Ystradgynlais Memorials
Maesydderwen School, Ystradgynlais
Maesydderwen School was founded in 1907 on a different site and moved to Maesydderwen Manor in 1911, a large mansion whose history was intimately connected with the nearby Ynyscedwyn Ironworks. However, this original building was destroyed by fire in 1932, with the loss of all records. The new building erected subsequent to this forms the core of the current school which was expanded again in 1954, and is now once more undergoing extensive rebuilding work. Fuller information on the history of Maesydderwen School can be found here.
The memorial at Maesydderwen School was erected after the Second World War after efforts by the Hen Fes Memorial Fund. The newspaper article below, from The South Wales Voice December 8th 1945, records the meeting where the decision was taken.
HEN FES MEMORIAL FUND
The first meeting of the Committee of the above fund was held recently at Cynlais Cafe, Ystradgynlais. Mr W. Seth Owen, B.A., headmaster of Maesydderwen, explained the purpose of the meeting to a representative gathering, and it was unanimously agreed that every effort should be made to ensure the success of the venture - that of building up a substantial fund for the provision of a lasting and useful memorial to the old boys of the School who have fallen both in the 1914-18 and the 1939-45 wars.
The following officers were elected: Chairman: Mr W. Seth Owen; vicechairman: Mr T. Ernest Williams; secretaries: Mr Haydn Roderick and Miss Joyce Rowlands; treasurer: Mr W. Emlyn Jones.
The difficult task of compiling a complete list of the present addresses of old pupils who attended the school before the records were destroyed in 1932 was started, members undertaking to assist in respect of the years they entered the School.
It is the Committee's hope that when the appeal is launched all old pupils will rally around and, even though unavoidably missed, will send along their subscriptions to the treasurer or secretaries thus shewing their appreciation of the sacrifices made by fellow students of their school.
The target set is £1,000 and suggestions as to the form the memorial will take are to be placed before a general meeting of the Hen Fes during the annual re-union at the school on Thursday, 27th December.
The eventual form of the memorial was that of a pipe organ, as related by the Maesydderwen School magazine, 1957 below.
The photograph immediately below shows the ceremony to present the pipe organ to the school in 1952. The pupil present is Tudor Williams, whose father Cedric was killed in the Battle of Britain.
'The Growth of Secondary Education in the Ystradgynlais School District' was published in Clydach in 1957, part of the Maesydderwen School Magazine. As the article below relates, Seth Owen, Headmaster and chairman of the Hen Fes Memorial Fund, was responsible for the idea of the memorial, which eventually took the form of a memorial pipe organ.
As president of the 'Hen Fes' he was responsible for the idea of a memorial, in the form of a pipe organ, to the old boys of the School who made the supreme sacrifice in two World Wars. The idea was translated into reality when at an unveiling and presentation ceremony on 17th January 1952, the 'Hen Fes' handed over to the school a magnificent pipe organ together with a Book of Remembrance in which the names of those old boys who had given their lives were inscribed. The School is indebted to its past pupils for this noble gesture. The pipe organ is indeed not only an asset to the School during its morning service and choral work but is also a fitting reminder to generations passing through the school of the high standards of service and spirit of self-sacrifice of all those who passed through this School before them.In 2012, a similar endeavour was launched, raising money for the Memorial Organ Restoration Fund, including a concert at the school, entitled 'The Last Chord'.
The photographs below show the Book of Remembrance, as mentioned above.
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The writing in Welsh upon the covers translates as follows :- MAESYDDERWEN GRAMMAR SCHOOL MEMORIAL NO ONE HAS A GREATER LOVE THAN TO GIVE HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS |
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The Maesydderwen School Book of Remembrance was presented to the school by the Hen Fes Memorial Fund. |
The marble memorial commemorates the fallen old boys from the First World War. Next to it, on the wall, can now be seen the plaque to commemorate Cedric Watcyn Williams, presented at a ceremony in 2011.
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The marble memorial for the fallen of the First World War, and to the right the brass plaque presented by the Battle of Britain Historical Society at the service of remembrance for Cedric Watcyn Williams. |
In 2007, researcher Val Trevallion presented a new Roll of Honour for Maesydderwen School.