The History of Mawddach Crescent Fegla Fawr, Arthog, North Wales
Bernard O'Connor
Researching local history is a fascinating hobby. It’s like being a detective trying to unearth whatever pieces of evidence one can to put together to prove a point. What follows is an account of the history of Mawddach Crescent based on written accounts and interviews with local people. In particular I need to thank the early work of J. F. Andrews for his work on Solomon Andrews, Ifor Higgon for his notes on Arthog’s history and Reg Jones, A. Perrett and Matthew Rimmer for their work on the Second World War in North Wales. The staff at the Record Office in Dolgellau and Aberystwth have been very helpful as well as those in the Royal Marine Historical Society.
The small 19th century development on the south side of the Mawddach estuary owes its origin to the Victorian entrepreneur, Solomon Andrews. In J. F. Andrews book, 'Keep Moving', he tells the story of Solomon and his family in North Wales. He was a businessman in Cardiff who recognised the money to be made from the growing tourist industry. One of his ventures was to cash in on the great interest in seaside holidays during the latter half of the 19th century. The passing of the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway Act of 22nd July 1861 authorised a line from Aberystwyth to Pwllheli via Tywyn, Barmouth and Porthmadog with a connection south down the Dyfi valley to Machynlleth. The construction of the Cambrian Coast line in 1865 and the completion of Barmouth Bridge in 1867 allowed this area to be commercially developed. Barmouth itself was expanding as a seaside town attracting increasing numbers of day trippers, week-end and weekly holiday makers from the industrial towns. Lots of money was being made in providing accommodation, food, souvenirs, transport and other services.
By 1893 Andrews was investing in property development at Pwllheli. On his trips up and own the coast it is said that he was struck by the beauty of the Arthog area and that he decided to invest in similar projects here and further south in Aberdovey. (Andrews, J. F. (19--), 'Keep Moving - The Story of Solomon Andrews and His Family', Stewart Williams, Barry, p.120; Higgon, I. (1985), 'Barmouth Junction and Arthog Tramways, Gwynned Archives, p.11; Hambly, M. Bodlander, A. & Southern, D. (1991), 'Railways if the Wnion Valley and Mawddach Estuary', Llangollen Railway Society, p.5)
Arthog is a small hamlet sited along the A493 from Dollgellau to Tywyn at the foot of the 546m. high Braich Ddu on the south side of the Mawddach estuary. In 1894, following the success of the Victorian seaside “watering hole“ of Barmouth at the mouth of the estuary, Andrews thought to capitalise on the growing demand for holiday development on the Welsh coast. Accordingly, he bought a large estate on the south side of the river. It consisted of several farms, including Fegla Fawr. Some of them were hill sheep farms with grazing rights on the slopes of Cader Idris to the south east. Tyddyn Sheffre had old slate quarries and extensive tips, cheap building materials for any local development. The Arthog scheme was not as large as Pwllheli but there was competition. A similar seaside resort was being developed at Fairbourne. It was being financed by the self-raising flour magnate, Mr. Arthur McDougall. According to Donald Smith
“His idea was to turn the village from a few straggling cottages into a resort that might rival if not surpass Llandudno and Abersytwyth, then becoming firm favourites as holiday centres for the rising middle classes. McDougall seems to have wished to focus attention on the family holiday, with small rented houses and exclusive but not too formal hotels. He claimed to know and respect the social types for whom he catered, planning acres of streets, recreation grounds and public buildings on a lavish scale. He even invested in a brick and tile works to further his enterprise, near what became Fairbourne Station. This opened in 1890, with private sidings from the main line.“
Smith, D. J. (1979), 'The Fairbourne Miniature Railway', Transport History, 10 (2), p.119
What Mr. Andrews' grand plan was for Arthog is uncertain. None of his outline plans have come to light but he must have seen that it had great potential. Being more rural with some of the most outstanding views in the area he hoped to attract a different class of people. Being much closer to Barmouth Junction where the Cambrian Railways' line from Bala to Barmouth crossed the coastal line to Tywyn, it allowed better access to the day trip passengers coming by train or on foot over the bridge from Barmouth. It was also convenient for bringing in raw materials. Although it did not have access to such a long sandy beach like Barmouth or Fairbourne, he would have been able to advertise Arthog as having spectacular mountain and river views across the estuary.
Rather than using the traditional slate as the building material he adopted contemporary architectural styles in his plans, bringing in the bricks, cement, timber and slate tiles to erect housing in similar style to those in Barmouth and Pwllheli. To assist his scheme the 'Barmouth Junction and Arthog Tramways' was constructed to connect the various building sites and the coastal embankments that needed to be constructed to protect his development site. It was also a tourist attraction, similar to the miniature railway set up in Fairbourne.
