Mavis Evans - Maiden name Hughes

The Dingle, TowerRoad

Place of Birth: 18 Castle Street (born over jeweller’s shop)

Father

Caesar Hughes, Trehowel Weston Rhyn, Shropshire - Jeweller and watch-maker.

Grand-parents

James Hughes (engineer) and Hannah Hughes Trehowel, Weston Rhyn.

He changed Glyn Valleytramway from horsedrawn to steam

Arthur Lavis ,Marth Born in the rhondda Valley

He was deputy Manager in several pits in Rhondda Valley and in Chirk

Great grand-parents

 --- not known

Siblings 

Gwilym Caesar Hughes

Solicitor in Wrexham-now retired

Important others

Aunts Matilda Andrews, Catherine Butler, Gertrude Williams Grace Pritchard ( all nee Lavis )

Maude Lavis, May Hughes nee Lavis, Ellen Hughes, Charlotte Northall, Molly Withdre, Dora Davies nee Hughes, Lillian Hughes

Uncles- Vincent Hughes, Edward Hughes, James Hughs

The four Hughes brothers all went to fight in the 1st World War, and came back without a scratch. Vincent was a despatch rider on the front.

Molly Whitmore was a GP in Southport

Ellen Hughes died in the flu epidemis in 1918/19

Memories from your childhood within the family

Spent time in Chirk with Auntie Gert and Auntie Vi, when my father who had a jewellers shop there, visited the shop and I went with him. Auntie Gert and Uncle Harry had a grocer’s shop in the village and Auntie Vi and Uncle Vin, a garage.

Visited Liverpool on numerous occasions and stayed with Auntie Grace and Uncle Rowland. We had a caravan up at Rock House Eglwyseg where we went at weekends and family and friends came to see us

Schooldays

I attended all the Schools in Llangollen from the age of three until fifteen, when I went to technical college in Wrexham to take a commercial course in typing and shorthand

Memories of particular events

I can remember the May Day carnivals and parades, and the agricultural shows and the school pageant at Plas Newydd, organised by Mr Northing, history teacher in the Grammar School I was made Marion and my father took cine films of this. Sports days on the recreation ground when in grammar school which is also on cine.

Your first job

At JC Edwards, Brickworks at Acrefair, where I did office work and was paid £3 per week.

Your war years 

I remember learning to take gas mask to school; Bombs dropping on the mountain and the siron going off, when we had to go to the cellar in the house and air-raid shelters. Shortage of food and petrol, when we had to have coupons.

Our holidays were spent in Barmouth as we were able to get there by train.

Leisure and entertainment After the war a youth club was formed in the Eifrin buildings (now Bensons), where we learnt leather-craft, photography. The Dorothy cinema was very popular and the operatic society and Twenty Club. A dance was held in he Town hall every Saturday night with Sam Jones and his Band

Courting Met lots of boys in the youth club and went out with one or two to the dances and the cinema. My husband, Silian, was pianist with the Sam Jones Band and I met him at the dances in the Town Hall

I’ll never forget when

The train crashed at Sun Bank, when the canal burst its banks.

Also the tanker going on fire by the Zion chapel( fuel tanker).

I remember 

The first Eisteddfod in 1947 when I helped to take the foreign visitors to their lodgings. The Baptist chapel, opposite , was used as a centre where they were given refreshments when they arrived by bus or train.

Early days at work - Hours etc

Also worked at Cuthberts, and then my father’s jewellery and fancy goods shop in Llangollen. Shop opened in 1928, by mother and father and I was born there in 1932- 18 castle street

Where are your ancestors buried?

Chirk and Weston Rhyn