Hugh, I've done a few searches here and don't know why information is not appearing for me. I've been thinking about it and am assuming that you haven't had much contact with your family since you moved to Australia in 1955.
If my assumptions are correct you would have gone there under the £10.00 ticket but would have been old enough to remember details of your family in Wales.
Hi Hugo,
Sorry. I realise I have not put things together in any sort of logical order so I hope the following clears things up (all names are the full names as far as I am aware of):
I (Hugh Davies) was born in Glasgow in 1/9/1950. My father, Hugh Davies (b.2/9/1907) was born in Llandudno and married my mother Agnes McLeod Cowan (b 3/4/1921) in Glasgow on 18/10/1944. Dad was in the Merchant Navy during the war years (but only one record could be found to support this). Mum and dad had three sons William, John and Hugh (me), whilst living in Glasgow, and around 1954, dad made application to immigrate to Australia – eventually accepted, and we moved to Australia in 1955.
Mum was a very naïve young woman when she got married and it appears she never really enquired into dad’s family, so she is not a reliable source of knowledge (now 93). Some of the snippets of my mother’s memories include dad working in a slate quarry as a young man. Before coming to Australia in 1955, we all visited our Welsh grandmother and other relatives in PenyGroes. I remember my father in tears some time before 1968, and I’m fairly certain that he had just received word that his mother had passed away. Other memories include dad and another crewman being expelled at a port during the war because they have saved their ‘rum rations’ for some time and then had a party. The ship was subsequently torpedoed and sunk with all hands. Dad had lost the ‘pointer’ finger of his right hand as a result of an infection. Dad passed away in 1970 when I was 20. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, we never had general discussions with dad about his life history, and hence the vacuum of knowledge.
Dad’s parents were William Davies (b.~1876) and Catherine Jones (b. ~1885) who married in 1905 in Llandudno. William and Catherine had Edward ~ 1906, Richard ~1908 and Hugh (my father) in 1909. I think there were two other siblings which followed dad, one was known as Bonzo or Gonzo, and the other his sister who calls herself Jinw pronounced ‘Jeannie’. I read a letter sent from dad’s brother Richard sent after the death of my father wherein Richard talks about the fondness both he and my father 'Hughie' had for the mountains they could see from their doorstep when they were school kids. He also mentioned the frequent trips up to the mountains to see their uncle “Bwff” and mentioned being born in his grandmother’s cottage up on the mountains. Was the ‘front’ door somewhere in Llandudno or somewhere in PenyGroes I do not know. Was the grandmother the paternal or maternal grandmother, I do not know. I do know that William, Catherine and my dad were living in PennyGroes in 1929. I am now assuming William was still alive as there was no mention of being deceased on the document.
So, the challenges have been – no mention of a Father on William’s marriage certificate; no results using a search of BMD using Bonzo or Gonzo as a name for dad’s sibling; no results when using Jinw as his sister’s name; and no hit was found for any Census using the first name of Bwff.
In the mid 60’s dad’s brother Edward had a son Gwyndaf who was a cook on a merchant vessel which would dock here in Brisbane from time to time. Dad would spend a lot of time with Gwyndaf during these visits mostly speaking Welsh, so the rest of us were oblivious to what stories were being told. Gwyndaf retired in Pwhlleli where his parents lived. I did a search of a Gwyndaf Davies for Electrol records and found a Gwyndaf Davies who is around 65 (would be the correct age) and has been living there since 2002. I will send a letter to him to see if he is THE Gwyndaf. If so, it should open a huge window of information.
One of the key bits of information I need to find (if possible), is when did William, Catherine and their children leave Llandudno. Dad’s brother Richie talked about the mountains they could see from his mother’s doorstep when they were young children going to school. Again, were they going to school in Llandudno or in PennyGroes.
Sorry for being a bit vague on the details, but hopefully the above has put the details in some sort of order. I am still awaiting the copies of the birth certificates for William Davies and keeping my fingers crossed. Once again my sincere thanks for all you have done.