Bron Fegla, the house on the west facing slope beside Fegla Fawr farmhouse, was built by Andrews in 1898. It was planned as the retirement home for the Bishop of Wrexham but unfortunately, the bishop died before taking up residence. Andrews’ site foreman and agent was John Higgon. He lived at No. 1 Glasfryn Terrace. In his notes on the tramway system he pointed out that there were erroneous reports that there had been an existing tramway system that took slate from local quarries for the construction of Barmouth Bridge. He insisted that Mr. Andrews' lines were of three feet gauge and laid on fresh ground. Their purpose was to carry quarry waste about a mile from Tyddyn Sheffre as well as to bring in building materials from the railway station and main road for the houses, roads and coastal embankments. The wagons included both side and end tipping wagons as well as open-ended ones that were used for carrying long timbers. (Higgon, I. Op.cit. pp.8-9)
How many people were engaged on the project is not known, nor whether it gave employment to locals. As Mr. Higgon stayed on in the terrace, he became a mine of local information. He wrote a short account of 'Barford Junction and Arthog Tramways' in which he stated that they worked a fifty-five and a half-hour week. Masons and carpenters were paid £1.62, labourers £1.16 and the tramway drivers £1.00. (Ibid.p.3)
“The tramway laid in 1899 crossed the road and went on down over the fields to the St. Mary building site, close up against the east side of the Ynysgyffylog bank. Thereafter it went on to cross the tracks of the Cambrian Railways' Dolgelley branch, then turned left and proceeded over open ground to the south end of Fegla Fawr bank, where it turned right and continued alongside the bank to a sandy bay on the banks of the Mawddach. This was the immediate objective, so that the building there of a row of houses to be called Mawddach Crescent could be started without delay. A short spur ran up to the precincts of Barmouth Junction station. There the short sea embankment to the Fegla Fawr bank makes a V junction with the railway embankment and in the V a commodious refreshment and waiting room was put up. The building measured 84 feet by 25 feet and part of it rested on piles as the V is tidal. It had corrugated iron on the outside and inside width boarding stained and varnished. It was fully equipped with mahogany counters, tables, chairs, toilets and of course cooking facilities.
From the start, the tramlines from there to the Crescent were intended to be for passengers and it was therefore laid with greater care. Early in August 1899 two tramcars arrived and were placed on the lines. However, it was decided that one would be sufficient and so the other was sent to Pwllheli… The waiting/refreshment room and tramway were opened for business in Mid August. Although building at Mawddach Crescent was not completed until late 1902, visitors could take the tramcar to reach the sands at that place, Andrews doubtless also having in mind the eventual letting of the new Crescent houses when finished.“
(Gwynedd Archives, Caernarfon, Ifor Higgon's notes on 'Barmouth Junction and Arthog Tramways', Nov. 1985, pp.1-2)
Mawwdach Crescent was the top of the range, hidden by the wooded hills of Fegla Fawr. The middle of the range was St. Mary's Terrace sheltered from the prevailing southwesterly winds by the 20m. high mound of Ynysgyffylog. Three one-storey buildings, the old officers' mess from Dolgelley, were transferred here and erected in August 1899 opposite St. Mary's Terrace. The end one was used as the estate office. Now they form three cosy bungalows.
“Having laid the tramway, the nine houses of St. Mary Terrace were the first to be started but before they were completed part of the workforce was diverted to build a row of eight cottages situated at the side of the Dolgelley to Towyn road and only a matter of yards from the quarry tips. Short lengths of tramlines were laid from them to the building site. Glasfryn terrace was quickly finished and the first tenant moved in in August 1900.
At the St Mary site work went ahead there too and all the houses were finished by September 1900. The two end houses 8 and 9 were built as shops with living accommodation. No. 9 was let in September to a Miss Slemons and she ran it as the 'Cader Idris Hotel'. However, the tenancy was of short duration for she relinquished it at the end of the twelfth month. Thereafter Mr. Mavins, a photographer with a studio in Barmouth took possession.
No. 8 next door, became a grocer's shop with a bakehouse at the back and for many years met the needs of the immediate neighbourhood. These were the only business premises put up by Andrews.“
(Ibid. pp.2-3)
At strategic points along the routes of the tramway eleven-foot high cast iron lamp standards were erected. They had been brought down from the Pwllheli site especially. They had brass oil lamps but were only used during the winter months. A complete waterworks was constructed, thus ensuring a supply of clean water and sewage disposal for the three residential areas. (Ibid.pp.10; Andrews, J. F. op.cit. pp.120-21)
At the Mawddach Crescent site a series of cuttings had to be blasted through a headland and a rocky promontory at the eastern end of the bay to allow the tramway access. A small promenade was constructed by erecting a slate slab sea wall, which acted as a defence against erosion. The bay behind the wall was infilled with tramloads of quarry waste. Ifor Higgon estimated that forty-two wagonloads were dumped each day at a cost of 11d. (£0.05) per load. (Higgon, I. p.3) One tramway ran behind the seawall and another at the rear of the Crescent. The first edition 25 inch Ordnance Survey map and early postcards dated 1901, 1902 and 1903 show that there were originally nine double-fronted houses “substantial buildings, three storeys with bay windows and balconies and being of excellent workmanship and quality present a pleasing appearance.“ (Ibid. p.3) The balconies were probably the upper floor gable windows. Only No. 1 has glass doors opening onto the top of the bays. These were not shown in the postcard photographs which shows that they were added later.
