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A collection of Welsh wartime songs…

A unique collection of Welsh songs from the First World War will be launched at the National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny this year. The author, Meic Birtwistle, along with Welsh folk singer and harpist Siân James, will present Rhyfelgan   in a special event at the Tŷ Gwerin on Wednesday, 3 August at 3pm.

A century after the First World War, this book features Welsh-language songs composed and sung at the time, some in support of the war, others expressing vociferous opposition to it.

A number of the songs haven’t seen the light of day for a hundred years, and many of them are published here for the very first time.

The author’s interest in these compositions began when he learnt that one of his relatives, John Volander Jones – a minister, writer and keen supporter of David Lloyd George – was in fact the author of a number of popular Welsh songs about the war.

Meic Birtwistle says: “It’s often the case that soldiers who have been through war don’t want to discuss their experiences. This was true of my father and his experience of the Second World War. This is why it’s so important that such wars are not forgotten, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that this doesn’t happen”.

“A century after the Great War, I feel that there’s been a tendency to sanitize and moralize the war, and portray it as a just war. However, that’s not how I was taught about it in school, in college or by my community and family. One of the aims of this book is to

highlight the voices raised – in song – against this unnecessary fighting.”

“My family’s history has given me a distinct perspective and responsibility to study and declare my conclusions about the use of songs to support or oppose the war.”

As someone who was originally destined to be a soldier himself, Meic Birtwistle is aware of the danger of romanticizing the war, as happens in a number of the songs in the collection.

Following his research into the musical context of the time, Meic reveals some treasures that still resonate through the years. They are in the tradition of ‘Oh! What a lovely War’.

The new book Rhyfelgan by Meic Birtwistle will be available at your local bookshop or directly from the publisher, Gomer Press on www.gomer.co.uk

Bibliographical details

Rhyfelgan

Meic Birtwistle

Gomer Press

ISBN 9781848518872

paperback

134 pages

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Meic Birtwistle is an experienced journalist and

television producer.

 He studied for a BA and MA in History and Welsh

History at Swansea and Aberystwyth Universities.

 He lives in Mynydd Bach, Ceredigion and enjoys his

work, politics and rowing in his spare time.

There are many books available to help learners but few discuss issues linked with using the language outside class.

Speak Welsh Outside Class – You Can Do It  by Dr Lynda Pritchard Newcombe is a book for Welsh learners which gives tips on how to be more confident speaking Welsh outside the classroom and in the community. It offers tips on how to overcome these types of obstacles as learners progress with their Welsh.

The book is suitable for Welsh learners of all ages, Welsh for Adults tutors and there is also plenty of advice for Welsh speakers who would like to help learners develop and grow in confidence. 

Dr Lynda Pritchard Newcombe was born in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil and has lived in Cardiff since 1970. She became fluent in Welsh as an adult.
‘Despite a family background in Welsh – my grandparents on my father’s side were from Llanllechid and on my mother’s side from the Gwendraeth valley - I lacked confidence to speak Welsh until I attended WLPAN and further courses at Cardiff University in 1990.’ says Lynda.

She has written many articles and books about learning Welsh and has many years’ experience teaching adults languages and has also been involved in several research projects on bilingualism and worked for Cardiff University and the Open University.

‘This is not a situation unique to Wales but experienced by second language learners in many other countries’ says Lynda, ‘Catalan learners in Spain for instance and farther afield Maori learners in New Zealand as well as Javanese learners in Indonesia.’

‘There are many books available to help learners but few discuss issues linked with using the language outside class.’ explains Lynda, ‘My experiences as a tutor and a researcher has led me to believe that many learners give up using Welsh in the community as they lack self-belief and may not always feel supported by Welsh-speakers.’

‘This is a complex issue and blame should not be apportioned to fluent speakers or learners.’ she explains,  ‘This book aims to help learners and Cymry Cymraeg understand one another.’

‘The Welsh language is a treasure to use, share and enjoy,’ added Welsh tutor Nia Parry, ‘This book gives invaluable advice and guidance to learners and Welsh speakers on their learning journey and to use Welsh at every opportunity.’

Dr Lynda Pritchard Newcombe will be at Maes D in the National Eisteddfod of Wales at 11am on Tuesday the 2 ^nd of August discussing her book.

Speak Welsh Outside Class – You Can Do It! by Dr Lynda Pritchard Newcombe (£5.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.

