your comments
Colin Barber
If Jennifer Hughes would contact me I would love to meet her mother with a view to interviewing her. We are trying to record the memories of the wartime workers.
Tue Dec 2 07:29:02 2008
Derek Matthews, Wrexham
Does anyone remember a Horace Matthews working at Rhydymwyn?
Fri Oct 31 11:33:52 2008
Jennifer Hughes, Wrexham
My mother, Lilian Evans (Jones) DOB 8/11/1918, worked in Rhydymwyn, 1941-43 with her father, Arthur Jones from Sychdyn, and remembers taking him his tea and spending their breaks together. She will be 90 this year.
Mon Aug 25 18:52:46 2008
Colin Barber
We run the recently created Valley History Society (VHS). I recognise many of the stories about the site. We can answer almost all of the issues raised if you contact us. We organise site walks with the showing of slideshows and films, including the full 1944 MoS movie shown on this thread. Our coverage is comprehensive. The site is owned and available for use by the public, including a site into the tunnels from a viewing area. I would recommend you look on rvsweb.org.uk It is a beautiful place, please contact us and arrange to visit the site. There are no secrets - bring a camera.
Wed Jun 25 08:36:04 2008
Susan Reid-Povall, Wirral
My parents worked at the ROF in Wrexham during the war (I have already posted a notice) but there is also another munitions site referred to as Rhydymwyn Valley Works where work on the atom bomb took place. Does anyone know if they are one and the same?
Web Team replies: Yes, they are one and the same place.
Mon May 19 08:21:04 2008
Victoria Evans from Italy
I found this site by pure chance and I am exceedingly interested in it. I remember hearing my mother and my grandmother speaking about an ammunition factory near Mold where they both worked during the war. I also remember hearing the name Rhydymwyn and so I have concluded that they worked there. My grandmother's name was Harriet Victoria Martin, born 29/1/1901; my mother's name was Henrietta Elizabeth Martin, born 13/5/1921. I remember being told about a visit by the King and Queen and believe that my grandmother stood very close to the royal couple during their visit. My mother Henrietta may also be known as Henrietta Evans as she married Frank Evans and lived in Mold. I myself was born in Mold on 5th November 1945. I would be extremely grateful for any further information regarding my family.
Tue May 6 08:34:42 2008
Julie Roughton, Dorchester
My grandfather, Edward Tansley from Mold, was a Security Officer for the works, employed by the Civil Service - my father remembers being taken to visit him at the Gatehouse and feeding a cat he had there a bowl of milk. Edward Tansley later worked for Crosville Bus Company in Mold - he died in March 1970.
Thu Apr 24 08:39:10 2008
Andrew Hughes Leeds, ex Rhyl & Chester
My father (Robert Hughes) used to take myself, my brother and sister (Paul, Andrew & Hilary Hughes) around the back of the Works in the fifties to play, would you believe it! He told my older brother all about the works and what they were and had been doing there (he being well informed from locals he knew via the motor trade, all over that part of Wales).
Wed Apr 2 16:49:32 2008
Peter Parmella, Cambridge
We moved form the north east to Mold in 1941 when my father, a chemical engineer at ICI Billingham, was transferred to Rhydymwyn. There my father never went out except to work, I can only remember him staying at home in Mold, playing chess with me and learning some Russian. His only social actitivity I remember was evenings at a house called Maes Alyn where I once went and met some foreign people with strange names. I was only 8 years old. We learned about his work at 1pm on the day the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima was announced, when my father although a very undramatic man, told us that that was what he had been doing - he had been working on the atomic bomb development at Rhydymwyn. What he and others did there precisely was never clear to me though there is a paper in the Kew Archives which he wrote at the time on molecular weights and gas density - something to do with gaseous diffusion of uranium probably - what we call enrichment today. I would like to know the focus of research there if anyone knows. We returned to the north east when the work was transferred to the USA with the results we know.
Tue Mar 25 13:24:05 2008
Geraint Owain, Rhuthun
I would be interested to know whether the site was used for the production of First World War mustard or phosgene gas? Any ideas?
Tue Nov 27 10:28:55 2007
Allan Roberts, Enfield, Connecticut, USA
My father, John (Jack) Roberts was an ICI police sergeant who had been transferred to Rhydymywn from the Rock Savage Plant in Cheshire in 1939. We went to live in Nantalyn, above the Morris's mill. I remember the main entrance to the works being a few yards from the train station before they moved it to its present position and diverting the river. He worked there until 1941 when he was drafted into the army. He had many stories about that time, but being young and not very attentive I have forgotten most. I would like to offer advice to all like me. Get a tape recorder. You can never trust your memory and cannot go back in time. I will regret it all my life.
Mon Nov 26 08:35:05 2007
Ian Smith, Chester
My father, Les Smith, moved from Liverpool to Afonwen, he was taken on by ICI as a General Mechanic fixing backup generators. He also told stories of tunnels with dividing lines down the middle, personnel in gray overalls walked down one side because they worked with toxic chemicals and other personel kept to the other side. He told of very harsh working conditions such as operating arc welding equipment wilst upto his knees in water down long dark tunnels that had enormous steel doors. Les was in Caerwys Home Guard. He represented Flintshire Home Guard in the stand down parade at the end of the war marching past the king. Can anyone supply any more info regarding Caerwys Home Guard?
Mon Nov 19 12:17:05 2007
Bob Cokayne from Sandbach, Cheshire
My father, Ron Cokayne, worked at the Rhydymwyn site during the war as part of the government's Man Power Commission. Although I do not know the exact nature of his work he was in an area desginated P6. He lodged with a Mrs Newman in a house on the road out of the village towards Pen-y-Fron.
