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TOWN BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS Who were the men responsible for the building and development of the Barry of yesteryear? Not the tradesmen, i.e. bricklayers, carpenters, masons, etc., but the far sighted people who could look beyond what was happening at that time and visualise what could take place in the future. Such men are badly needed in our town today! Although they gave the building of the town its initial impetus, David Davies and the other mine owners did not actually contribute to its future development. This was left to Mr TA Walker, the main contractor for the building of the docks, and others, business and professional people who contributed much to the town's development. Their motives were not completely altruistic, by doing so they attracted more people who wished to live in the town and thereby increased the value of their business interests. Together with these business people, the names of a number of officers and members of the Council stand out. In education amongst many others the names of Major Edgar Jones, Thomas Ewbank, WM Williams, JC Meggitt and John Lowdon were prominent, and in the development of the town, Mr. TA Walker, Colonel JA Hughes, and council officers John Pardoe and Major ER Hinchsliff stand out. A great number of these and others are remembered for their efforts, their generosity, and public service, by the naming of streets and roads in the town after them. There are a great number of other names, which I could have and probably should have included in this article, which when I have time will add at a later date. Other names which readily spring to mind were of little or no consequence to the "establishment" at the time, but by their efforts they succeeded in placing Barry firmly on the map. They were not owners of shops or similar businesses, but saw that visitors would not be attracted by Barry's shopping facilities, which were inferior to Cardiff and a lot of other towns, but by the beaches and fairgrounds at Barry Island.
I make no excuse for placing White Bros. and the Collins families first. Over the years they brought millions of visitors to their fairgrounds and generated a great deal of prosperity in Barry, with thousands being employed in catering, gift shops and other enterprises. This they did through their own efforts, without any grants or financial assistance from local or government departments, unlike many of today's so called attractions. Holiday guides for Barry from the 30's to the 50's had pages and pages of adverts with family homes offering bed and breakfast, together with guest-houses and small hotels catering for visitors to the Island. By their efforts both the White and Collins families succeeded in putting Barry Island and Barry firmly on the map, brought prosperity to the Town, and gave employment to many families in the periods of depression which affected many parts of the Country. White Bros. showground operators had small beginnings, starting as a diversion for the White family in Cardiff and culminating with Sydney John White having one of the most well-known, largest travelling fairs in the country later to be advertised as "The Worlds Fair". Sydney White came with his family to Cardiff from Castle Carey in Somersetshire, living in the Splottlands area of Cardiff. He started work as a butchers boy, then worked for the Bute and Rhymney Railway and finally as a picture framer. In 1888 he built a set of swing boats in his backyard in Clifton Street to keep his children amused. It soon proved to be such an attraction to other children in the area that he was advised to move it to Barry Island, which at that time was in the process of being developed. He took this advice and opened it on a small fairground on Barry Island sands. As business improved he purchased a small steam driven tunnel railway from Studts, which he re-painted in what was to become typical White's fairground colours, and raised the ride above eye level. He became involved in the opening of a chain of cinemas in Pembrokeshire and left his sons to further develop the business on Barry Island. White Bros. purchased their first set of gallopers, complete with 94 key Marenghi Organ, in 1909 also from Studts. A number of years later the ride was sold to Billy Butlin for use as an attraction in his Holiday Camp at Skegness. |
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From 1924 onwards on a number of August Bank Holiday Mondays, 80,000 to 100,000 visitors arrived at the Island, mostly by train. In 1927 after the 1926 General Strike, reports in the local and national press described the scenes over the August Bank Holiday weekend at Barry Island, when an estimated 120,000 plus arrived at the Island as "Organised Chaos", with trains arriving and leaving Barry Island Station at five-minute intervals. Over 75 special excursion trains, with an estimated 500-600 passengers on board each train, left Riverside Station in Cardiff that day. St John Ambulance stated that on bank holiday Monday they dealt with 900 cases, and on Tuesday 44 cases. It was also reported that hundreds of visitors unable to board trains were seen walking towards Cardiff at 3 am the next morning. On numerous occasions White's gave generously when asked to support national charities and for local or town sponsored fund raising events, handing over the fairground to the organisers with the whole of the days takings from the rides being given