The last house to be built, No. 9. It was later to collapse as the result of subsidence. It is thought that the seawall stopped the groundwater flowing into the sea and the build up behind it eventually led to the eastern end being unsafe. The right hand downstairs rooms were incorporated into No. 8 and a bungalow was constructed on the site. This must have happened after 1903 as the earliest postcards of the Crescent show ten chimneys. It is also said that subsidence also caused the collapse of Nos. 3 and 4 of St. Mary Terrace which accounts for there now being two blocks. Once knowledge of the structural problems on these sites became public knowledge, potential occupants would have been deterred and house values must have dropped. It has also been suggested as being a factor in Mr. Andrews curtailing his plans for Arthog, discouraging him from further investment in the remaining part of the estate which was dominated by low-lying bog. Another might well have been the success of McDougall's Fairbourne development.
The 1899 map shows the tramways extending to the end of the Crescent but the line was later extended. According to Ifor Higgon
“In order to provide an exit towards Barmouth, a cutting and road were made through the bank. This necessitated a lot of blasting and removal of rock. At the same time a new tramway was laid on the sands, alongside the Fegla bank on its western side to join up eventually with the new road and tramway coming from the Crescent.. The new tramway left the one from the quarry to the Crescent near the Fegla bank and crossed over the tramway from the refreshment room to the Crescent thereby forming a triangle at that point. From the corner nearest Barmouth of the bank and near the estuary, an embankment was built across the tidal inlet to join up with the railway embankment at the south end of Barmouth bridge.“
(Ibid. p. 4)
This embankment was called ‘The Cob.’ A sluice gate was put into the Crescent end but it proved ineffective in allowing the tidal waters back into the estuary. Pressure from the Cambrian Railways Company, who considered that damage might be caused to their embankment between the station and Barmouth Bridge, ensured that Mr. Andrews had it filled in. To comply with their demands, another was put in closer to the railway embankment and a bridge, wide enough for the tram, was constructed across it. The remains of heavily eroded steel girders amongst the slate slabs where the stream empties in the estuary can still be seen.
On the road below the entrance to Fegla Fawr farm there was a large wooden stable block erected with harness, chaff-rooms and stabling for the proper maintenance of the tram horses. (Ibid. p.5) A five-bar gate was erected at the western end of the Crescent. It can be seen in the earliest postcards of the development.
Although the building programme was completed by 1902, there were a number of “tidying up“ jobs left to do. Roads were made up, paths laid down and the building sites cleared. As the Cardiff tramcar system began to be electrified in 1902 there were surplus horse-drawn trams. Andrews had one sent up for the 1903 season where it sat at the Barmouth end of the Cob. Mr. Higgon stated that it had “Waiting Room for Tramcar Passengers“ painted on the side. Edmonson's card tickets could be bought for all the stops along the route. Trams leaving Barmouth Junction for Mawddach Crescent were then able to cross the Cob to the end of Barmouth Bridge, drop their passengers and pick up others for the return trip.
“This was a pleasant run amidst beautiful scenery and during the holiday season was well patronised. The car did not run on wet days and to indicate that it was running, a flag was hoisted on top of the Fegla bank.“
(Ibid. p.6)
As well as day trips by tramcar there were also river trips to Arthog across the estuary. Two jetties, one on the Cob and another at the western end of the Crescent, allowed ferries to take Arthog residents to enjoy the facilities in Barmouth as well as bringing visitors across. They could then walk along the shoreline footpaths, up the hills, have picnics or eat at the refreshment hall and enjoy the views before catching the ferry, tramcar or train. The more energetic could walk back across the bridge.
The 1901 census, when it becomes available in 2001, will shed light on the first occupants of the properties. It has been said that Mawddach Crescent was a centre for artists, poets and musicians.
Local stories have it that Mr. Andrews' original intention was for further residential development around the westward side of Fegla Fawr. Maybe the subsidence had deterred potential purchasers and he decided against it. There was also a plan to continue the tramway eastwards from Mawddach Crescent, through Fegla Fach and then to Arthog Station. However, the cost of running it across the bog proved too expensive and the plan was shelved. The opposition of the Cambrian Railways to his plan to extend the tramway to the south end of Barmouth Bridge to pick up passengers who had used the toll path was also a factor. Running just a tourist service during the summer season meant that the tramway could not operate on the same scale as the years when the buildings were under construction. There was also competition from the ferries. It could not survive with such a low population in the immediate area and the whole system was terminated at the end of the 1905 season. The horses were disposed of and the Cardiff tramcar was sat in the side garden of No. 1 Glasfryn Terrace as an attraction for visitors. It was a double-decker built about 1886 but the end platforms, spiral staircase and knife-board seating on top had been removed. It stood there until 1985 when it was taken down to The National Industrial and Maritime Museum of Wales at Bute Docks, Cardiff. The other was sent to Pwllheli in March 1906.