Mon Nov 19 08:47:27 2007
Mike Gibson, Prestatyn
Always been a bit mysterious this place! When I was a kid living in the Antelope Hotel, we used to get several men staying who worked there. However, they were not your average run of the mill workers, these men were from London and were obviously from the Ministry. They used to wear the traditional long black overcoats and trilbies, and would come home from work, have their evening meal, have a few pints in the bar and then to bed. They never revealed just what they did on the site - well so my dad used to say, ha. I had a mania for keys and whenever I saw a key in a door, whichever position it was in i.e. locked or unlocked, I would turn it the opposite way. One night I locked one of these guys in his bedroom and remember these were the days before en-suite facilities, so when the guy wanted to use the loo along the landing and found he was locked in, he had to use a bag of some description. When I was told what had gone on, and received the customary telling off with the threat that if I did it again I would be 'sent to London with the man' - I dreaded that guy coming home that night ha ha. Happy days in Rhydymwyn.
Fri Sep 7 09:12:40 2007
David John
My father met my mother at a bomb factory, could it be this one? Dad's name is Thomas John, mother's Bronwen Pemberton.
Tue Aug 21 14:57:51 2007
Yvonne Buckley from Mold
My grandmother, Elizabeth Buckley nee Jones, worked in Rhydymwyn during the war and lived in Rhydymwyn during the war. Also my grandfather on my mother's side worked there also Fred Bellis. Anyone remember them? My grandmother, Elizabeth Buckley, had a shop in New Street, Mold, for many years, it was a baby linen shop and wool shop.
Mon Aug 13 10:05:29 2007
Paul Roberts, Australia
My father, Caradoc, worked here for a while. He was a major in the Home Guard. We lived in a house nearby at Dolfechlas when I was a toddler. I remember the ak-ak battery in our back garden and a dogfight overhead. My father lit decoy fires to draw the enemy away from the factory. We, too, watched Liverpool burning.
Mon Jul 23 10:40:58 2007
David Jones, Holywell
My father, Jack Jones, worked at the site as a dresser.All he would tell me about the activities at the site was that they produced bullseyes.
Wed Jun 20 11:22:54 2007
Derrick Oare, off Flint.
Does anyone know what number the Royal Ordnance Factory at Rhydymwyn was?
Mon Jun 4 08:03:28 2007
Graham Williams from Flint
I have had an interest in local history for years and the valley works site is such a great story, if anyone has any information or more stories to tell about the valley works or north Wales in WW2 please contact me!
Tue May 22 10:05:17 2007
Susan Jones from Gronant, Flintshire
My mum, Eirwen Williams, worked there. Did the bus pick up at Gronant. She also worked at Marchwiel near Wrexham.
Wed May 16 15:56:03 2007
Elizabeth Elsden from Bristol
I was born sept 1941 in Chirk, N. Wales. My father, Harold William Jason Saunders, worked in a munitions factory some time from 1940 to 1944. He was selected to work there because he was a fully apprenticed plumber. I know very little about his work at this time except that my mother talked about an explosion at the site in which my father was thrown clear but a close friend of his, Peter Fletcher, sustained a serious head injury. He had a metal plate inserted in his skull, probably risky surgery at this time. He survived and lived to retiring age. I believe my father travelled by motorbike and Peter was his passenger. I feel sure they must have worked at the Rhydymwyn valley site as it is about 18 miles from Chirk unless there were any other munitions factories in the area. I would very much like to know. Both my father and Peter were in the Home Guard which I assume was in Chirk as my father used to relate that Home Guard duty was to look out from the church tower for bombers. He actually watched the bombing of Liverpool from there. I unfortunately cannot get to the film showing at the Rhydymwyn site. Can you tell me whether the BBC will at any time show this film or have a programme planned? My parents and I returned to Hampton, Middx, to live approx 1944-45. I understood that my father left the site after the accident. I hope you have an informative evening at the showing and am sorry that I will not be able to get there as I would like to have seen the possibility of seeing Dad on screen. The film shown on site was very interesting. Hope to hear from you.
Mon Apr 16 10:12:57 2007
Carol
I live right back behind the works it is now a nature reserve and they have many works so if you would like to have a look around then phone them and ask when the next walk is.
Mon Nov 20 10:05:32 2006
Dave Flanagan, Flint
Two of the rumours about things that were stored in the caverns at Rhydymwyn concerned naval gun barrels in storage and the other being that there was a complete communications railway train consisting of steam locomotive and carriages. It shows how inventive the mind is.....or were they true?
Mon Oct 23 08:35:36 2006
Liana McCaffrey from rhydymwyn
i haven't seen ghosts around the valley works but i know tht there is an old pub called the antelope which is haunted by supposedly a girl who got run over by a train which was located just by the pub
Mon Sep 11 08:40:40 2006
Guto from Rhyl
We are the publishers of "The X Site - Britain's Most Mysterious Goverment Facility" by Tim Jones a book published in 2001 detailing the history of the site. For thos wanting to find out more it available from our online shop www.gwasg.com
Mon Sep 11 08:40:15 2006
Norman Blackwell, Great Yarmouth
I worked for the Crosville Rhyl depot and we ran two routes from Rhyl to Rhyd y Mwyn factory during the war one via Newmarket, Caerwys and Afonwen and one via Mostyn Holywell and Rhosesmor. Passengers were never keen to talk about what went on there and there were vague stories about poison gas manufacture.
Tue Jun 27 15:43:50 2006
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