to the organising body. The Queen Victoria Nurses Home in Woodlands Road and the provision of X-Ray equipment at Barry Accident Hospital were two of the many charitable appeals helped by the fairground. In 1930 after returning from travelling the country they arrived back at the Island to find that Pat Collins had taken over their site. Tom White immediately purchased a piece of waste ground opposite that he named "Cosy Corner", which was opened in April of the same year. In the late 1890's Mr White, who was then a travelling showman, had built a hut on the site and held the first kinematograph shows in Barry. In 1938 Sydney White died, aged 78. His funeral cortege left "Cosy Corner" at Barry Island and travelled to Cardiff to be interred in the family vault at Cathays Cemetery. In 1999 after a fire destroyed the "Cosy Corner" building it was demolished and is now being re-built. Pat Collins was born in 1859, and on leaving school at the age of ten started work in his father's travelling fair, his first job being to turn the handle of a barrel organ. By saving up his money he managed to purchase a broken down roundabout which he repaired and toured with. In 1880 he married Flora Ross in Liverpool Cathedral, but was richer in ideas than in money, and in order to pay the wedding fees had to pawn his suit and turn up at the cathedral in workmen's corduroy trousers and a flaming red neckerchief. By 1882 he had set up his own fair at Walsall in Staffordshire and by using this as a base, built a showground empire. As he progressed he moved into other forms of entertainment, acquiring cinemas, theatres and other fairground sites, but he still continued to rent or lease sites for his travelling fairs. As he had left school before he could read or write, he taught himself from old magazines. By 1922 he had become one of the richest showmen in Britain, and was MP for Walsall. In 1930 he took over the Barry Island fairground from White Bros. and renamed it "The New Evesham Pleasure Park". He then proceeded (with the collaboration of the local Council) to advertise the pleasures of Barry and Barry Island in the local and national press, by Council holiday guides, and leaflet drops in Cardiff, the Valleys and towns in England, especially the West Country and Midlands. In this he was so successful that railway excursions to Barry became fully booked within days and sometimes hours of their advertising. In 1936 so many visitors were arriving at Barry Island station the GWR picked it to be the first station on its whole rail network to install a loudspeaker system. A report in the local press on one Bank Holiday Monday, when an estimated crowd of over 150,000 arrived at the Island, described the scene as follows -
As in 1927 in the early hours of the morning, hundreds of visitors could be seen walking along the Port Road towards Cardiff. Anxious not to lose custom, the management of the fairground rounded up a few lorries and picked a great number of visitors up and relayed them part-way home to the outskirts of Cardiff. The GWR issued special 1/- (5p) day return tickets from Cardiff General (Riverside) and sold over 82,000 tickets. At one time temporary ticket offices had to be set up in the concourse to cope with the demand and extra trains were laid on outside the schedule to transport visitors to Barry Island. By 12 noon the railway had run out of tickets and were using tickets dated for the following day (Tuesday). Pat Collins' advertising had proved to be a great success and put Barry and Barry Island firmly on the map. In 1934 during August Bank Holiday week the official estimate of the number of visitors was over 400,000. 1,200 coaches and char-a-bancs, 8,000 motor cars, 3,000 motor cycles and over 10,000 cycles paid for garaging. Rail and public buses brought tens of thousands more to the Island. As with White Bros., Pat Collins also supported fund-raising events giving the fairground over to various charities in the Town. In the late 1930's Pat's son John took over the fairground, later buying it from his father. 1938 saw a record crowd of over 250,000 arrive or try to arrive at the Island. Cars, buses and cyclists were diverted to the Knap, Porthkerry Park, Sully and Rhoose when it was found that it was impossible to park on the Island. By 6 pm the homeward trek began with a line of cars and buses stretching from Barry to the roundabout at Culverhouse Cross. A resident in Colcot Road reported that at 3 am on Tuesday morning she had been kept awake by the continuous rumble of traffic passing her house. In 1939 John Collins brought the most famous ride in Wales to the Island. This was the Scenic Railway, which first opened in 1938 at Glasgow, later to be taken to the World's Fair in Belgium, but on the imminent outbreak of the second world war, it was hurriedly brought to Barry Island and erected. It proved to be a tremendous success. The end of the war saw the Collins formula of advertising the attractions of the Island again swing into action, and this, together with the granting of the miner's two weeks holiday, and taking over and organising the Carnival, succeeded in attracting hundreds of thousands to Barry once again. |
