Part Three

Major changes took place in our community in the 1950s. The tinplate works closed down and the character of the community changed completely. The new tinplate plants opened to replace the old style works, Trostre (Llanelli) and Velindre (Swansea). No longer did people walk to work, their lives governed by hooters signifying changes of shifts. They now caught buses or travelled by car; the commuter had arrived in Pontarddulais. Whereas in the old works men and women knew one another, conversed in Welsh, living side by side in the community, now they worked alongside strangers and conversed in English. They worked in impersonal surroundings. I personally witnessed a decline in the use of the language as a result of these industrial changes.

Some of the old works were taken over by light industries. The Glamorgan works became premises of Coated Metals (now Corus), Teilo was taken over by Teddington Bellows. The Dulais Works had been taken over earlier by the South Wales Electricity Board; Glynhir Works became the Lyle Trading Co. Ltd and the Cambrian Works still remains a ruin. Clayton Works was taken over by David Matthews Co. Ltd thus retaining its links with the old industry. Light industry had arrived, working conditions were now easier, but they were not labour intensive industries and Pontarddulais experienced unemployment. People were forced to look elsewhere for work and Pontarddulais had become a dormitory town.

Even the Victorian railway station is sadly no more. The line from Swansea to Pontarddulais has disappeared; the last passenger train ran on 13 June 1964. Today we have a forlorn platform, a simple shelter, eight passenger trains a day on the beautiful Central Wales line. For how long can this line be kept open?

These industrial changes had altered the environment. The rivers are certainly cleaner and fish have returned and the atmosphere is also cleaner. The noise of industry has gone (to be replaced by traffic noise). But it had a major impact on the high street. As a child I could remember many prosperous family owned shops and the Co-op very much a pillar of the business community. Walking down St. Teilo Street is now a depressing experience. Shops are closed and boarded up and the customers have gone elsewhere, to the supermarkets that surround us. Few family businesses remain and there is a consequent growth in takeaways. Vandalism, graffiti and litter seems to be the order of the day.

The churches and chapels are poorly attended. How long will they last? In the nineteenth century Wales built 5000 chapels, one a week. Today we are closing down one a week. Two very large chapels are up for sale and some have been vandalised.

As I write the old tinplate works are being demolished. Yes, even the light industries have gone. They are to be replaced by houses and a Tesco store. Pontarddulais is now truly a dormitory town, where people shop and work elsewhere.

Perhaps I paint too negative a picture of my community. Today the choral tradition is as strong as ever. It is this that makes Pontarddulais known to a wider world. The Pontarddulais Male Choir has swept all before it and has been successful on numerous occasions at the National Eisteddfod and the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. Cantorion Pontarddulais (Pensioners Choir) has been remarkably successful in this field as well, and the Town Band has won many prizes. Music has always played an important part in the lives of the people of Pontarddulais and the O'Neill family stand out in this field. Music has brought colour and life to an industrial community and we have been fortunate in that we have never suffered from 'Cythraul y Canu'. We have also been blessed by good schools and a strong sporting tradition in cricket, rugby, football and bowls.

Far more people are now settling down in our community. They come from far and wide. They are the new 'Pobl Ddwad'. Will they integrate? Will they take part in our rich cultural and religious heritage? What effect will they have on the Welsh language? Only time will tell.