Ethel Oates

I was born in Senghenydd in 1938. Much has been written about the village of my childhood. There had been a huge colliery disaster in October 1913 and four hundred and thirty nine men were killed. Senghenydd in the past had been called 'The Valley of Tears', but I can only think of it as the sweetest place. Some of the long and short terraced streets are built quite high on the sides of the valley. Many have known three or four generations of the same families. Some have housed large families who have shared poverty, grief, love, and joy. Time cannot obliterate the strong character of these houses or dim the memories, good and bad, of those who have lived in them. I would like to share my memories of a 1940's childhood, when large families were the norm and luxuries were few. These small slices of social history are from my self-published book 'Tin Baths & Coal Fires.'