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Mr. T. A. Walker, Main Contractor for the building of Barry Docks, was born in 1828 and came to Barry with impeccable credentials as a railway contractor. He began railway work at the age of 17 on the North Staffordshire Railway, later went to Canada to work for the engineer on the building of the Grand Trunk Railway, and then to Russia and Egypt. He became the resident engineer with oversight of the construction of the London Underground. From 1863 to 1867 he worked with Mr Hawkshaw, the engineer for the construction of the East London Railway. Mr Hawkshaw, who was later awarded the contract for the building of the Severn Tunnel, appointed him the contractor until its completion in 1886. Other contracts were obtained, including the contract for the building of the Lisvane Reservoir in Cardiff. In 1884, although his was not the lowest tender, his expertise was considered to be worth the extra expense, and he was awarded the contract for the building of the docks at Barry. His first job on arriving in Barry was to build housing accommodation for his workers. A report in the newspapers of that time stated "That the little town of Barry was built with almost American speed." It was known as "Walkers Town", and is now High Street and the surrounding streets. It consisted of over 300 properties including shops and other business premises. Like many other contractors Walker was a religious man and would allow no work to take place on his contracts on Sundays. He built a Mission Hall later to be known as the Barry Public Hall and paid for its maintenance, and he also paid the salary of a missionary/minister. He was president of the Barry Branch of the British and Foreign Bible Society and presented all his workers with a copy of the Bible. A firm believer in education, he gave a donation of 21 guineas to the fund for the provision of reading rooms at Cadoxton and Barry, and opened a small school in Queen Street for his workers' children and for workers who wished to better themselves. Dr George Neale was appointed as works doctor. Walker provided other facilities for his workforce and subscribed to the formation of many sporting associations in Barry including cricket, football and athletics. During the time that he worked in Barry he employed over 1,500 men on the Barry Docks contract. A great number of them followed him from contract to contract. When unable to obtain stone in large enough amounts and size he opened The Alps Quarry near Wenvoe. Many of the stones used for the building of the dock walls and entrance weighed over seven tons and were transported by horse drawn wagons, and later, when larger stones were required, by steam driven road engines to Barry. On completion of the Docks contract he formed, together with others, a syndicate to buy approximately 50-60 acres of land from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners at West Barry, and to purchase other land and properties in Barry. The company came to be known as the Barry Estate Company. On completion of the Docks contract in 1889, he left Barry and bought a large estate, Mount Ballan near Caerwent, and in November of that year died. The appreciation for him was apparent as when news of his death reached Barry, the town went into mourning for him, with drawn blinds in almost all the houses. The following day even the engines working on the docks had black cloth draped around their smoke stacks.
Major Edgar Jones was born in 1868 at Llanrhaiadr, Montgomeryshire, was a pupil at Oswestry High School and from there in 1885 entered Aberystwyth University. He had ambitions to become an architect, but fortunately for Barry he altered his mind and went into the field of education. In 1894 he was appointed headmaster to Llandeilo where he taught for over 4 years until his appointment in February 1899 as headmaster of the Barry County School, succeeding Mr HR Norris. At the time of his appointment the school had 157 pupils, but numbers increased so rapidly that temporary accommodation was used at the YMCA and the Woodlands Hotel. His first duty as headmaster was at the St. David's Day Banquet held at the Windsor Hotel, Barry to respond to the toast "Education." One of his innovative ideas was to divide the school into four departments, Scholastic, Technical, Commercial and Agricultural. Major Edgar Jones developed the School for it to become known as the model Welsh Grammar School, setting great store in not only producing pupils who did well educationally, but who could take their place in any distinguished society, government department, college or university. The list of students who succeeded in their chosen professions and acknowledged the start given to their progress by the school is enormous. It took over 40 years for other education authorities to put into effect schemes as laid down by the Education Act 1944, that had been in use in education in Barry for years. The school was co-educational until 1913 when the girls moved lower down the hill to the Girls Grammar School. Major Edgar Jones gained his commission with the Glamorgan Territorial Royal Engineers Regiment based at Cardiff during the 1st World War. He was made the 4th Freeman of the Borough in 1950. On his retirement in 1934 the name Jones was still kept alive in the field of education by the appointment of his daughter, Miss Gwyneth Vaughan Jones, as headmistress of the Girls Grammar School - a position in which she, like her father, excelled. Thomas Ewbank was born in Shap, Westmorland in 1850. He served his apprenticeship as a pupil teacher in Haslington National School near Manchester, and later held appointments in Bolton, Haslington and Dudley Schools, before coming to Barry to take up the headship of Cadoxton Mixed School on 17th November 1879.