The house darkens with the low pulse of a synth kick drum slowly counting out one…two…three…four… Spotlights search over and above the crowd. And then it ceases. A film begins on the large screen behind and the Super Furries walk out in hooded white jumpsuits resembling NASA outfits. They launch into ‘Slow Life’ with Gruff Rhys on a slightly out-of-tune harmonica, but he’s on pitch when he starts singing. After the first chorus Gruff dons a gigantic red motorcycle helmet, so large that he’s pressing the microphone into the eyescreen to line up with his mouth, giving a most disconcerting effect of where the sound is coming from. He’ll return to this later. Now he’s holding up signs for ‘APPLAUSE’, ‘LOUDER!’, and then ‘APE SHIT!’. The enthusiastic audience gladly takes heed. As ‘Slow Life’ winds to an end Cian Ciarán takes off the guitar he’s been strumming and takes a seat at his station of laptop, synths, and Fender Rhodes, located in the back to the left of Daf Ieuan’s drumset. Which is itself complete with two bass drums, something not witnessed by the average concertgoer in quite some time.

Gruff now straps on a lovely cherry red Gibson ES-335 and at various points throughout the show Huw Bunford is also wielding the same guitar, their left (Gruff) and right (Bunf) handedness and stage positions setting a nice frame. And it’s into ‘(Drawing) Rings Around The World’. The sound is better, you can feel the Rock more, and the crowd is very into it now. And it’s this song that will be stuck in my head over the following days. The 16mm films – provided by their friend Spencer, whom they’ll give a shout-out to after this song finishes – show pulsating concentric circles with Saturn occasionally juxtaposed over (very discombobulating) then cutting to spinning beachgoers. Up next is ‘Do Or Die’ with Bunf really laying into the fuzzy lead lines on a Les Paul now. ‘If You Don’t Want Me To Destroy You’ is announced as being 20 years old, and it strikes one how in synch they are, a subtle power in the effortlessness with which they simultaneously hit the chords.

“I don’t know if this song makes any sense in Cambridge while you’re going through a heatwave. But where we come from…” A lovely version of ‘Hello Sunshine’ follows with Gruff on acoustic guitar and one is, not for the only time, impressed with Daf’s often understated but right-on drumming. ‘Pan Ddaw’r Wawr’ is up next, from their 2000 all Welsh-language album, Mwng. The backing film mixes crashing waves with galloping horses, and the somewhat broken-up tune consolidates – with a pretty melody from Cian driving it – into an excellent, though all-too-short, groove. ‘Run! Christian, Run!’ follows with Bunf throwing in tastefully subtle phased guitar licks and Guto Pryce’s held bass notes rattling the chest. Like ‘Pan Ddaw’r Wawr’ preceding it, ‘Run! Christian, Run!’ also grows much fuller at the outro, with cool high vocal ‘oo’s and ‘wah’s. As he does a few times tonight, Bunf offers a Japanese thank you at song’s conclusion with ‘Arigato’.

‘Hometown Unicorn’ hits its first chorus that from out of nowhere becomes a few moments of glory. There’s something about it that’s just so right. The second time around doesn’t quite match it, though is still ace. Bunf’s been droning with an ebow and Gruff gives a nice fuzzy acoustic solo. ‘Zoom!’ opens with Twilight Zone-esque synth sounds, Bunf later providing proper wah-wah notes. The film shows spacey black and white concentric circles with a pink ring in the middle. It takes a while to realize these circles are chorus girls huddled close together. Gruff’s now using a vocoder for ‘Juxtapozed With U’ and before the song begins, the word ‘Massachusetts’ sounds very cool through the effect. The ‘APPLAUSE’ and ‘LOUDER’ signs are back for the intro and the crowd is swaying throughout the tune’s breezy disco. At its end Gruff holds up ‘PROLONGED APPLAUSE’.

And now one side of the sign in his hands says ‘BING’, and when flipped its reverse reads ‘BONG’. This is by way of heralding the Super Furries’ first new single in seven years, their anthem for this year’s European Championship. Recalling his antics during the opening number, Gruff explains, “It’s based on an old Welsh language folk idiom we’ve appropriated into a pop song. What also differentiates it from folk music is I’m going to attempt to sing it through my right eye. I hope I have your support. Over the years I’d tried various orifices. I’ve always found the mouth to be the most successful. Though I’m going to try out my left eye tonight too.” Referring to his gigantic helmet which he now dons, “I wear protective gear for your safety.” Headgear on, arms raised, voice over the synth drone, the guitar feeding back as the drums build, there’s excitement in the air over this new song. It immediately makes you want to dance. The bassline is very busy, one might even say frantic. The screen behind shows a 70s cheerleader film. As the song continues to grow it gets disorienting, with the band singing the title against where the “bing bong”s fall on the backing track. Until it all finally comes together. But still in a sense that feels like it’s building. Although ‘Bing Bong’ felt like it would at any moment, it never fully explodes into an all-out party on the dancefloor. Which was a little disappointing.

