Since the Virtual Tour went on-line in January 1997, I have received many e-mails, most appreciative, a couple (so far) derogatory (one perversely put in the 'positive feedback' section), and a couple offering additional information and even pictures. This page is an attempt to thank those people by listing their names. Wow. I did toy with the idea of including their e-mail addresses, but on reflection felt that this isn't necessarily a fantastic idea. I have, however, noted their ISPs so that you can get a flavour of the variety of places people come from...
Where someone has made a contribution to the information on a page, I've noted it on that page as well.
I don't think I've left anyone out, but apologies in advance if I have. Mail me to complain! Oh yes, by the way. I've simply cut-and-pasted the text from the original mail messages, so any spelling / grammer mistakes are not my fault (I think they add a bit of character). Three dots thus; ... imply that I've snipped some text out.
First mention must go to Jaquie Dohrn. Not only has she provided much enthusiastic support, but three whole locations on the tour of Abertridwr were supplied - text and picture - by her. The web site linked to above is produced by Jaquie on the behalf of her daughter, Rachel.
Thanks to Mr.Davies for confirming the legend about the building of the school, and for showing me the school's web site before it was publicly available.
first contacted me in January 1999 with the immortal words, Hi Martin I have a few photos you may be interested in including one of the Ukrainian Club. Phil From one of those cardboard houses
I kept him waiting far too long before putting his photographs up, but they went online 24 February 1999 on these two pages:
Both of these photographs are the property of Ann Ananicz - see below
Phil's family has quite a history in the area, but I'll let him tell you in his own words (as usual, straight from the emails).
(23 Jan 00:39) I have lived in Senghenydd for about 11 years but my wife is an Aber bug as the guys call her. The photos come through my step daughters Grandmother who's uncle was Bill Probert the photographer.
(23 Jan 19:58) Hi Martin I have attatched the photo of the Ukrainian club. Here is a bit of info my wife's Great grandfather was Gomer Thomas he was town crier for Abertridwr at the time of the pit explosion 1913. Her other Great grandfather is listed on the War memorial Charles Francis Raymond. He is mistakenly listed as Pte it should read Rfn.This was listed correctly on the memorial before it got vandalised a few years ago.[...]
(24 Jan 02:53) Hi Martin. Here is one that has a lot baffled where in Sneggy is it? It says on the back Stanley Street, my wife says no and so do a few from the street.[...]
I showed that photograph to a few friends and they were adamant it was Stanley Street...
(24 Jan 20:10) Hi Martin I took the pic off Stanley St. and showed a neighbor who has lived in Stanley St for 50 years she said it definately is.She said the photo must have been taken around the early 1970s.[...]
Gomer Thomas was British champion Town crier for the year 1925 he won a silver bell which is now with the National museum of Wales along with some of his certificates and other stuff. He had 9 children that all stayed in the area so most of Senghenydd is related to my wife Elaine, well it seems that way. He used to have a pet jackdaw and a lamb.
So we are saving that part of the family history for last. Like your mum I am into family history. I have a few more photos but most of them are quite bad. Except a photo of Caerphilly road in the days when you could park any where. It seems to be from 1945-53 I think it may be 1953 by the bunting up for the coronation.
Phil
We had a small exchange about where exactly these pictures came from...
(27 Jan 19:15) Hi Martin I answer to all your questions I understand your concern about copyright.[...]
.Ann Ananicz is my step daughters grand mother she lives in Senghenydd.Her mothers brother was the photographer Bill Probert batchelor deceased. In his early years he went round all the old people of Senghenydd and Aber asking for old photos which he could photo to make decent copies.
Last year Bill's friend sent Ann a letter saying he had found some old negatives belonging to Bill. He had had some done to see what they were and sent some photocopies of the real old ones,and.the actual photos of the Ukranian club and Stanley street plus a few others which have no connection to the area.
These plus the negatives belong to Ann as they were found in an old unit that belonged to her mother, Bill's sister.He is sending Ann the other negatives but as he is ancient has probably forgotten.
Are you confused yet.
I have asked Ann again if it is ok to put the pics of the Uki and Stanley St on your web page and she said yes.
So no worries aboout copy write there.
She tells me a large amount of Bill Proberts photos have gone missing since he died some have turned up in various books but as he is dead no one can prove they were his.He may or may not just have given them away,before he died.
Phil
I love this hobby!
You could have a page full of links showing which pictures you've got, maybe with a keyed map at the top.
Foeh Mannay (newlife-systems.demon.co.uk), 22 Feb 1997
Have just taken the whole tour and nothing but the tour. The memories just came flooding in! You've done a great job! You might be interested to know that the view of Coronation Terrace was probably taken from practically right outside where my grandparents used to live. I have attended both the Aber School and the Senghenydd Senior Schools in my time! My father did much of the renovation and carpentry on the Beulah Chapel, too. My granchie now lives in Penyrheol so I hope that will be part of the tour soon.
