Thomas Jacob Thomas – Sarnicol

by Barrie Jones

Wales has provided a number of prominent twentieth-century poets with the surname Thomas, for example: Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), R.S. Thomas (1913-2000), and Edward Thomas (1878-1917)[1]. However, all three poets wrote solely in the English language.

A prominent Welsh poet who wrote in both Welsh and English was Thomas Jacob Thomas (1873-1945). Born 13th April 1873 near Rhos-yr-hafod, Capel Cynon, Cardiganshire, he was the fourth of the five children of David Thomas (1841-1922) and Mary nee Jacob (1837-1919), David was an agricultural labourer and the family lived in Sarnicol farm cottage.[2]

After an early education attending Capel Cynon board school and later Talgarreg school, owing to his frail health it was advised that he attend New Quay grammar school. Here, he stayed for four years taking Department of Science and Art examinations. In 1891 he won a £20 scholarship for the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, reading for the University of London B.Sc. degree.[3]

At that time, it was normal for most well-educated working-class men and women to pursue teaching careers. So it was with Thomas, who halting his degree course, accepted a teaching post in mathematics at the Hartley Institution in Southampton in 1894. Returning to Wales in 1896 he obtained a post as science master at Abergele intermediate school, Denbighshire. Here, he completed his final B.Sc. examination. The following year he moved to teach science at schools in South Wales, Merthyr Tydfil County School, (1897-1901), and Abertillery Secondary School (1901-1913). In September 1913 he accepted the post as assistant master at the newly established Cyfarthfa Castle Municipal Secondary School, Merthyr Tydfil, teaching Chemistry and Welsh. In his final year at Cyfarthfa he took an external B.A. degree of the University of London. In 1922 he was appointed headmaster of the newly established Quakers Yard Grammar School, Treharris. What is unique is that Thomas was associated with the early years of Merthyr Tydfil’s three grammar schools: ‘The County,’ ‘Cyfarthfa Castle,’ and ‘Quaker’s Yard.’ In 1931, at the age of fifty-eight, owing to ill health he took early retirement and moved with his wife ‘Katie’ to live in ‘Llywel’, Laura Place, Aberystwyth, ‘where he found kindred spirits interested in literature and etymology with whom he could discuss the subjects which despite, his science training, were nearest to his heart’.[4]

Throughout his adult life Thomas wrote prose and verse contributing to numerous publications such as Ymofynydd, Cymru, Y Geninen, the Western Mail, the London Kelt, Y Lienor, Y Ford Gron, Y Beirniad, and Y Cymro. He also edited a Welsh column for the Merthyr Express newspaper for a number of years. His chief publications on collections of his poems were Ar lan y mor a chaneuon eraill, (1898), Odlau Mor a Mynydd, (1912), Blodau drain duon, (1935), Storiau ar gan, (1936), Catiau cwta, (1940), and Chwedlau cefn gwlad, (1944). Ready for publication at the time of his death in 1945 was Odlau’r aelwyd, which he considered to be his best poems. The manuscript is currently held at the National Library of Wales.

Thomas entered his odes (awdlau) to numerous National Eisteddfodau; London, (1909), Colwyn, (1910), Wrexham, (1912), Abergavenny, (1913), Birkenhead, (1917), and Bangor, (1931). At the Abergavenny Eisteddfod he was chaired Bard for his ode (awdl), ‘Aelwyd y Cymro,’ (The Welshman’s home) using the bardic title’ ‘Sarnicol,’ after the name of the cottage where he was born. He also judged the awdl at Llanelli, (1930), and Bangor, (1943). In addition to his odes, Thomas entered translations of verse to the National Eisteddfodau at home and in the United States of America. These covered Welsh into English, English into Welsh, and even French into Welsh. In 1915 he won a forty-dollar prize for a translation of verse from English into Welsh at the San Francisco Eisteddfod, California.[5] In July 1901 Thomas passed the National Eisteddfod examination for Gorsedd degree as a bard.[6]

Following his bardic achievement at Abergavenny in 1913 he was much in demand to give addresses to groups and societies throughout Wales. His favourite topic at that time was the Welshman and humour, (Y Cymru yn y cywair llon), drawing upon examples from Welsh literature both ancient and modern. ‘The suggestion that the Welshman was a sad, morose individual, devoid of all sense of humour, was contrary to facts, as revealed in Welsh literature and life.’[7]

Following the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Thomas demonstrated that he could be carried along with the war fervour that gripped Britain at that time. In typical jingoistic fashion in November 1914, he wrote the lyrics of ‘Men of Cambria’ to the tune of ‘Men of Harlech’, the song finishing with the following lines:[8]

Face the Teuton’s fire and thunder,
Rend the Kaiser’s hosts asunder;
Strike again the World with wonder,
Show that right is might!

