by Mansell Richards
Earlier this year, on 16 June, Merthyr lost one of its great characters, and a huge champion of the town’s heritage, when Dewi Bowen passed away at the age of 93. Here his friend and former colleague, Mansell Richards pays tribute to the great man.
Dewi Bowen was a legend in his home village of Cefn-Coed, a legend at Cyfarthfa Castle School and a legend across the town of Merthyr Tydfil.
A naturally amusing man, he enjoyed making people laugh, whether passers-by in the street, his school pupils and their teachers – not forgetting headmasters – canteen ladies and caretakers, councillors and mayors. But he will be remembered mainly as a gifted artist and teacher. His imaginative artistic output was prodigious: his illustrations of scenes redolent of Merthyr and district’s rich and colourful history can be counted in their hundreds. It is no exaggeration to say that no individual over the decades contributed more to the heritage of this famous Welsh town.
Dewi was born on 7 August 1927 at number 87, High Street, Cefn-Coed-y-Cymmer (he loved to give his village its full title). From an early age he showed artistic talent which was nurtured at his beloved Vaynor and Penderyn Grammar School. In 1944 on leaving school at seventeen, he was directed to work as a coal miner for 2 years as part of the national war effort against Hitler’s Germany. This meant he had to postpone entry to art college. Dewi took pride in his years as a ‘Bevin boy’ at Elliot Colliery, New Tredegar and the Rock Colliery, Glynneath.
Indeed his memories of being a young miner never left him. Many of his detailed illustrations were based on his observations of those hard- working men who risked their lives daily in often dangerous conditions.
Similarly, he identified strongly with the soldier in both World Wars, but especially during the First World War. He never tired of telling of his father’s experience at Gallipoli and Mesopotamia, while his mother served as a nurse in both those wars. This strong affinity with the soldier never left him. Thus in later years, he joined a British Legion excursion to Flanders in order to be present at the unveiling of a sculptured red dragon monument at the site of the Battle of Mametz Wood, where thousands of Welshmen had been killed in 1916.
Dewi never refused work for charities. His cleverly designed, eye-catching posters, advertising fund-raising events appeared at local shops, pubs and libraries. Indeed, he and his scholarly brother Dr Elwyn Bowen MBE, to whom he was devoted, made a massive contribution toward necessary funding, estimated at tens of thousands of pounds, when the Urdd National Eisteddfod visited Merthyr in 1987.
Dewi rejoiced also in designing the scenery for the Cefn-Coed Operatic Society which flourished during the 1950s and, contributed greatly in this respect to the annual stage musicals and concerts performed by pupils and staff of Cyfarthfa High School, a school he served loyally for 30 years.
Continuing along the cultural path, his work was regularly exhibited at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, while he contributed to many heritage projects across Merthyr and other districts of South Wales.
He took a particular interest in the preservation of the Joseph Parry Birthplace Project which won the Prince of Wales award. He played a pivotal role in this success for his school. The visitor to 4, Chapel Row, Georgetown will see a beautifully inscribed stone plaque alongside its front door. Not only did Dewi purchase the block of dressed-stone out of his own pocket, but he lovingly carved the inscription, including the evocative words, ‘Joseph Parry, y bachgen bach o Ferthyr, erioed, erioed- Joseph Parry, a little boy from Merthyr , forever, forever’. This carved tablet will remain a monument to the creative talent of Dewi Bowen.
His final contribution to the Merthyr cultural scene was to provide the superb illustrations for a book on Merthyr place-names, compiled by Malcolm Llewelyn. Dewi was delighted to be invited as a guest to the book’s launch last year.
But let us return to his never-to-be-forgotten humour, which appealed to people of all ages. At Cyfarthfa School, some pupils with only limited talent were known to have opted for art, mostly for the pleasure of being taught by him. Several brought him regular small gifts of sweets, while one girl, aware of his liking for wimberry tart, presented him with one every autumn. He was, undoubtedly, one of Cyfarthfa School’s most popular teachers.
One story he liked to tell concerned a friendship he had at Cardiff College of Art with the beautiful future actress Anna Kashfi, who was later to marry the Hollywood star, Marlon Brando. When teased about this, Dewi replied ‘I never understood how she preferred Brando to Bowen!’
Dewi never owned a car, preferring to walk almost everywhere. He particularly loved walking holidays during his earlier years. He visited the Holy Land and parts of Russia. When asked why he loved walking so much, he replied. ‘If you’ve spent 3 days in an ancient bus crossing the Negev Desert in the company of 2 Arabs and 50 sheep, you too, would enjoy walking’.
On another occasion he accompanied a friend to see a Wales/England rugby match at Twickenham. With Wales snatching victory towards the end, Dewi insisted on joining the triumphant Welsh supporters on the famous pitch. He astonished his friend by asking for help in order to ascend one of the very high rugby posts. After climbing unsteadily onto his friend’s shoulders, they were both confronted by a London policeman, who turned to the friend with the instruction ‘put the gentleman down please sir’. Some yards away a group of Cyfarthfa sixth-formers were holding their sides with laughter.
Dewi loved music, especially light opera. He was a regular visitor to Cardiff theatres to enjoy Gilbert and Sullivan productions. He loved singing some of the songs in his distinctive sweet tenor voice, often when talking to friends on the telephone. Dewi would entertain at the drop of a hat.