Dyan Munro (swbell.net), 13 March 1997
Great to see some news from the old place, family and I used to live at (deleted) High Street, Abertridwr. Left to come to Australia January 1979, Niece Ceri Ann Rees on holidays with friends (Jan & David) in High Street at present say Hi if you can.. More family still in Aber, Penyrheol and Caerphilly.
Kelvyn Owen (fullcomp.com.au), 9 April 1997
My maiden name is "Aber." In doing a search of the name on the Internet, I came across your home page. How did the Aber Valley come to be named such? I know some of my ancestors were Welsh and Swedish; however, I was always led to believe the name Aber was Swedish. Maybe I was misled. Unfortunately, there is no one left who knows for sure. Does the name Aber mean something in Welsh?...
Thanks for your time. Just found it interesting that there is a valley in Wales with my name.
Janet English (worldnet.att.net), 18 April 1997
I was bored one day in college so I though I'd surf the web and see if anyone has written about the place where I live, there I found your site excellent keep up the good work.
Do you live in Aber?
M.R. Hughes (cf.ac.uk), 29 April 1997
heres a comment for you :
"Abertridwr, where the sun seldom shines and the rain always falls, but it's a wonderful place to live"
by the way did you knoe that the ilan road chippy has had a face lift?
Abertridwr, its claim to fame
Ilan Road Chippy - the best around.
Chinese - Can't beat it.
Indian - not bad either.
M.R. Hughes (cf.ac.uk), 9 May 1997
Thank you Martin for the interesting information on Abertridwr, it was a nice surprise, and brought back memories of my childhood there, having been born in coedcae road. When I was at Abertridwr mixed school, we had to walk to the pavilion in the park for school dinners and they were cooked right there...
Norah & Dennis Littler (Southampton Ontario Canada), 21 June 1997
Thank you for your most enjoyable tour of Abertridwr... I haven't visited the "Aber" for over 20 years and it was a joy to see your photos. Even on the Net, you are one of, if not the only thing I have discovered when typing "abertridwr". Then again, how many are likely to?
David Yauniskis (cyberspc.mb.ca), 6 July 1997
I took a tidbit of the new tour, namely to the Bingo Hall. Okay, I'm game. What in the dickens is The Loyal Order of Water Buffalo?!?
Martha Hix (aol.com - Texas), 27 August 1997
I eagerly await further photos of your village and valley. My son lives there. Your virtual tour gave me a better understanding of his home and eased the miles between us.
Catherine and Jim Royster, 13 September 1997
I just happened to surf onto your site when I put the word Christian into the Altavista search. What a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend and hour!!
..I love the pictures of your area. It is my dream to visit Wales before I die. I am of English derivation - although my relatives left on the Mayflower! The family I married into is Lloyd-Jeffery. My son and his 3 sons are all using Lloyd as a middle name - just to keep the name alive.
Keep your site going...
SJeff (whoever he is - aol.com), 7 October 1997
Thank you for your tour of Abertridwr. My wife Rose was born in (deleted) Cefn Ilan road and wants to know why you didnt include it in the tour!!!! She would like to get a street map of Aber: would you be able to include one in your next up-date of your web page. The photos of Caerphilly were great also! Where is the visitors centre? We couldnt locate it from the photo. We lived in Heol-y-parc Bryncenydd where her mother is still living. I enjoyed a beer in the Rose and Crown two yeas ago with Rose's cousin John Jones of Hendredenny which backs onto the lane going up to Eglwysilan. As an ex-pat of Twyn Junior and Pontygwyndy schools 1949 to 1959 do you know of anyone else on the internet who may know Rose, e.g Marilyn Goldsmith and Betty Hughes and Dianne Bevans? My Wifes maiden name was Palmer. brothers Michael and Leighton and sister Carol.
Richard Woods (gil.com.au - Brisbane), 8 October 1997
Hello martin, i enjoyed having a little tour around you page... it's funny to think that now the whole world is able to view such a shit hole... lol :o) (no offence) ps, did any one in your family work in penallta colliery? please reply... bigfish.
S . (no name other than "bigfish" - aol.com), 30 October 1997
Wonderful site!!!! All my american e-mail pals have a treat in store for them now! The only trouble is you took a photograph of the wrong end of Ilan road.
An Ilan road resident.
Jaquie Dohrn (virgin.net), 3 Nov 1997
Great web site and pictures of Senghenydd.
We are looking at these from our home in Liverpool, but we used to live in Commercial Street. The empty ground on the left hand side of the picture (your reference number 21) contained terraced houses that consitsted of four floors (an attic, cellar and two main floors) they were demolished in the early 1980's.
No Name (aol.com), 23 November 1997
dear martin , i really enjoyed the tour of senghenydd, my family all still live there, my dad's name is bert abraham, and as he knows everyone, and everyone knows him i am sure you have heard of him. once again thanks for the tour.