Among his other interests were gardening. He was treasurer of the Barry and District Gardeners Association and a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society. He became secretary of the first Fanciers Society, and one of the promoters of the Barry Open Poultry Show. In 1888 he became the secretary of the G.U.O.O.F., the superintendent of the Church Sunday School in Cadoxton, and a member of the Barry Evening Schools Committee, who performed sterling work in adult education. He was also a founder member of the Barry Lodge No. 2357, which met at the Wenvoe Arms Hotel and the Royal Hotel before moving to the Masonic Hall in Barry. Many teachers who began their teaching careers in Cadoxton went on to become headteachers in other schools in the area. Mr MW Williams left Cadoxton to teach at Romilly, and there formed the famous Romilly Boys Choir. Mr Ewbank produced a small book, published in the early 1920's, entitled "The History and Geography of Barry" which was one of the first local history books to detail the phenomenal growth of the town. He served as headmaster at Cadoxton school for over 40 years. William Mathew Williams was born in 1876 in Wrexham and came to Barry in 1900 to teach first at Cadoxton School, then at Barry Island, later moving to High Street Boys School under the headship of Mr Henry Whitehouse. To encourage the singing of hymns at school assembly Mr Williams (who attended Bethesda Welsh Congregational Chapel in High Street) brought his violin to school and played to accompany the singing of the boys. He later managed to purchase a broken down harmonium for 2/6 (121/2p), which he had repaired, and one of his pupils, Marchant Herbert, played it to accompany the violin. Within a short space of time he had formed a string orchestra to play at the chapel and give concerts around the Town. They were in attendance at the opening of the Town Hall and at the opening of Romilly Boys School. At the same time a small group of boys were encouraged to accompany the group as a choir. In 1905 when Romilly Boys School opened, half the staff and boys were transferred there from High Street School. It was from this date that the formation of the famous Romilly Boys Choir began. That same year they received their first invitation to compete at an Eisteddfod, which was being held at Pontyclun. A three-horse charabanc was ordered, and it took over 2 hours to cover the 13 miles to their destination. The choir won the first prize of £5. Two weeks later they competed at Abergavenny and came away with 1st and 2nd prizes. They went on to compete at Cardiff where they took 2nd prize, and at Newport and Caerphilly where they won the £100 first prize. The choir went from strength to strength, winning competitions and appearing at many national and local Eisteddfods. In 1911 they gave a concert at the Crystal Palace in London and in 1912 at the Festival of Music in Paris, where they were awarded the Grand Prix. The Romilly Boys Choir became so well known in the South Wales valleys that they were sometimes asked where the town of Romilly was. At the invitation of the Headmaster, William Mathew composed the Romilly "School Song". At a competition at Colwyn Bay the choir were awarded the 1st prize, scoring 198 points out of a total of 200. In 1914 the choir, which consisted of 34 youngsters whose ages ranged from 10-14 years, went on a successful four-month tour of America, culminating in an invitation to sing for President Wilson at the White House. In 1920 when the Eisteddfod visited Barry, William Mathew took over the position of secretary to the music section. It was at his suggestion that a children's concert be held as part of the Eisteddfod, which was a great success and has been held ever since. In recognition of his services to music a fund was set up, known as the WM Williams Music scholarship, to be awarded to the boy at Romilly School with the most musical talent. In recognition of his services to music and to the town Mr Williams was made an Honorary Freeman. John Lowdon was born in 1843 in Sunderland and trained as a railway engineer with the London and North-eastern Railway Company. On leaving, he took up training as a marine engineer in Hartlepool. He went to sea for nine years, serving as Chief Engineer for many of them. On swallowing the anchor in 1876 he took up the management of the Tyneside Engineering Company. In 1887 he was asked to represent a consortium of seven Cardiff Shipowners who, on the opening of the No. 1 Dock, could see the advantage of establishing a Dry Dock at Barry Docks. He was appointed Manager on the opening of Barry Graving Dock, later to be appointed Managing Director, a position he held until his retirement in 1923. |