With the demise of the service, the tramlines started to be lifted in 1905. Some were used as bridges over the various drainage ditches on the estate but the bulk were sold to various collieries at £3.25 a ton. The horse-drawn wagons used in the construction of the scheme were similarly disposed of. (Ibid.pp.8-9)
The waiting/refreshment room also became superfluous and was used as a storeroom for the remaining materials belonging to the estate. The local Baptist group was allowed part of it as a Sunday meeting room up to and during most of the First World War but, with the eventual sale of the remaining estate materials in September 1917 it was sold to a Mr. Wilkes for £190. He came from the Midlands and arranged to have it taken down and transferred to a new site. (Ibid.p.9)
“At the end of the following month, Wilkes made an offer for all the used and unused equipment still on the estate viz: £. s. d
Small crane; remains of old carriage used for carrying 20 - -
trams across the railway; drum and wire rope at quarry.
Incline sheave, wire rope and rollers 12 - -
6 cast iron lamp posts 3 - -
Bell weight 14 lbs, cast iron bath, enamelled 3 10 -Cast iron gate and railings 1 10
Sluice gate, cast iron, weight about 2 tons 12 - -
£52 - -
(Ibid. p. 9)
The costs involved in the regular maintenance of a long, slate embankment protecting one of the farms near the estuary mouth also proved too expensive and the farm was sold. The new owner did not immediately maintain the protection of the embankment and it was eventually breached. Saltwater flooded a significant proportion of the farm and the area is now grazing for sheep or cattle at low tide.
The original farmhouse on Fegla Fawr was small low and due to its great age was very decrepit. According to Ifor Higgon it was rebuilt in 1907 with an interesting labour saving device incorporated into its design. It was a horse-operated milling system. A trench had been laid through the foundations in which a long spindle and a cog system was installed. At one end of the house there was a flat open area in the centre of which stood an iron spindle attached to a long arm. A horse was harnessed to this arm and led round and round the yard which turned the underground spindle. This turned a rotary churn inside the house, a chaff cutter and other equipment in the outhouses. It was a common feature of 19th century farmhouses in this area but few remain today. The farmhouse at Tyddyn Sheffre had a similar one. (Higgon, I. op.cit. p.11)
Some members of the Andrews family expressed concern that the Arthog development had spoilt the natural environment on the south side of the estuary but, over time, the red brickwork mellowed and the housing now provides an interesting historic character for walkers along the estuary footpaths.
As long ago as 1906 Mawddach Crescent was an an artists' quarter. Mark Bourne's work 'On the Left bank of the Mawddach' was written in 1967, when there was much student unrest in France. In it he referred to Artists' Row.
"Artists' quarters, like Topsy, just grow. And, when, last year Paris started building a ready-made colony for her artists, questions were asked. Would the idea work out? Well, one answer can be found beside the sea in Merioneth. For here, as long ago as 1906, an artists' colony was constructed.
Like all authentic artists' quarters The Crescent, Arthog stands on the left bank - the River Gauche, this time of the Mawddach estuary. And to tell me about it was the distinguished author Cledwyn Hughes.
There is little that he does not know about this lofty line of eight houses that hides blissfully between the village of Arthog and the sea. For over the the last fifteen years, Cledwyn has lived in three of them - Numbers one, seven and eight. And from his present house number seven has come his latest book "Portrait of Snowdonia" due out this Spring.
Cordial, bow-tied, casually yet carefully dressed, leaning over the garden gate named "The Studio", Cledwyn Hughes exactly fits your picture of an author.But I'm not guilty for the name plate," he smiled. "It was put on by predecessor here, the artist Ward Lever. These big double-fronted windows facing North, are ideal as studios". The idea of building the Crescentcame from a wealthy Cardiff art-lover, Solomon Andrews. On this cove of unmatched beauty, backed by oaks fronted by the lofty Rhinogs across the shimmering estuary, the terrace was built. Before it stands a vast private esplanade. It is a place endowed with peeace. And fortunately with all services," smiled Cledwyn. "For its day, it was very advanced. And the bricks are only a shell. - behind the walls are solid stone. Yes out front room is still a studio, for my wife Alyna paints."
Perfume as a sideline
Between them the Hughes also keep up a reasonable folk-art tradition. Alyna - "everyone calls her Lyn" - spins and weaves the family carpets and rugs, and scarves for their two children Janet aged 15 and Rebecca aged 5. Alyna uses local farm wool, sends it to Bradford for cording and teasing, then back it comes for spinning on her wheel; while upstairs she weaves it on her loom. She dyes her wool from colours obtained from local lichens.
Cledwyn who has just completed his twentieth book, also has a booming sideline - perfumery. Montgomeryshire-born, a qualified hospital pharmacist, he finally threw up his Liverpool job (in 1947) to become a full-time author at the Crescent. But he never quite threw off his prodfessional hankerings as a chemist and in recent years has manufactured his own perfumes at home. "Try this", he said, "It's Welsh kiss. No don't sniff the bottle, put a drop on your hand".