Tracy King (bit.net.au), 10 December 1997
Just wanted to say hello - I was bored and was surfing the demon users webring and came across your page. I'm from Newport - just down the road from you - though i don't live there anymore. I used to love going to Caerphilly castle and all the other castles in glamorgan and gwent.
(later) my parents still live in Newport - i live in south east england near aylesbury in buckinghamshire. I liked your page - it had some interesting content in it which is more than you can say for most of the demon sites i was surfing thru' earlier. Most of them seem to consist of just "under construction" images - which gets just a bit boring after a while..
Julie Kerr (webmagick.demon.co.uk), 14 December 1997
Just a short note to let you Know that I enjoyed the visit to my grandparents home town. I know the area quite well as my grandparents used to own a small shop on top of the hill opposit the old aber hall picture house. My parents and I looked through all the photographs and recognised most of them. I look forward to the next set.
Anthony (Jones?) (Australia), 21 December 1997
i thought it was about time i introduced myself i am a regular subscriber!the names lisa and originally from senghenydd then moving to eglwysilan i'm just guessing but i think your mum was my teacher at nursery school..are you a twin?this is a friends set up but i regularly log on to check out the goss in lovely aber i'll be home in 2 days for xmas i couldn't survive up in leicestershire without all your hard work just thought i'd drop you a note of appreciation while i'm here catch you later lisa
Lisa (virgin.net), 22 December 1998
I happened to stumble upon your web site about Senghenydd, South Wales this morning. My family was over for a visit this past July. We have family living in the new brick bungelow above the bus circle in your pictures, a member of the family also lives on High Street and another lives on Parc Terrace. Seeing your beautiful pictures brought back all our wonderful memories of our trip----thank you!!!!
Lawrence C Dias (bellatlantic.net), 30 December 1997
Hyfryd iawn
Dickyskin (aol.com), 2 January 1998
(see above) The photo's which you took of eglwysilan, my parent's house is just behind you and my first pony nikki is in your photo!!another useless bitof info.for you....
Lisa Undery (virgin.net), 1 January 1998
I've really enjoyed looking at your photographs -- thank you for posting them on the web.
Carl Cavanagh (freenet.victoria.bc.ca), 26 January 1998
So there I was, doing a quick search for some Welsh phrases when I came across an invitation to check out Caerphilly...and then Aber...and then Bethel Penyrheol! Pictures and all!! To say I was suprised would be putting it mildly... My name is Paul Johns. I was born in Caerphilly Miner's, was baptised and went to Sunday School at Bethel where my mother Doris played the organ, and even went to Lewis Boy's at Pengam!...
...finding your pages has brought me closer to home. Which is quite an acheivement considering I live 12000 miles away on the exact opposite side of the planet - in Dunedin, New Zealand where it's currently the middle of a hot Summer's day (as opposed to the middle of a cold Welsh winter's night) So thank you! (See, they're not entirely pointless pages after all!)
Paul Johns (es.co.nz), 30 January 1998
My roommate in Victoria Rd Oystermouth was from 'Senghenydd. we used to hop the Mumbles train to get to college at Singleton Park (in th 5o's )... I came here in l957 . good to hear from you...
Peter Williams (britannia.com), 23 February 1998
May I commend you on your fascinating site. I came across it after performing an Altavista search for "Windsor Colliery". I am originally from Caerphilly, now studying Geology in Cardiff Uni' - hence the Windsor search. My late grandmother was born in Graig-y-Fedw, where she also brought up my father.
...
I have fond memeories of Aber', rekindled by your wonderful pages.
M. S. Francis (cardiff.ac.uk) 26 February 1998
Hi I'm e-mailing from Canada. My friend Sharon Davies worked at the Senghenydd Nursery as placement from college with your mother who was headmistress at the time. Please send Sharon's regards to her and say hi to Mrs. Moon and Linda and Mrs. Roberts and Anne Clark.tara for now!!
thanks!!!!!!!
Nikki Kean (odyssey.on.ca) 28 February 1998
Why?
Graham Culver (compuserve.com), 16 January 1997
WHY?
Dylan D'Arch (msn.com), 18 November 1997
DEAR MICHAEL, I'm very upset that you haven't included my parents business on your virtual tour of aber valley! I realise that you web page may have limited space but please, please, please could you include the wonderful ILAN RD TAKEAWAY on your web site. I would be very grateful if you would deal with this matter urgently.
Thankyou!
Yours Sincerely
Richard Snape
P.S could you send me a return e-mail to confirm that this matter has been taken under consideration. By the way this isn't my personal e-mail address but its availible for your reply!
Richard Snape (Abertridwr, I presume), 10 February 1998
(Subject: So Sad!) You are! I thank you for your pointless and sad, very sad, unbelievably sad sadness. and you so crap, very crap, unbelievably crap crapness of a web site.
Don't hesitate to return an e-mail to show your gratitude!
KINGDOCKY (aol.com - says it all, really), 14 March 98