Glenys James speaks to Mr Hugh Andrew.

Description

Glenys James speaks to Mr Hugh Andrew who was born in Llanrwst and emigrated to Canada in 1929. Having previously been in the RAF, he came out on a scheme offered by the Canadian Pacific Railway to farm. The depression and drought thwarted his early dreams of finding his fortunes He describes the hard work and how its relentless cyclical nature added to its difficulties. He briefly moved to the states, but because by that time much of the Welsh community there was in its second or even third generation there was little opportunity for him to speak Welsh. A contributor to ‘Y Drych,’ and ‘The Druid Newspapers,’ he would also sing in the Welsh Chapels in Chicago and was invited by local radio stations to sing in Welsh. During the second World War he joined the Canadian Air Force and travelled around Britain whilst on duty. After the War he helped re-start the Ottawa Welsh society, which Mr Hughes believed to have greater amounts of Welsh speakers at present than in the beginning. The society provides a service and community to Welsh emigrants to the area. After visiting Patagonia for the centenary celebrations, Mr. Hughes had great admiration for the Patagonian-Welsh colony, the quality of their Welsh and their discipline and hard work. Despite holding on to the Welsh language his entire life, he considered himself to be a Canadian. He also holds onto traditions such as drinking buttermilk, as he would have done in Wales.