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In the field of Education he was a member, and later chairman, of the local school board. He played a leading part in the establishment of both the Boys and Girls County Schools, and the build up of an educational system that was the envy of many other local authorities throughout the British Isles. He was appointed to the Board of Governors of Barry County School in 1895 and was its Chairman until his death. He helped to establish the Glamorgan Teachers Training College and was an active co-opted member. In political life John Lowdon served on the former Glamorgan County Council as a member of the Liberal party for 15 years and was a member of the Barry Libraries and the Educational Committees for over 30 years. John Lowdon's other interests included the Scout Movement and many other youth movements in the Town, and was one of the first to present a trophy named after himself to the Barry Amateur Swimming Club to be competed for annually. He was a staunch member of the Wesleyan movement and was instrumental in the building of Porthkerry Road Methodist Church by Mr TA Walker, the contractor responsible for the construction of the Dock. Sir William Graham was born in Jarrow, Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1861, and served an apprenticeship as an engineer. He wanted to become a minister of religion of the English Baptist persuasion, and studied for five years with that aim in mind. As he was too young to be admitted to theological college he decided to fill in his time by going to sea as an engineer. Whilst at sea he changed his mind and decided to continue his career as an engineer and after nine years at sea retired with a Board of Trade first class certificate of competency. Whilst at sea as an engineer he visited Barry and was offered a position by Messrs. CH Bailey Ltd., as assistant manager at the Tyne Engine Works of Newport and Barry. In 1891 he joined the staff of the company, and within 13 years of joining he was admitted as a partner, and two years later he became its managing partner. In conjunction with Mrs. CH Bailey (the other partner), they purchased the Cardiff Junction Dry Dock and Engineering Company, Ltd., and the Tubal Cain Foundry at Cardiff. He was also a director in many other marine businesses. During the 1st World War he was appointed the chairman of the National Shell Factory of Cardiff, and was on the boards of management of the Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Llanelli and Ebbw Vale shell factories. In the early stages of the war, 18-pounder shells were being turned out at the engineering works at Barry and Newport. One half of the Newport works was turned over to the production of shells for the government free of charge. All members of staff who joined the forces were paid their full salaries and every workman or apprentice who was drafted or joined were paid an allowance for the whole period of their service. He was also the first person in modern Barry to have a Knighthood conferred on him. He stood for parliament as the Liberal candidate for Llandaff and Barry, but owing to ill health had to stand down just prior to the election. His two sons also served with distinction in the war, the elder Captain W Hedley Graham being awarded the Military Cross. J. C. Meggitt was born in Wolverhampton and was brought up in the timber trade, his father being manager for Messrs. Richard Shelton & Sons, Timber Merchants of Wolverhampton. In 1884 JC Meggitt arrived in Barry with his brother-in-law Mr TW Proger, to start a new business. He took a lease on a plot of ground at the junction of Broad Street and Island Road (near the site of the Railway Club), and in the same year opened a builders yard and sawmill. The nearest railway station, Penarth, was six miles by narrow and badly maintained roads and needed a fleet of horses and wagons to move the supplies required to carry on business. He also used the Austry at the Old Harbour to bring in timber and other building materials by small coasting vessels. On the granting of the contract for the building of the docks, Mr TA Walker, who required the land to carry out his contract, offered to purchase his entire stock of materials if he would surrender the lease to him. Mr Meggitt agreed, and moved to a site where Cadoxton railway station stands. In August 1888 a partnership with his brother-in-law D Sibbering Jones was entered into, and by July 1889 premises on the new docks were opened. The first import to enter the Docks was a cargo of slates from Portmadoc carried by the "Lion" and destined for Meggitt's. By December the same year the Barry Railway line was opened from Cogan to Barry Dock, giving access to Cardiff. The Barry & Cadoxton Local Board was formed the same year and Mr Meggitt was elected, becoming its first Chairman. He was later elected a County Alderman and acted as a Justice of the Peace for over 50 years. Together with John Lowdon he was one of the earliest advocates of County and Intermediate Schools and one of the small band of administrators which made Barry's Educational systems the envy of many larger local authorities and educationalists in the country. He was instrumental in the planning of roads and planting of trees in the town, turning the most ordinary streets into leafy avenues. In the 1890's he purchased property in Kingsland Crescent and gave free use to the Barry Nursing Association to enable the association to establish a hospital. Later in 1895, together with his wife, he purchased the adjacent property (No. 34) and gave the association five years usage rent free. Through this act of generosity it enabled Barry to establish an Accident and Surgical Hospital paid for out of rates and voluntary donations, one of the first in Britain. A staunch member of the Congregationalist