Arrrival in Rhayader 1940

The first thing that struck Robert as he dismounted from the train was the smell. Not the oily, sooty smell of the engine, but the fresh smell of the air. Liverpool had never smelled like this. He walked over to the white picket fence running along the outside of the platform and took a deep breath to fill his nose, mouth and lungs with the taste, smell and freshness that ever after would mean Rhayader to him. As well as the freshness, there was a faint smell of wood smoke. As he stood there he noticed lots of white dots all over the hillsides above the town. He went across to Miss Taylor.

"Miss, what are all those white dots on the hills?"

"They are sheep, Robert. You'll be seeing a lot of those here."

"There are thousands of them, Miss."

"Yes there are. Most of the farms are sheep farms."

Robert's excitement increased as he realised there would be lambs at Coed Glason.

The train pulled out of the little station and the long line of children stretched from one end of the small platform to the other. Some were chattering with excitement and others were quiet and introspective. Robert noticed for the first time the station buildings were built of grey stone, as was each house they passed on their short walk to the Drill Hall.

When they arrived they were in for a surprise. The local people had prepared a party. There were several tables and on each one were plates of sandwiches and cakes together with glasses of lemonade.

Valerie and Robert were directed to a table near the stage at the far end of the hall. A pleasant looking lady and a happy looking gentleman, sat there. From his clerical collar, the gentleman must have been a vicar. He spoke first, in a sing-song Welsh accent that seemed strange to the children.

"This is Mrs Morgan from Pencae, who will be looking after you Valerie, and I am Mr Davies, the Vicar of Nantmel. Welcome to Rhayader."

He shook each of them by the hand, and Mrs Morgan clasped each of them to her ample bosom.

"There's lovely to meet you," she said to Valerie. "My girls are jumping up and down at home waiting for you to get there. I expect you're both hungry and thirsty. Come and sit down and help yourselves."

Valerie liked Mrs Morgan and was smiling for the first time in over a week. "Thank you Auntie I want to meet them too."

"Bless you, child, there's good manners you have."

After eating a sandwich, Robert found some flat round cakes that reminded him of scones to look at but not to taste. He liked them and ate three or four.

Mrs Morgan smiled. "I see the young man likes our Welsh cakes then, Vicar?"

"And so he should," said the Vicar, helping himself to another. "They're delicious."

While the children's attention was diverted, Mrs Morgan whispered to the Vicar, "She's a sweet young thing, but she's so pale. We'll have to put some colour in her cheeks somehow. The boy seems very young. Will he be alright, Vicar?"

"You and your girls will soon put roses in her cheeks, I'm sure. He's only six but young Daffydd at Coed Glason is the same age. I'm sure he'll be fine after a while."

As soon as the food was eaten, the Mayor came onto the stage to welcome the evacuees and to thank the foster-parents. Around his neck he wore a splendid gold chain that fascinated Robert. He had never seen such a thing before. The Vicar noticed his interest and whispered that it was the Mayor's chain of office, worn on important occasions. This made Robert feel very special - he'd never been part of an important occasion before. Once the Mayor had finished speaking, the children began to leave with their foster-parents.

Mrs Morgan turned to Valerie. "Now Valerie, it's time for us to go. Robert will be going with the Vicar, so you must say goodbye."

She noticed tears began to well up in the children's eyes and added, "Don't worry, Cariad. You'll be seeing each other in town and I'm sure the Vicar will bring Robert to Pen-cae sometimes, too."

Valerie took Robert in her arms and they held each other close. Although Robert was so excited, leaving Valerie reminded him he would now be on his own with strangers. Also he wouldn't be able to help his sister when she had a coughing fit.

"'Bye Val, I hope your cough gets better soon. I'll miss you."

"Rob, it's better already. I haven't coughed all day. I'll miss you, too. "Bye!"

Much of his excitement evaporated as he watched Valerie leaving with Mrs Morgan. Vicar Davies took him by the hand and led him out of the hall.

"I'm afraid neither Mr nor Mrs Lewis was able to come to Rhayader today," he said, "so I am driving you to Coed Glason in my car. It's just over there."

He pointed to a small black Morris 8 parked near the door of the hall. The Vicar started the car and began to drive out of the yard and towards Robert's new life.