Cledwyn makes his perefumes from local flowers and lichens. It is now being marketed and, like his books, is selling in America. Mostly novels, sometimes children's stories, Cledwyn's books have been translated into every major European language. One American papaerback of his sold over 100,000 copies.
And what of his neighbours along the tall terrace? Nnext door a water colourist lives. Then two doors down at No. 4 Samuel Robinson, the painter used to live. Then the great stained-glass artist Reginald Hallward had his home in the Cresent."
(Bourne, M. (1967), 'On the Left bank of the Mawddach', in Merioneth Record Office, Dolgellau)
With the threat of war in the late-1930s northwest Wales was considered a 'Safe Area.' Many families, concerned about the threat of the Luftwaffe bombing the industrial towns and cities, bought or rented properties here. When war finally broke out there were numerous refugee children housed in the area. Throughout the war many foreigners took up residence to make this area the most cosmopolitan it has ever been. They included French, Norwegians, Jews, Latvians, Lithuanians, Russian, Free French and Free Dutch, Americans and Commonwealth troops of every shade, Polish commandos and the occasional German and Italian prisoners of war. The latter were put to work on local farms.
In the second year of the war a development took place in the southeast that was to dramatically affect life on the Crescent. On 15th July 1941 the Marine Naval Base Defence Organisation II (MNBDO II) was formed at the Royal Marine Barracks at Eastney in Southsea. Initially it was accommodated at Alton and Hayling Island in the South Hayling Sunshine Camp! A year later it was transferred to North Wales. In Anthony Perrett's book, 'Royal Marines in Wales' he details their operations at five locations: Ynys-y Maengwyn, Llaneyryn, Llwyn-Gwril, Barmouth and at Arthog. Their code names were respectively MATAPAN, GIBRALTAR, BURMA, CRETE and ICELAND. It has been suggested that X-Troops, as they were called, were stationed in the quieter areas of Wales, in preparation for deployment during the D-Day landing operations for the invasion of Europe as well as Far East operations. The camps were used to train and retrain men in seamanship for landing craft as crewmen, coxswains and gun crews. ICELAND camp at Arthog was also used for handling naval craft. (Author's correspondence with Reg Chambers Jones, 6th Sept. 98; Author's correspondence with David Ashby, MOD Naval Historical Branch 6th Nov. 1998; Perrett, A. 'Royal Marines in Wales', Royal Marine Historical Society, Special Publication No. 14, p.75)
Architects, surveyors, engineers and contractors moved into the area to build the great army and marine camps as well as the administrative staff and their families. The Friog and Fairbourne coastline changed dramatically.
“Although this was marked as a Safe Area the military authorities held the view that the firm shelving beach and the Estuary beyond would be highly desirable to the enemy as an invasion point. The Pioneers got to work and soon the shore was like a huge laundry ground with gigantic clothes post to dissuade enemy aircraft. Thickets of barbed wire abounded and strong concrete blockhouses were erected, linked by that row of tank traps so romantically known today as Dragon's Teeth…
The beach that could be a danger could also be an asset, and soon it was the testing ground for every kind of mechanised combat. The “Ducks“ were the special delight of the local children, who observed their actions from every vantage point they were allowed to use. To see these unwieldy monsters coming in procession down from their camps (with a chain of frustrated motorists in their rear), to see them waddling over the poor Golf Course, crushing the unhappy little railway on their way, and then to see them taking to the water was an unfailing joy to them. “
('The Light of Other Days - A Brief History of Friog and Fairbourne', Y Dydd Press, Ltd. Dolgellau)
In early 1943 the Royal Marines Training Group (RMTG) functioned as a provider of disciplinary training, artillery and engineering. Their focus was on guns, mounting piers and roadways. Completely unexpected their role changed to seamanship training. Iceland Camp became the RMTEC (Engineering Training Centre). Some of those responsible for these operations had their quarters in Mawwdach Crescent. Mr Roberts, the farmer at Fegla Fawr Farm was informed by the War Office that his land was to be requisitioned. He and his daughter, Dorothy, could stay in the farmhouse and farm the land not used by the military. The eight families living in Mawwdach Crescent were given notice that their houses were to be requisitioned and the residents were required to leave with very short notice. Miss Beatrice Carr, of No. 6, refused to go because of her father's age and frailty. She was so determined that she went to the War Office, dressed in her British Red Cross Commandant's uniform and demanded attention. She was allowed to stay on the ground floor. Maybe she also put the case for three other residents as, on 12th February, the Royal Marines, under the command of Major D. D. Stewart, moved into all the upper floors and four of the ground floors.