Movement, in 1889 he invited six people to a meeting at his home in Park Road, and the outcome was the building of the Windsor Road Congregational Church which opened on 23rd May, 1890. He was elected its first secretary and Sunday-school superintendent. A singular honour for Mr. Meggitt was his appointment in 1926 to the Chair of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. At the time of this honour the union had had 96 chairmen, of which only seven were laymen, and Mr Meggitt was the eighth. At the end of the 1st World War he presented every school child in Barry with a book entitled "The History of the War". On the Town receiving its Charter of Incorporation he was appointed deputy Charter Mayor, the Earl of Plymouth becoming the Charter Mayor. In 1940 he became the third person to become a Freeman of the Town. The other two were Lord Davies of Llandinam, and the Earl of Plymouth. In March 1959 the firm he founded was sold to the Powell Duffryn Group. Dan Evans came to Barry from Llanelli in 1889 with his father the Reverend Ben Evans, who had been appointed minister to the Tabernacl Welsh Congregational Chapel in Holton Road. Mr Evans began his working life in Barry as an apprentice for Mr WH Hooper in his ironmongers shop at 81 Holton Road, and in 1905 Mr Evans purchased the business and began the longest family-run department store in the town. As the need for ironmongery and ship's chandlery dropped with the diminishing number of ships arriving at Barry Docks, the decision was taken to concentrate on household needs. Mr Evans would always be on hand to greet customers, listen to any complaints and to endeavour to satisfy all his customers. Consequently the business prospered, and by the end of the 1920's the company acquired No's. 83, 85 and 85b Holton Road. Although Mr Evans spent a great deal of time with his business, he was also a member of the Barry Chamber of Trade and Commerce, giving freely of his time and business acumen in publicising Barry and its amenities. In the 1920's he was Chairman of the Barry Carnival Committee which in 1927/8 raised money to help the War Memorial Hall Fund, and in 1929 to purchase X-Ray equipment for the Barry Accident Hospital. In 1932 Evans was elected and became a member of the local council. At the granting of Borough status to the Town in 1939 he was appointed Deputy Mayor and in 1944 was offered the position of Mayor, a position that owing to ill health he had to decline. He was a member of the Tabernacl Welsh Congregational Church, and an active supporter of the Welsh language, and together with others, helped to establish the first Welsh School at St. Francis on the Hill, in the Suburb. Dr P J O'Donnell was born in Cashel, Co. Tipperary, and qualified as a doctor in 1882. He came to Barry via Cardiff in 1886 and was almost immediately elected to a committee by the Cadoxton Vestry to look after the interests of the commoners and ratepayers of Cadoxton in the application by the Barry Railway and Docks Company for the acquisition of land for the purpose of building the docks and railway. In 1888 he was selected as a member of the Barry and Cadoxton Local Board and was elected as a member of the B.U.D.C. on its formation until 1928. Together with other members of the Board he took a great interest in the promotion of education in Barry. As an active sportsman he also took an interest in local sporting activities, becoming President of the Cadoxton Football Club, and Captain and main sponsor in 1887 of the first Cricket Club to be formed in Barry. The Catholic Church in Barry owes Dr O'Donnell a great debt for the work he did to promote the return of Catholicism to the Town. Father Vignoles, a priest from Cardiff, was asked to hold the first mass to be celebrated in Barry since the reformation, at "Ardmoyle", Barry Road, the home of Dr O'Donnell. He later obtained the free use of the Picnic Hall in the Wenvoe Arms (now The Admiral). Whilst it was being used as a Church it was renamed, "St. Mary's Roman Catholic Mission". He organised a petition containing over 400 names to be sent to Bishop Hedley, asking for a resident priest, and in 1888 managed to obtain the services of Fr. Hyland, who stayed in Barry until 1894. He was a founder member and pioneer of St. Helen's Catholic Young Men's Association and was its Chairman from its formation in 1919. In 1929 for his services to the Catholic Faith, he was honoured by the Pope with the award of The Knighthood of St. Sylvester. |