‘The International Language Of Screaming’ is more at pace with where ‘Bing Bong’ should’ve been. Great ‘oo’s and ‘la’s and even better freak-out screams and rock guitars. And ‘Golden Retriever’ brings the Rock even further, all bluesy stomp, driving beat, and distorted guitars. It feels Wild. The film humourously shows a dog repeatedly jumping on two legs at a fence before switching to a dancing blonde’s head and arms, her hair shaking and flipping. Mega Rock Poses at the end with guitars raised over their heads.

Introducing ‘Receptacle For The Respectable’, Gruff informs us “This next song features Paul McCartney on the recording. We can’t actually do it tonight, he sends a personal message of regrets.” (for fascinating story regarding this see here - http://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/song/receptacle-for-the-respectable/ ) A member of the audience shouts “What about Ringo?” Gruff: “I imagine he’s on a yacht, reclining…eating grapes” Bunf: “…baked beans…” Much laughter. ‘Receptacle’ isn’t as Rock as the previous two but it’s still powerful as a Pop song. Gruff hands out a plate of carrots (referencing the above linked story) right before they start digging into the outro, and taking it to a big Rock ending. Bunf sliding his guitar against the mic stand before Gruff and Guto join him, all three rubbing their guitars together in the air.

Over submarine sounds from Cian, Gruff announces it’s their “last night of the North American tour” and that this next one “goes out to anyone who’s from the mountains”. Shouts from the crowd. Gruff: “What range are you from?” Bunf: “Big or small, we’re not that bothered.” Gruff: “Or the mountains of the mind, that’s acceptable.” And into ‘Mountain People’ with its nice relaxed hypnotic drive, the bass bubbling under the power chords. Synths and low end continuing to do so even after the band stops and the electronic drums kick in. Gruff’s now kneeling in front of his pedals making guitar noise and they kick back into a stomp that you want to go on forever, even past the many minutes that it does.

This segues very nicely into the final rousing ‘The Man Don’t Give A Fuck’. And it’s powerful, especially in light of everything going on in the world right now. The band leaves the stage all too soon with Gruff and Guto simultaneously taking off their instruments. Cian stays, tweaking a spaced-out loop, a determined rhythmic pulse. And soon the rest of the Super Furries are back in full Yeti costumes complete with long blond wigs. Gruff’s suit features an eyeball over the crotch. The song’s sample is now playing and they’re giving it everything they got with the Rock guitar poses. The whole song now passing the eight minute mark, Gruff holds up a sign ‘RESIST PHONEY ENCORES!’ before ‘THANK YOU’ and ‘THE END’. With a mixture in the air of the heavy tone of this last song and the fun they’ve brought to the evening, these now very literally Super Furry Animals stroll off stage. It’s good to have them back.

Jack Scarrott’s Prize Fighters – Memoirs of a Welsh Boxing Booth Showman

by Lawrence Davies

ISBN : 978-0-9570342-3-5
Price £14.99
Published : 31/8/2016

451 Pages, 56 black and white photos and illustrations

This book, a continuation of the previously unrecorded Welsh boxing history covered in the book Mountain Fighters, Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing , by Lawrence Davies (Peerless Press, 2011) and explores the world of the mountain fighters and early glove fighters of South Wales in the form of an expanded commentary on the memoirs of John ('Jack') Scarrott (1870-1947) the famous boxing booth proprietor and boxing promoter who assisted such well known Welsh boxers as Jim Driscoll, Tom Thomas and Jimmy Wilde on the road to boxing glory.  Many of the first of the most famous fighting men to have emerged from South Wales are profiled within this book including:

Martin Fury and Jack Hearn- two of the most famous bare-knuckle fighters to have emerged from the gypsy camps of South Wales, and the forgotten story of their great battle.

Shoni Engineer - the one-time claimant of the Welsh middleweight title, with full accounts of his battles against 'Dublin Tom', Tom 'Books' Davies, Jem Guidrell of Bristol, John O'Brien and William Samuels.