The ground floor of No. 2 was the galley and men’s dining hall with men’s sleeping quarters on the 1st and 2nd floors. The first floor of No. 3 was the SNCOs Mess and sleeping quarters. The ground floor of No. 8 was originally the Officers’ Mess with their sleeping quarters on the first floor. The lower floors were taken over by officers. Hurricane lamps had to be used as there was no coal or lights due until 28th February. The connecting walls in the second floor had doors knocked through to allow access to all the properties. Troops slept up there and there is still graffiti showing evidence of their stay. Bryn Celyn Cottage, hidden by trees on the wooded hillock about 400 metres further upstream was later requisitioned as the Officers' Mess. The Officers' Mess of CRETE camp was over the river in Barmouth in the gabled buildings of Porkington Crescent. (Author's correspondence with Pat Mallatratt, Sept. 7th 1998; Perrett, A. op.cit. pp.119-120)
Major Stewart, Captain G. Yeomans and Lieutenant V. G. M. Kelsey, two SNCOs and seventeen ORs from Dalditch ran two week courses for the marines. In April and May two hundred men arrived from 22 Training Battalion and from 1st August about two hundred joined weekly from Burma Camp. After their fortnight they left for Dartmouth - HMS Effingham. On the promenade in front of the Crescent the outline of a ship was carefully laid out in gravel. Here the marines could learn various movements on board ship prior to the real thing. There was a flagpole set up on top of the small knoll by the bay to the west of the Crescent. This was used for training practice. Another was erected on the seawall by the steps and both were used for signalling practice. Two grey, pebble decorated concrete sentry posts were erected at the entrance to the camp at the foot of Fegla Fawr. Numerous concrete bases were laid on both sides of the track leading to the Crescent as platforms for a variety of Nissen huts. These included the guard room, stores, women's quarters, dining hall, ablutions and sick bay. Concrete steps were also laid to allow safer access to fourteen concrete platforms up the small wooded hill to the east of Fegla Fawr, where other Nissen huts were erected. A quartz inlaid fireplace from one of the buildings lays undisturbed on the oak tree covered hill. A drainage network was also installed allowing toilet facilities. These buildings were brick built with corrugated iron walls and roofs. Amongst them there included a big cinema sited on what is now Bryn Celyn land and its oblong, slightly sloping floor is still obvious. There was a NAAFI at the bottom of the wooded hill where meals were prepared and served.
It is reported that the Roberts family got on well with Major Stewart and his men. The only complaint was persuading the men to buy milk on other days than their fortnightly pay day! (Perrett, op.cit. p.99) Personal reminiscences of some of the men’s time at ICELAND camp are included in Anthony Perrett's book, 'Royal Marines in Wales'. The training included a variety of exercises on the 893 m. Cader Idris range which also saw action as the Indian Frontier locations for the films 'The Drum' and 'Up the Kyber!’ In his book he includes an extract from Stan Blacker, a trainee from Somerset, who spent time at Arthog.
“We arrived in Iceland camp and were billeted at Mawddach Crescent. The first morning we had to fall in at 0530 and run and walk fives miles before breakfast. Next morning, when we expected to do the same, there were only half a dozen of us on parade - the rest had gone sick. The officers and NCOs played merry hell, one NCO was placed outside Sick Bay, and as the Marines came out, if they found nothing was wrong, they were placed on a charge and given pack drill. I was pleased to say that the violent running and walking at 0530 was soon discontinued!
But we did come into contact with boats here, although obsolete; we had rowing races across the River Mawddach in boats resembling pontoons. In the evenings we could walk into Barmouth and generally this camp was quite pleasant.
When at Iceland Camp, with a route march taking place next morning, I bought four doughnuts from the NAAFI the previous evening and put two into each of my ammunition pouches. Next morning after marching for fifty minutes, we had our first stop on the road the other side of Arthog village, so I decided to try one of my doughnuts. After a few mouthfuls up came the officer in charge and told the sergeant to put me on a charge for 'Eating without permission'! Later that day, having returned to camp, I was given 7 days pack drill in full marching orders, one hour each evening, for my crime.
When doing route marches it became a favourite ploy to fill one's water bottle the night before with beer from the NAAFI. It was obvious that sooner or later the officers and NCOs would find out. One morning before commencing our march the squad was called to attention then given the order 'Empty water bottles' - and away went our beer. Those of us with beer were given three extra parades.”
(Perret, A. op.cit. pp.115-116)
Marine F. C. Adams joined the Marine Corps in 1941 and served in the Orkneys, Egypt and Sicily before being given further training in North Wales. After a stint in Burma Camp
“…the order came for us to pack and move out, this time to a camp on the bank of the Afon Mawddach, a short distance from the old railway bridge which was used in the film ‘The Ghost Train’. The scenery from our billet was magnificent and looked across to the well known Panorama Walk, to a large house high up from which the Commander of RMTG(W), Major General Leech-Porter, was said to keep his eyes on our camp!
This fourth camp was Iceland and this was where we had to practise with real landing craft. We soon found out why the Afon Mawddach had been chosen for this training for, to get to sea, we had to negotiate the railway bridge and the very fast current running beneath it and then go over the bar from which the town, Barmouth, got its name. Careful judgement had to be made when steering through the bridge not to go aground on the shallow bar. To add to this excitement, if one could call it that, was the dubious practice of trainee fighter pilots using our craft as targets out at sea. One day a plane misjudged the rise and fall of the waves and pancaked into the sea causing fishermen to go to the rescue. It was said that they got the salvage money if the plane was saved as it was on this occasion; so too was the pilot.