But his greatest love was his family. He nursed his mother who lived to be a hundred during her final years, while his admiration for his brother Elwyn was profound. He received considerable love and support from his exceptionally loyal nieces, Ann and Elizabeth and sister-in-law Gwynfa, while he gained much joy from his young great nephews, Ewan and Llyr.
There can be no better epitaph to Dewi than in Shakespeare’s words:-
‘We shall not live to see his like again’.
Wonderful information,
Johnevansphotography4@gmail.com
Lovely words Mansell! You made me cry again! I loved Dewi x
I will never forget dear Mr. Bowen. He was an inspirational teacher who possessed great patience, which he needed every ounce of when he taught me. After I left school I frequently met him on buses, and in the museum. He never ceased to amaze me with his ability to remember all the pupils in my class. Quite an achievement considering how many pupils he taught over the years. He would share his great knowledge of local history with me and my children. I remember him on one occasion helping my one daughter with an Art project by telling her about the history behind one particular portrait in the museum of an old lady from Cefn Coed. He even knew her name! He told me tales of how he and his brother would swim every Boxing Day in the Blue Pool. A true local legend. Rest in Peace Mr. Bowen.
That’s a lovely tribute Julian, to add to Mansel’s.
I haven’t heard anyone mention the Monday he was an hour late for school ( a previously unheard of occurrence).
He had been to an International on the Saturday and didn’t realise the clocks had gone forward on the Saturday night.
I am sure he must have been mercilessly teased in the staff room as it was so unlike him!
Well done Mansell. A fitting tribute to a “one off”. Many hundreds of Cyfarthfa Castle first year pupils will remember Dewi (Ben) as he guided you through those lino cuts and block ink printing in an early introduction to Art and Craft.
I was fortunate enough to be taught Art at Cyfarthfa by Mr Bowen. As we worked he told us stories of his life and the history of our beloved town. Indeed it was Dewis stories that made me a fan of local history. Years passed and if you were lucky you would come across Dewi in town often sitting outside the library with his sketch book. He seemed to have a photographic memory and knew the names of every one of his former pupils. He was genuinely interested in what you were doing. Shortly before I moved to Scotland I lived opposite Mr Bowen I was a young mother with 2 Welsh speaking children and we were invited for afternoon tea to meet with his dear mother. She was delighted to converse with my children y cymraeg.. The day before we left he gave both children a pencil sketch a dragon for my son and a horse for my daughter. My children still treasure them they are framed and in pride of place in their own homes now. Dewi was one of a kind Merthyrs finest son
Diolch yn fawr, Mansell, for a very fine tribute to a popular and very talented individual.
Wonderful tribute Mr Bowen was my art Teacher and a friend in later life. Never forgot any of his pupils and would always stop to talk if I saw him in town – he always had a story to tell my kids about me when I was his pupil – such a lovely gentleman who will be greatly missed
How moving a tribute and how appropriate that it should be written by another great and inspirational teacher.
Thank you Mr Richards for a wonderful tribute to a truly talented man. Sadly, I had no talent for art but Mr Bowen didn’t give up on me, he encouraged me to try to work with other mediums such as pottery. When he finally accepted I was truly untalented, he shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘Never mind, you come from a lovely caring family, and that’s enough’ – He had a talent to make a person feel really special – Thank you Mr Bowen, I will always remember your kindness.
The last time I spoke to Mr Bowen was in the bread aisle in Tesco a few years ago. He had spotted my son in his Cyfarthfa polo shirt and decided that my son need to know all about the logo on his shirt and who had designed it! A lovely man, rest in peace Mr Bowen.
Wonderful , Mr Richards . Mr Bowen was indeed a great son of Merthyr , a great teacher and gifted artist . I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad word spoken against him but thousands in admiration of him . Like yourself , he had the unenviable task of educating me and both of you did it with your usual endless patience and good humour . Lovely to see him so revered by the town he loved.
What a lovely tribute to a dedicated teacher. It never ceased to amaze me how he seemed to remember every pupil that he taught, whether innately talented or not.
Lovely piece, captured the essence of Dewi – a real character and an inspirational teacher. I regularly met him in the least expected places… I took my son to the Blue Boar in Hay-on-Wye twenty years or so back when Sam was in his early teens. During lunch we became aware of a loud voice in the bar, a few metes away the speaker just out of sight, telling how he had lost his girlfriend to Marlon Brando over the price of a cinema ticket! Wonderful to hear the familiar tale in u familiar surroundings, my son was knocked out… needless to say Dewi remembered my name when I approached him.
A few weeks later he dropped one of his drawings off at the reception at BBC Wales for me, it still hangs on my wall.
Another time we met in Merthyr outside Tesco’s, and he told my wife and I about the connections between Rudolph Hess & Merthyr’s dog track…. I later checked it out online, there it was ….attributed to Merthyr historian, Dewi Bowen. 🙂
A true Merthyr character his memories will live on and will always bring a smile and a warm glow that was Dewi.
Diolch yn fawr, Mansell. A very fitting tribute. I was always amazed by Dewi’s ability to remember the names of pupils years after they had left school. He always stopped for a chat and showed great interest in my progress whenever I ran into him – even though he only directly taught me for one year. He was a huge figure in the Cyfarthfa of my day.
The Sincerity and warmth of Mansells tribute to Dewi, reflects his own and so many other fond everlasting memories, to a unique Individual
We are all grateful