William Samuels - the flamboyant heavyweight champion of Wales, with an expanded accounts of his rivalries with Bob Dunbar, Toff Wall, Tom Vincent, and Shoni Engineer, as well as an in-depth look at his later career and his remarkable impact on the history of Welsh boxing.

Dai St. John - The towering miner from Resolven, who whipped 'man after man' with bare knuckles as a teenager before his great rivalry with John O'Brien the Cardiff born Welsh middleweight champion, and his dramatic rise to the status of national hero in the Boer War.

Bob Dunbar - the fearsome bare-knuckle fighter and booth boxer, who went on to claim the lightweight championship of Wales, his great defeat of William Samuels in 1882, and the tragic untold story of the events following his retirement from the ring.

Dai Dollings - the bare knuckle fighter and booth boxer from Swansea who would become one of the most famous and influential boxing trainers of the early 20th century after emigrating to New York and becoming the chief trainer at the world famous Grupp's gym - where he seconded some of the most famous fighters of the squared circle, and tutored the renowned boxing trainer, Ray Arcel.

Numerous fighters who featured on Jack Scarrott's boxing booth are also fully explored within the book, along with tales of their early fights on Scarrott's 'Pavilion' including such luminaries of Welsh gloved boxing as:

Tom Thomas - The gentle farmer's son from Penygraig who would become British middleweight Champion after many battles on the travelling boxing booth of Jack Scarrott, and the tale of how the cruel lick of a gypsy's whip made him pull on the boxing gloves.

Jim Driscoll - The Cardiff boxer known as 'Peerless' Jim who was crowned British featherweight champion, and became the toast of Great Britain following his defeat of Abe Attell, the world featherweight champion.

Jimmy Wilde - the astonishing tale of Wilde's rise to fame as world flyweight champion and arguably the greatest boxer of all  time, his many knockout victories on the boxing booth, and the legendary day when he knocked out 23 seperate challengers.

Pedlar McMahon - a 'pocket Hercules' and boxing booth champion, his rise to fame on the boxing booth of William Samuels, his great rivalry with booth boxer Frank Lowry and tales from his time as a champion of Jack Scarrott's booth. 

Joe White - A Swiss-Canadian middleweight who became one of the favourites on Scarrott's boxing booth, his early contests on the boxing booths of South Wales through to his challenge to a young Freddie Welsh as a battle hardened veteran.

'Dangerous Jack' - one of Scarrott's early champions, a ferocious black fighter, known for his slashing style who put down mountain fighter after mountain fighter, and the hilarious story of his discovery by Jack Scarrott himself. 

'Yuko Sako' - The 'Japanese Strangler from Yokohama' - the strange but true story of one of Jack Scarrott's booth boxers - a compact Welshman disguised as a mysterious Japanese fighter to draw the interest of the fairground crowds. 

Details of the early careers of many Welsh champions and notable booth boxers of the period are explored within the book, including Percy Jones of Porth - the first Welsh world champion, Frank Moody of Pontypridd - British & Empire Middleweight Champion, Johny Basham of Newport - British & European Welterweight Champion, Jack Davis of Pontypridd - who once challenged for the British heavyweight title, Freddie Welsh of Pontypridd - lightweight champion of the world, Patsy Perkins - lightweight champion of Wales, Jimmy Dean - the famous 'Cast Iron Man' of Pontypridd, 'Darkey' Thomas, Frank Reed, William 'Mother' Lee, Dai 'Rush', Thomas 'Bungy' Lambert, Arthur and William Butcher of Talywain, 'Twm' Edwards of Aberdare, and 'Bullo' Rees of Aberavon.

Prior to the publication of this book, many of these men have never been recorded in any other book of Welsh boxing history, and along with Mountain Fighters, Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing by the same author, they comprise the most complete recorded history of the origins of Welsh boxing and the early Welsh glove fighters ever published.  Both books represent over fifteen years of intensive Welsh boxing research on the part of the author, and have a combined length of nearly 1,000 pages covering a century of Welsh boxing history.  Illustrated with over 50 mostly unpublished photographs and illustrations, 'Jack Scarrott’s Prize Fighters - Memoirs of a Welsh Boxing Booth Showman' is a must buy for any boxing fan who wishes to re-discover the origins of Welsh boxing, and read the astonishing story of Jack Scarrott, the acclaimed showman and boxing pioneer, who until now had been consigned to little more than a footnote in the careers of the great Welsh boxing champions. 