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From his appointment as Clerk in 1887, until 1902, he had overseen the growth of the Town, from a population of less than 1,000 to over 31,000. As the town grew its municipal life had also grown, and it now had gas, water and electric light undertakings, an abattoir, refuse destructor, a municipal cemetery, hospitals (one used mainly for accidents), a library, four reading rooms and in strategic parts of the Town, allotments and parks. Mr Hughes was directly responsible for the unification of the four parishes that now make up the Town. Together with other council officers he was involved in the acquisition of lands for road widening, allotments, sewerage disposal, the laying out of Merthyr Dyfan cemetery, the formation of the Port Health Authority, cholera and isolation hospital and a sanatorium. He oversaw the framing of the Town's Bye-laws, and an Act of Parliament, which gave the Council varied powers. In 1902 he resigned from his post as clerk and announced his intention of standing for Council against one of his main critics, this he did, and won the seat. At his adoption meeting he stated that one of the many reasons that he had resigned was that as clerk to the council, he was prevented from making public statements and speeches about actions taken by the council, against his better judgement. At a meeting following his election as councillor for West Ward, he was proposed and elected as chairman of the council for what was then Coronation Year. Together with Mr Lewis Lewis, he was instrumental in the formation of the "Barry Dock News" and on the departure of Mr Lewis in 1892, the paper was amalgamated with the South Wales Star. Mr Hughes remained company secretary until 1920. He was prominent in the Territorial Army Volunteer Services and in 1891 he was appointed to the post of Lieutenant Colonel of the Severn Volunteer Division of the Submarine Miners, later becoming its Colonel. For his services to the Territorial Army he was honoured by the King with the Companionship of the Bath, and he also held the Volunteer Decoration Medal. He took a great interest in both the Red Cross and Boy Scout Movements, becoming the District Commissioner for the latter. He was secretly married in 1903 to Miss Pattinson from Birmingham, and had a daughter, Gwendoline Hilary Constance, who trained as a nurse in Bristol. On his retirement from the company in 1929 his nephew, Mr J Bernard Price Hughes, became the senior partner and took over the company with Mr LW Rees, who before qualifying as a solicitor was the managing clerk for 30 years. Hughes died in May 1938 at his home in Bournemouth. Members of Mr Hughes family played an important part in the life of the Town. His sister Miss EP Hughes was a well-known educationalist, who started her career at the Ladies College, Cheltenham, then became Principal of Cambridge College at Cambridge. On leaving her position there in 1899, the British government selected her to act as their representative for British Higher Education at the Higher Education Congress in America, from where she travelled to India and from there to Japan. In Japan she accepted the post of Professor of English at three Japanese Universities. On leaving Japan, the Emperor presented her with a gift for her services to women's education in that country. On her return to Barry to live with her brother, she became the driving force in the establishment of the first Women's Club In Barry (The 20th Century Club), which by the 1930's had over 700 members. The Club, as a token of the esteem in which they held Miss Hughes, commissioned a portrait of her to be painted by Barry artist Miss Margaret Lindsay Williams, whose paintings had been exhibited on a number of occasions at the Royal Academy. The painting was unveiled at a ceremony in at the Barry Memorial Hall in 1937. In 1910 she established a voluntary nursing organisation which, on the outbreak of the 1st World War, carried out sterling work in the many hospitals set up on a temporary basis in Barry and District. Amongst her other interests she was a member of the Town's Education Committee. One of the experiences that she liked to relate was that, when visiting an international exhibition in Wembley, she saw a Japanese trade stand, and, having taught in that country and having knowledge of its language, was drawn to it. Speaking to the stand holder it turned out that he was a student of Tokyo University, where she had taught English. She remarked "that she knew that university well; I was there for some time" the student replied that "you must be mistaken, only once has a women entered its doors, and that was the great Miss Hughes of Wales". The Hughes family were keen supporters of the Wesleyan cause. Mr JA Hughes' brother, the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes, MA, and a Wesleyan evangelist, was head of the London West End Mission. On his death, his wife carried on his work at the Mission and in 1931 raised a considerable amount of money to enable a hostel to be opened. As a tribute to her fund raising efforts the hostel was named "The Katharine Price Hughes Hostel". The head of the family, Dr J Hughes, FRCS, before coming to Barry to live with his son, held many public offices in Carmarthen. He was an ardent member of the Wesleyan Methodist movement and took a great interest in the welfare of the cause in Barry. On his death his family gave the contents of his library to the South Wales University College of Medicine. Dr Hughes' father, the Rev. Hugh Hughes, was for a time the Chairman of the South Wales Welsh Wesleyan District and the first Welsh minister to be appointed to the Legal Hundreds of the Denomination. Mr Dudley Howe, MBE was the second son of Mr Christopher Howe, a local government officer of the Council from its formation. Dudley Howe was born in Cowbridge, educated at Cadoxton School and at the higher-grade secondary school in Cardiff. On leaving School he joined the firm of Meggitt and Jones, becoming a director in 1910. He followed his father's