith yn ôl. Yng Ngorffennaf aeth dros 50 ohonom ar fordaith o amgylch Ynys Seiriol, i lawr y Fenai ac o amgylch Ynys Môn ar y Balmoral. Ni amharwyd ar y diwrnod gan y tywydd nad oedd yn rhy ffafriol. Yn ddiweddarach yn y mis ymwelwyd â Chastell Gwydir ger Llanrwst i glywed am ymdrechion perchnogion y ‘Castell’, Judy Corbett a Peter Welford i adfer yr adeilad hynafol.
Pan feddiannwyd yr adeilad ganddynt, roedd mewn cyflwr truenus ac mewn perygl o ddadfeilio ymhellach. Ceir hanes am eu hymdrechion yn llyfr Judy “Castles in the Air” a gyhoeddwyd gan Wasg Ebury yn 2004. Ar 3ydd Medi daeth ein hymdrechion i osod y Panel Gwybodaeth ger Ffynnon Santes Fair yn Llanrhos i ben pan gafodd ei ddadorchuddio yn swyddogol gan Faer Conwy. Cefnogwyd ein gwaith yn ariannol gan nifer o fudiadau ac rydym yn ddiolchgar iawn i bob un ohonynt am eu cyfraniadau. Mae’r gwaith yma yn dangos pa mor rhagweithiol yr ydym fel Grŵp bychan yn gwneud ein rhan i ddod a hanes ein cymdogaeth i sylw’r cyhoedd. Diolch i bawb a fu’n gysylltiedig â’r fenter. 
Yn anffodus, oherwydd yr anawsterau a gafwyd yn y gorffennol i gael aelodau’r Grŵp i ymuno a ni ar ein gwibdeithiau, bu’n rhaid canslo’r ymweliad i Ironbridge a Coalbrookdale. Pan gawn fynegiad positif yn y dyfodol, o ddymuniad am y fath yma o ddigwyddiad, byddwn yn ddigon balch a pharod i symud ymlaen i’w trefnu. Mae gennym raglen lawn ag amrywiol ar eich cyfer am weddill y flwyddyn i’w cynnal yng Nghapel Peniel fel a ganlyn: Medi 15 – Cofebion yr Ail Ryfel Byd yn Neganwy gan Adrian Hughes Hydref 20 – Deganwy yn y Canol Oesoedd gan Vicky ag Elan Rivers Tachwedd 6 – Cinio Blynyddol yng Ngwesty Paysanne – y gŵr gwadd fydd Cai Ross a’r testun bydd ffilmiau a gynhyrchwyd yng Ngogledd Cymru Tachwedd 17 – Cyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol i’w ddilyn gyda sgwrs gan John Griffiths am Mulberry Harbour. Rhagfyr 3 – Diwrnod Agored – Adolygiad o ddatblygiad pentref Deganwy trwy’r blynyddoedd. Os oes gennych unrhyw beth a fyddai’n cyfrannu at y digwyddiad hwn, byddwn yn falch o glywed gennych. Unwaith eto rydym yn gofyn am stiwardiaid i wirfoddoli ar gyfer y digwyddiad yn ogystal â gofyn am gyfraniadau tuag at y raffl. Yn ystod misoedd y gaeaf, rydym unwaith eto yn gobeithio cael cyfranogiad gennych chi, yr aelodau, i geisio darganfod tarddiad enwau tai ag enwau strydoedd yn ardal Deganwy. Mae gennym nifer o gopïau o lyfr Betty Mills ‘Flowers on a Path’ felly, gyda’r Nadolig ar y gorwel, dyma gyfle gwych i chi ddatrys y broblem o anrhegion. Fe hoffem hefyd clywed gennych os oes gennych unrhyw syniadau ar sut y gellir gwella neu ychwanegu at weithgareddau’r Grŵp. Mae mwy o fanylion ar gael am yr holl ddigwyddiadau hyn ar ein gwefan www.deganwyhistory.co.uk neu cysylltwch â’r Ysgrifennydd ar ifor42@gmail.com. am fwy o wybodaeth. Rydym yn anfon ein dymuniadau gorau i’r holl aelodau unwaith eto ac yn edrych ymlaen am dymor hapus a llwyddiannus. Medi 2016
Chairman Eric Smith / Autumn 2016 What a busy summer we’ve had once again as a History Group! As well Wales doing so well in the football in France, the weather has been particularly favourable as well. Our monthly meetings were held as usual in Peniel Chapel, the first being a presentation by John Lawson-Reay and his wife Barbara. They came, at short notice, to talk in the first place about Llandudno lifeboats over the years and secondly about the proposals for the new Lifeboat Station at Craig y Don and the new lifeboat commissioned by the RNLI. In June, Adrian took us on a guided tour of the Great Orme Cemetery and showed us the graves of some notable people from the area buried there. These include James Cecil Parke (1881-1946) the renowned tennis player, and Llewelyn Roberts (1882- 1939) who was the Chief Engineer on Cunard Company’s ship the Queen Mary on her maiden voyage from Southampton. Also in June, the Group had a stand in Vicky’s garage on Prom Day and much interest was expressed in the film presentation prepared by Vicky of past times at the Lido many years ago. In July, over 50 of us went on a voyage on the Balmoral which took us around Puffin Island, down the Menai Straits and onward around the Isle of Anglesey. The inclement weather did not spoil the enjoyment of the day. 
Later in the month we visited Gwydir Castle near Llanrwst to hear about the valiant efforts of the owners of the ‘Castle’, Judy Corbett and Peter Welford to restore the ancient building. When they took ownership of the building, it was in a pitiful state and its condition in danger of deteriorating further. The story of their efforts can be found in Judy’s book “Castles in the Air” published by Ebury Press in 2004. The 3rd September, saw the culmination of our efforts to erect the Information Panel at St Mary’s Well at Llanrhos when it was officially unveiled by the Mayor of Conwy. The project was supported financially by a number of organisations and we are extremely grateful to each one of them for their contributions. This work shows how proactive we are as a small Group doing our bit in presenting the history of our neighbourhood to the attention of the public. Many thanks to everybody involved in the venture.
plaque installed
Unfortunately we’ve had to cancel the proposed field trip to Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale because of difficulties in the past in securing sufficient Group members to support such trips. When we get a positive indication of support from the members for such trips in the future, we will be delighted to go ahead and make the necessary arrangements. We have prepared a full and varied programme of events for you for the rest of the year, to be held in Peniel Chapel as follows: September 15 – 2nd World War Memorials in Deganwy by Adrian Hughes October 20 – Deganwy in the Middle Ages by Vicky Macdonald and Elan Rivers November 6 – Annual Lunch at Paysanne – Guest speaker – Cai Ross who will give a presentation on the subject of films produced in North Wales November 17 – AGM followed by a presentation by John Griffiths about Mulberry Harbour. December 3- Open Day – A review of the development of the village of Deganwy through the years. If you have anything you may feel would contribute to this event, we would be glad to hear from you. Once again we would ask for volunteer stewards for the day as well as contributions to the raffle. We are hoping to arrange another member participation exercise over the winter months, where we will seek your help in discovering the origins of house names and street names in the Deganwy area. We still have a number of copies of Betty Mills’ book ‘Flowers on a Path’ so, with Christmas on the horizon, it would make a perfect gift for your nearest and dearest. We would also like to hear from you if you have any ideas for improving or increasing the activities of the Group. Further details of all these events can be found on our website www.deganwyhistory.co.uk or please contact the Secretary at ifor42@gmail.com for any further information. We send our best wishes to all our members and we are once again looking forward to a happy and successful season. September 2016