From the Back Cover :

‘Fifty years I’ve been in the game, mister, and all that time I’ve been right here in the mining valleys.  I know every town and village in South Wales, and I knew every boxer worth calling a fighting man they ever turned out. Dai St. John, Tom Thomas, Jim Driscoll, Freddy Welsh, Johnny Basham, Jimmy Wilde, Percy Jones, and many more that were before their time. I knew them all, and a good few started with me in my booth.  I was scrapping for a living in a boxing booth before I started a booth on my own, and I was only about twenty one when I started on my own. Believe me, the life of a booth boxer in those days was tough.  Mountain fighters! That’s what they called the miners who used to fight bare-knuckle on the mountains…’ 

Jack Scarrott was born into a family of travelling people in 1870, and travelled throughout South Wales in his youth, coming into contact with many of the bareknuckle fighters of his time before starting his own fairground boxing booth where spectators were invited to ‘step up’ and stand against his own boxing champions for a number of rounds in order to claim a cash prize.  Travelling throughout South Wales in the years that followed, Scarrott’s travelling ‘Pavilion’ would become famous for the number of boxers that it would start on the way to national acclaim.   In addition to the more familiar names of gloved boxing champions that Jack Scarrott recalls, there are also numerous tales of the early knuckle fighters of South Wales, including such notable fighters as William Samuels, Martin Fury, Shoni Engineer, Robert Dunbar, Dai St John, and John O’Brien.  Jack Scarrott’s memoirs, first printed in serialised form in 1936 have never been published in book form until now, and benefit from an expanded in-depth look at the events that comprise his recollections of nearly fifty years of boxing history, from the days of the forgotten bare-knuckle men of the mountains to the boxing champions that would start their careers under the flapping canvas of his boxing booth.  Illustrated with over 50 rare photographs and illustrations,  Jack Scarrott’s Prize Fighters- Memoirs of a Welsh Boxing Booth Showman, stands as one of very few accounts of a time long forgotten when bare-knuckle battlers and fledgling glove fighters fought for supremacy on the  fairgrounds of South Wales.

The celebrations to commemorate 50 years since the establishing of Y Lolfa publishers and press have begun with the publication of a calendar of old posters.  

Calendr Posteri’r Lolfa 2017 ( Y Lolfa Poster Calendar 2017 ) is a collection of commercial and political posters that were printed by Y Lolfa during the 1960s and 1970s. 

It is published to coincide with Y Lolfa’s 50 ^th anniversary celebrations in 2017.   

Amongst the posters are old favourites such as ‘ Gwnewch Bopeth yn Gymraeg’ (Do Everything in Welsh) – as seen on the front cover, the iconic poster which shows the silhouette of two lovers behind a colourful backdrop. It was designed by Elwyn Ioan in 1972 and has been reprinted many times over the decades. Other classics include the infamous poster of Eirwyn Pontshân – ‘ Gwell Llaeth Cymru na Chwrw Lloegr’ ( Better Welsh Milk than English Beer).  

Others are more political in their nature such as the popular image of Ifas y Tryc in front of the Union Jack, ‘ Britannia Rŵls ddy Wêls’, and drawing by John Jenkins, , ‘ Gwyn eu Byd y Rhai Erlidir o Achos Cyfiawnder’ that was drawn when he was in prison. 

Some of the posters also revisit the world of pop including Pinaclau Pop, the disco of Mici Plwm, and the psychdelia of the end of the sixties in the form of Y Blew – the first ever electric rock group in Welsh. Other notable icons include Meic Stecens, Dafydd Iwan, and y Tebot Piws which appear on posters that reflect the exuberance and confidence of the time. 

‘It will appeal to the nostalgia of the older generation but most importantly, I hope, to the younger generation who were not around when the company was established during the excitement of the late 1960s.’ said the founder of Y Lolfa, Robat Gruffudd. 

Y Lolfa was established in 1967 during an exciting period of fun and protest. The company evolved gradually, producing an ever widening range of popular books in both Welsh and English, and next year will be celebrating its 50 ^th anniversary.   

Calendr Posteri'r Lolfa 2017 (£10, Y Lolfa) is available now.

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Post Brexit the political turmoil continues to cast shadows and uncertainty across Wales. None more so than in our farming and rural communities previously supported by subsidies, grants and loans via the EU’s Rural Development Programme.