footsteps into council work being elected for the Cadoxton Ward in 1913. He served on the former Glamorgan County Council and Barry's Council for over 30 years. In 1924 he was elected Chairman of the Barry Urban District Council. As a tribute for his work as a councillor he was elected its first mayor when it became a non-county Borough in 1939. On the outbreak of the 1st World War he enlisted in 1915, and spent four years in the army, three of them in France. He started life in the army as a private and received a battlefield commission, finishing his service in 1919 as a lieutenant. On his homecoming he devoted a great deal of his time and energy in the raising of money for the building of a cenotaph and a suitable memorial to members of the armed forces from Barry who lost their lives in action during the war. The result of his efforts was the building of the Memorial Hall and Cenotaph, which when completed was one of the most impressive buildings of its kind in the principality. He was instrumental in obtaining a donation of £10,000 from Lord Davies of Llandinam and his sisters towards the cost of its construction. Apart from his council workload, Mr Howe worked for Meggitt and Jones for many years, until in 1910, when it became a limited company and he was appointed a director. He was president of the Barry Liberal Association, an officer and a lifelong member of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Court Road, and was for a great many years chairman of the Barry Education Committee and of the Governors of Barry Grammar School. He was also president of the Barry Boy Scouts association. During the 2nd World War he became a welfare officer for troops stationed in the area and chairman of the National Savings Movement of Barry, and he served as a J.P. for over 20 years. He was very proud of the town that he lived in and served, and together with Dan Evans he was known as one of "The Barry Boosters", always pushing and publicising the facilities that the town could offer. |
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Mr E R Hinchsliff arrived in Barry from Crewe in 1900 where he had served his articles, to take up the post of Deputy Surveyor. On the retirement of Mr Pardoe in 1925 he was appointed Surveyor until the incorporation of the Town into a Borough in 1939, when he became its first Borough Engineer. Mr Hinchsliff was not only the Town's Surveyor but also its Architect, Civil Engineer and Valuer. During the 1st World War he served as a Major in the army and was appointed Deputy Director of Roads with the BEF in France. His most outstanding achievement was that of the building of the Memorial Hall and Cenotaph for which he was the honorary Designer and Architect. The original layout and development of the Lake and Barry Island, together with the Central Estate, was also his responsibility and in the late 1930's he supervised the upgrading of the Knap Pool by the building of chalets and the provision of the filtration and pumping plant. During his period of office he undertook building, engineering and road-works costing at the time over half-a-million pounds. Dr George Neale was born in 1862 at Mount Sorrel in Leicestershire. On qualifying as a doctor, his first assistantship was with Dr Naughton Davies of Porth in the Rhondda Valley, where he gained valuable experience in an extensive colliery practice. In 1887 he came to Barry to practice as a works doctor for Mr TA Walker, the contractor for the building of the docks. On his arrival he stayed for a time with Mr Oliver Jenkins of New House, Cadoxton. He was the first and only Medical Officer of Health for the Town and Port of Barry and consulting surgeon to the Barry Railway Company, a Justice of the Peace and for nearly 30 years the poor law officer for the town. In 1914 he retired from his duties with the Council but on the outbreak of the 1st World War and the call-up of his successor and partner, Dr Kent, he became the acting port medical officer for Barry. He was married in Penmark Church to one of the Matthews family of Penmark. On his death he left his practice as a physician, surgeon and his residence, Mount Sorrel and its contents, to his partner Dr John Charles Kent. He also left £6,000 in trust to St. Mary's Church, Penmark, the interest to augment the stipend of the minister, plus £750 for the upkeep of the church, its churchyard and its fabric. The same conditions and amount of money was left to St. Curig's Church, Porthkerry, where he and his wife were buried. He left £1,000 in trust to the Barry Council for the provision and upkeep of four drinking troughs and fountains for horses, cattle and dogs in different parts of the town. The residue of his estate, which was estimated to be between £20,000 and £30,000 was left for the benefit of the poor children of Barry, special attention being given to improvement of their physical condition, "so that they may grow up to be healthy men and women". This became known as "The Neale Trust Fund". In recognition of the services given to the Town by he and his partner, it was decided to name the hospital on Colcot Road The Neale and Kent Hospital, which on its demolition was replaced by the Barry Hospital. © T. CLEMETT 2004
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