Sian Davies yn soSian Davies talking about her father Tom Evans who served in the First World War - Part 2, 2018

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Tom Evans had one Diary 1.5" x 1.5" which was found by my cousin in an attic in Chester a few years ago. She sent it to me. This was the first documentation other than R. R. Williams's book. He got married when he was 40. I was born when he was 50 so I was only 19 when he died. He writes 'Just to note -'I am 21 today' on May 23rd. On another page he writes that 'We had a Communion Service today'. We must remember that they were all going into the Church or the ministry. He says 'We had Holy Communion at 7 o'clock in the Operating Tent. One of the Officers was very ill and they decided to hold it there. It hadn't been prepared properly and they had used the Red Cross as a Cross behind what they used as an Altar. Another time he writes that he was on night duty in a ward with very very sick people. This was a very uncomfortable feeling and very difficult. Sometimes they had outings to a local town. He said that once they'd met a husband and wife, the husband would be riding a donkey with the wife walking behind. They didn't like this and took the man off and put the wife on the donkey. But when they looked back again the husband was back on the donkey. The Serbs' Customs were so different. They'd have a Concert or a Noson Lawen. Welsh people would get together and form a choir and form good companionship when they were off duty. She has a couple of pictures of her father - one of him, like they did of all soldiers, before they went - usually up in the parlour with most families. There's also a photography of him with 2 Serbs. They managed with the language as they had done Greek, Hebrew and Latin at University, and the Serbs spoke Greek - enough to be able to converse. Then he had Malaria and came home, and may have been invalided out. Not sure. When he came home from the war he decided that he didn't want to to into the Church any more. He went to Aberystwyth University to complete a degree, and then to Bangor University to do a Masters in the Background of Welsh Politics, which is still used as a good reference book. He was a Fellow of the Royal History and Economics Society. He had Classics, History and Economics. He became a headteacher in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bristol which was a Blue Coat School - a Boarding School, and back in 1932 he became the headteacher of Cardigan Grammar School and stayed there for the whole of his career. My mother was also a teacher there since 1928. They got married in 1936, and my mother wasn't allowed to teach any more. You weren't allowed to teach as a married woman. In the Second World War they used people who had experience of the First World War and these became in charge of the Home Guard. Tom Evans was in charge of the Home Guard from Cardigan to Synod Inn and then over to Newcastle Emlyn, and Taylor Lloyd, the Chemist from Aberystwyth was in charge of the area from Aberystwyth down to Synod Inn. Cardiganshire was divided between them. It was a bit like Dad's Army. For the salute my mother would have to take the car with the guns in the back as they were short of guns. They weren't supposed to keep diaries and it is a bit haphazard. Not sure if there were any other diaries. He was very close to his elder sister, who had looked after the family when their mother died, and he would probably have sent every thing back to Auntie Jane. She died and then things get lost. He does mention that his cousin was killed in Gaza and was very upset about it. They changed the name of the house in Pontisan to Gaza Villa. When Sian was teaching in Pontsian school she came across a girl who lived in Gaza Villa. She said that there is a picture of a soldier in the hall in Gaza Villa that is not supposed to be taken down. He suffered further attacks of Malaria after he came home and was very very ill while at Aberystwyth University. Apparently, he Student Newspaper the following week contained his Obituary but he did pull through. He could never give blood because of the Malaria. Sian's brother and daughter interestingly are Rhesus Negative so Tom Evans must have been, but there's nothing to confirm this. The Diary is the main document that we have, but there's also a lost of history in the Welsh book by R. R. Williams. They wrote to each other a lot. Tom Evans wrote to R. R. Williams confirming that he was attached to the 66 Field Ambulance and sheltering in ravines opposite Gran Corone. Our units were part of the 7th South Wales Borderers, 10th Cardiff Pals and the 10th RWF. The Welsh Brigade attacked on the 18th September and lost heavily. On the 19th the Scottish Brigade and they also had considerable losses. On the 20th the Burgers withdrew from the heights. He was a very public figure in Cardigan and I feel pride in what he did and what he did afterwards. He never talked about it when he was a child. There was no counselling those days and would have to keep a stiff upper lip. You weren't allowed to show any signs of weakness. He led a full life and was a JP, a Magistrate. As a Magistrate he once was on a visiting board to Swansea Prison. My mother and I would go shopping and would meet up afterwards. He was probably very stern but ran a very good ship. Cardiganshire back in the 1960s were the highest among Britain with students going to University. The results were superb. He was born in1896, and in the 1840s and 50s you had the Irish Famine and the equivalent almost in Wales, and the only way to get out of dire poverty was through Education. He felt very very strongly about this. He was brought up speaking Welsh in a family in Llandysul. My grandmother side was Unitarian. My grandfather side was Congregational. There's also a link with Frank Lloyd Wright. They came from a very simple background but achieved great things. I have his tag and his H1876RAMC C of E Serbia 1917. - carried their tag so when they died they would know which Prayer Book to read from.