We all enjoyed our trips out to sea but there was one trip which nearly ended in disaster. This came about when a sergeant took a group of use for training in one of the LCAs and forgot that the warning signal ‘high seas’ had been made and we should have remained upstream. He took us over the bar and we had grat difficulty getting back. However, it was not all boat training and we continued with instruction in all other aspects of seamanship, tides, winds, morse, pilotage, etc. then tests for night vision, the simulator and machine-gun practice.
So the days went by with only short occasions at weekends for a run ashore to Barmouth. This entailed a walk across the bridge only to find that we had to pay a toll of tuppence, but some soon got round this by going through in groups of a dozen or more. As each went through the pay desk he said “The last man will pay” but we were rumbled in time.
Everyone knew that our intensive training was for something big and we could only guess that it was the invasion of France. During our stay in Iceland Camp some of us who were there received our Africa and Italy Star ribbons and we had the pleasure of sewing them on our Blues.
It was towards the end of our time there that we all had to go over the assault course and this we found very hard. In full battle order we first had to start from the beach, climb up ropes to the top of the cliffs, then once on top it was a run to different obstacles, ditches 6’ wide and 8’ deep, then a crawl through tunnels with thunderflashes going off all the time. By the time we had roped down the cliff to the road and run the hundred or so yards to the finish everyone was covered in mud and was exhausted.
Our last commitment was a visit to Machynlleth to give a marching and unarmed combat display to the local people. In the second week of May we packed our kit and boarded trucks that took us to Dovey junction and the train to London.”
(Ibid. p.84-85)
There was also an extract from the memoirs of Kenneth Finlayson, another trainee who was stationed at Gibraltar before coming here, too late to be able to put his experience into practice.
“Reveille on Sunday 21 May 1944 was at 0600, and then there was a rush getting washed, shaved, breakfast, kit down to the baggage dump and fall in by 0800 in fighting order; then we marched off over the hills to Iceland Camp. As it was a fine sunny day and the scenery magnificent, I enjoyed the march. The billets consisted of a row of terraced houses converted, and there were six of us in an attic room which was quite good. The bad news was that I was on Guard Duty that first night - it was quaintly called the Inlying Picket; another rota duty which seemed to come round frequently was East Gate Police.
Every morning we paraded at 0800 followed by Divisions - up to then I thought Divisions only occurred on a Sunday. Then we usually had a morning read on the morse signal lamp and semaphore. Our morse instructor was Cpl Morgan who had been in 44 Recruit Squad with me back in 1940. The training programme was much the same as at Gibraltar camp but with the addition of Combined Ops procedures, day and night signalling, landing craft formations, engine maintenance and ABCA lectures. We did a lot of boat pulling on the river and wondered whether Combined Ops had run out of landing craft and reverted to the traditional method of landing marines. In fact all the time I was at Gibraltar and Iceland, even the potential coxswains course were only out in landing craft three times. These were LCP(S) (Landing Craft Personnel (Small)) and there were so few of them that we did not always get a chance to take the wheel.
The soldier part of our life continued with drill, assault courses, cross-country runs, route marches and night exercises; in fact a drill squad was formed to take part in a forthcoming 'Salute the Soldier' week parade. The weather was very good and by the end of May it was warm enough to sit in the sun stripped to the waist. Perversely, from 'the Glorious First of June' - one of the Corps Memorable Days - the weather changed to become dull and wet and we were glad of the oilskins we had been loaned when out on the river. On 5 June the news came that Rome had fallen to the Allies and coincidentally, I was officially issued with 'Blues' at long last. That had been one of the attractions of the Royal Marines but these were of a wartime 'utility' type and no peaked cap, just our blue berets so not as smart as the blue uniform I had bought from a long service marine years before and kept at home to wear on leave!
Although everybody was expecting the Second Front, out in Wales there was none of the activity of the assembly areas at the Channel ports, so it was a complete surprise when, on 6 June, we got back from boat pulling and the Company Commander informed us about the landings. I heard the news with mixed feelings; thankfulness that I was not there in the assault waves, yet paradoxically wishing that I had been with my old comrades in 30 Commando (30 AU).
Instead of battling on the beaches of Normandy on 10 June, we paraded in our Blues to see the winning squad presented with a trophy, although again U 239 was not eligible. For the next few days the drill squad took part in 'Salute the Soldier Week’ parades, half of us in Blues, the other half in khaki to show that we served Per Mare, Per Terram. We marched and drilled through all the neighbouring towns and villages, along with units from the Royal Navy, the Army and Royal Air Force, plus girls from the ATS and WAAF. We were taken in trucks from one place to another, but I can only remember Dolgelly (Dolgellau now), Fairbourne, Barmouth and Harlech, where I had time to have a quick look around the historic castle. Sometimes we were headed by a Royal Marines band and sometimes one from the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. After the last parade we were exceptionally allowed to go ashore in Blues and I was a bit peeved that U 239 Squad was on Picket Duty. Incidentally Barmouth was an improvement on Towyn and I often went to the cinema and dances there.