Hill farmer Tia Jones ’s new novel which launches at the Royal Welsh Show on the FUW stand on Thursday, 21 July, vividly depicts how the agricultural industry is inextricably linked to, and affected by, global and political developments beyond their control.

The Curlew’s Cry is Tia’s third novel in a trilogy centred around Tŷ Coch, a mid-Wales farm, where three generations of domestic drama is played out in a world of economic, and environmental turmoil.

The farming community faces constant threats to their livelihood and the timely novel, set against a backdrop of war in the Middle-East, highlights how the impact of globalisation and the effects of climate change affects rural life on a hill farm.

Bethan and her daughter are clinging on to the life they know in Llanfeni, surviving on the margins. At Tŷ Coch farm, Bethan’s family home, the enduring and constant struggle has become the way of life. The author doesn’t shy away from contentious issues that often divide rural communities such as Richard and Penny’s fight against the foot-and-mouth outbreak, which has left the neighbours wondering whether wind farming, not livestock, is the way ahead.

Passionate about sustainable farming, Tia Jones is a strong advocate of small, family-run businesses and the need for the hill farming community and its contribution to have greater visibility beyond the rural locale.

“The small farming unit is more important than ever, working in the margins as a way of life, not just enduring but prevailing against the odds, to help offset the imbalance. That also by default enables and secures the wild life a habitat and food source against the ever increasing larger indoor factory farming methods of the modern world.”

In a political climate of uncertainty and change, farming families such as the residents of Tŷ Coch continue their forebears traditions of caring for their livestock and cultivating the land. The political divide between neighbours may run deep, the tensions highlighted by the choices facing the agricultural industry highlight more than ever the deep need for Hill farmers to work together to sustain and protect this industry and its heritage in Wales.

' The Curlew's Cry is contemporary fiction at its best: deeply rooted in its place and yet engaging with the global events that affect us all.' Katie Gramich.

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Tia Jones will be launching her new novel on the FUW stand at the RWAS on Thursday, 21 July at 12pm and will be available for interviews.

The author will hold a book signing event on the Welsh Books Council stand at the RWAS at 11am on Thursday, 21 July.

The Curlew’s Cry will be available from

all good bookshops and online retailers.

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An enthusiast of all things country, Tia Jones has become an established author within the rural genre. She lives and works in mid Wales with her husband on their family run organic hill farm. She has written across various media about her passion for Wales. Originally a freelance journalist she cut her teeth as a features writer for newspapers and magazines including The Field, Window on Wales and Country Living . Tia then wrote a bilingual television drama, ‘ Llety Piod ’ , depicting the tensions between urban and rural perceptions, using the Welsh countryside as a backdrop. Originally a production broadcast on S4C, the film subsequently sold internationally. In 2008, Tia’s first novel On Open Ground was published by Gomer followed by the sequel The Moss Gatherers in 2013. The Curlew’s Cry completes the trilogy.

Our fascination with societies and households united by social, class and occupational division continues unabated. The popularity of Downton Abbey , Upstairs Downstairs and Gosford Park bears testimony to this. But how much do we really know about the true experiences of domestic servants and the conditions in which they lived?

Buy the book here

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No Job for a Little Girl by Rosemary Scadden is based on interviews with those women who had to leave home in the 1920s and 1930s – some when they were as young as fourteen years old – to work as low-paid maids in the big cities.

Domestic service was Britain''s biggest employer a century ago with 1.5 million people working as servants – more than those who worked on farms or in factories. In a period where there were very few opportunities for young women, many had to leave home in search of work. And, as No Job for a Little Girl proves, the young girls of Wales were no exception.

The women’s own words bring an immediacy and vibrancy to the memoir. Their experiences highlight how much chance played in their conditions of service. Their precise duties and personal feelings are described, bringing to life a forgotten world of deference and social immobility. Ironically, it was the outbreak of the Second World War that transformed the lives of this lost generation of women.

O riginally from Newport, Rosemary Scadden lives in Cardiff, where she was for many years a programme researcher with both HTV and BBC Wales. She was involved in the landmark oral history series, All Our Lives,and worked with Sir Harry Secombe for eight years on Highway. Rosemary also spent twelve years working overseas, in Uganda and the Solomon Islands. Since her retirement she has become a popular speaker on many subjects and is an active member of the Women’s Archive of Wales.

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No Job for a Little Girl is available from all good bookshops and online retailers.

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For more information, please visit www.gomer.co.uk

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