The 15 June was my 23rd birthday and coincided with the usual medical inspection prior to draft. There was one amusing incident before we left for on the 16th we had an unexpected kit muster to look for some china plates that were missing from the Dining Hall, but none was found. The next day the General Assembly sounded and when we were all on parade the Adjutant demanded that the plates be returned, but no one owned up … it might have been the permanent staff!
So we returned our oilskins and blankets to stores and I took the baggage party to the station to load the kit bags. As it was a Saturday we had a few hours' sleep after dinner, then marched to the station. It was a lovely sunny evening and I felt quite sorry to be leaving Wales.“
(Perrett, A. op.cit. pp. 99-102)
A dangerous incident occurred when a delivery of hand grenades had been unloaded from the train at Morfa Mawddach station into a lorry. It is said that one of the boxes fell off the back of the lorry and its contents spilt over the road. The railway guard at the station was not allowed to pick them up so a message was sent to the camp to send someone over. Another incident was reported of the residents being startled by the aerobatics of a young RAF pilot. He showed off by flying his plane underneath the arches of Barmouth Bridge! There is also local gossip that a German spy was living in St. Mary's Terrace.
After VE-Day 117 Infantry Brigade returned from duty in NW Europe and settled in North Wales. Their headquarters, under Brigadier W. I. Nonweiler,, was at Iceland Camp. Nine officers, one hundred and thirty seven Ors, two army officers with twenty-nine Ors were accommodated in huts and tents around Fegla Fawr. When they finally left is uncertain but after the war the wartime buildings were demolished and much of the brick rubble was transported to the west end of the seawall in front of the Crescent and dumped into the estuary. Here it added to the sea defences until it was eventually eroded over the years. Pieces of the NAAFI (Naval, Army, Air Force Institute) crockery dated 1943 - 1945, bottles and other debris can still be found in the muddy bays in front of the crescent and the kitchens at low tide. (Found by Helen O'Connor and Fern, August 1999) Maybe the plates had been frisbeed into the estuary before the Marines left? The cups would not have got far and their remains washed up! Some visitors now find the concrete bases excellent hard stands for their caravans.
The problem of river erosion and the cost of maintaining defences led to the eventual sale of most of the estate by about 1950. The remaining plots were sold off by the mid-1950s. Bryn Celyn was purchased by Mr. Hankins of Swish Curtains. It is now owned by David Evans. The waterworks became council property after the war and now forms the basis of Arthog and Fairbourne's water supply system. (Higgon, I. (1985), op.cit. p.11)
Barmouth Junction was renamed Morfa Mawddach by British Railways on 13th June 1960. Following the closure of the Dolgellau line on 18th January 1965 the imposing junction station was reduced to its present status as a single platform unstaffed halt. (Hambly, M., Bodlander, A. & Southern, D. (1991), 'Railways of the Wnion Valley', Llangollen Railway Society, p. 5)
Over the years the course of the main channel in the river changed coming ever closer to Mawddach Crescent. This was another reason for the Andrews to sell the development. Each sale included a responsibility of maintaining the sea wall. As the sandy bay was eroded, cartloads of slate slabs from a local quarry were dumped below the sea wall to prevent further erosion. During the 1950s and 60s a change in the currents moved the channel further north. This resulted in the build up of a more sandy shore in front of the sea wall. In the 1980s the River Authority made much needed repairs to the sea wall. Instead of a worn and rounded top it was replaced with a flat, concrete top and the front wall was improved with concrete cladding. Over recent years the main channel has migrated to the south side again and in the 1990s a seaweed covered rocky foreshore with some muddy flats is exposed at low tide.
© Bernard O'Connor 2000
Bibliography
Andrews, J. F., 'Keep Moving - The Story of Solomon Andrews and His Family', Stewart Williams, Barry, pp.120-1
Bourne, M. (1967), 'On the Left bank of the Mawddach', in Merioneth Record Office, Dolgellau
Hambly, M. Bodlander, A. & Southern, D. (1991), 'Railways if the Wnion Valley and Mawddach Estuary', Llangollen Railway Society, pp.5, 27-30
Higgon, Ifor, (Nov.1985), 'Barmouth Junction and Arthog Tramways', Gwynned Archives,
Jones, Reg Chambers, (1995), 'Bless 'Em All - Aspects of the War in NW Wales 1943 - 1945', Bridge Books, Wrexham
Perrett, A. 'Royal Marines in Wales', Royal Marine Historical Society, Special Publication No. 14
Smith, D. J., (1979), 'The Fairbourne Minature Railway', Transport History, 10 (2), p.119
'The Light of Other Days - a Brief History of Friog and Fairbourne', Y Dydd Press, Ltd. Dolgellau