His penchant for writing verse to popular tunes was most notable when while teaching at Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School he wrote the lyrics to the school song; Can y Castell (Song of the School),[9] to the tune of Captain Morgan’s March[10]: –

Can y Castell

Ienctyd y Castell, caer I ddysg a hedd,
Gloewn ein harfau I’r gad ddi-gledd;
Byddwn yn deilwng blant I enwog lu,
Dewrion wyr Morgannwg y dyddiau fu:
Byddwn yn deilwng blant I enwog lu,
Dewrion wyr Morgannwg y dyddiau fu.

Ienctyd y Castell, awn ymlaen o hyd,
Galw am ein gorau mae’r eangfyd;
Gorau gyda chwarae, gorau gyda Gwaith
Gluda glod ein Castell drwy’r ddaear faith;
Gorau gyda chwarae, gorau gyda Gwaith,
Gluda glod ein Castell drwy’r ddaear faith.

Song of the School

Youth of the Castle, fortress of learning and peace,
We burnish our weapons for the swordless battle;
As children we’ll be loyal to a host of famous people,
The heroes of Glamorgan in days past;
We’ll be loyal children to the famous hosts,
The heroes of Glamorgan in days past.

Youth of the castle going forward at all times,
The wide world is calling for our best;
Best at play and best at work
Carry the renown of our castle throughout the earth,
Best at play and best at work,
Carry the renown of our castle throughout the earth.

The song was sung regularly at school assemblies up until the 1970’s and surely is well remembered by many ex-pupils of the ‘Castle’ school, although I for one found learning the words so difficult in my first year at Cyfarthfa.

In April 1914 Thomas married Catherine Elizabeth Thomas (1876), (A.R.A.M.), at Frederick Street Presbyterian Chapel, Cardiff. ‘Katie’ was the daughter of Edwin Thomas (1853-1918) and Sarah Ann nee Owen (b. 1857). Edwin was headmaster of Aberfan Boy’s School, and Thomas and Katie lived at Katie’s parents’ house; ‘Llywelfa’, Aberfan Road, Aberfan.[11] Katie and Thomas knew each other from their time teaching at Merthyr Tydfil County School, both joining in 1897, barely a year after the County school had been established.[12] Thomas died 2nd December 1945, and following his death Katie returned to live in Merthyr Tydfil. Katie died 8th July 1960, and both are buried at Bwlch-y-groes (Congregational) chapel cemetery, Llandysul, Cardiganshire, the cemetery where Thomas’s parents are also buried.

[1] Although not born in Wales, Percy Edward Thomas was of Welsh parents.

[2] Evan David Jones, ‘Thomas Jacob Thomas (Sarnicol),’ Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 2001.

[3] Jones, Sarnicol, DWB.

[4] Jones, Sarnicol, DWB.

[5] Cambrian News, 21st September 1917, p.5.

[6] ‘Gorsedd Degrees,’ Evening Express, 2nd August 1901, p. 4.

[7] ‘Wales and Humour,’ The Amman Valley Chronicle, 26th February 1914, p. 5.

[8] ‘Men of Cambria,’ Aberdare Leader, 28th November 1914, p.6.

[9] Mansell Richards, A farewell to Cyfarthfa Castle School, Merthyr Tydfil Library Service, 2014, ps. 16 & 72.

[10] A traditional Welsh tune by an unknown composer, most probably written in the late eighteenth century.

[11] Cambria Daily Leader, 15th April 1914, p. 3.

[12] ‘Merthyr County School,’ Merthyr Times, 29th October 1897, p. 8.

I remember that….

Cyfarthfa Park ‘Bird Garden’

by Laura Bray

There are many parts of Merthyr’s history than seem not to have been documented formally, although I am sure many of you will have photos. One such is the Bird Garden in Cyfarthfa Park. Who remembers this?

The Bird Garden, as I always called it, was basically a narrow corridor of bird cages that ran behind the tennis courts.  You got at it from the end nearest the “top swings”, mostly by running down the bank from the chalet, (there was later a short tarmacced path) preferably sticky from chocolate bought in the shop. I can’t remember what birds there were, apart from the peacocks, whose calls echoed round the park and were the accompaniment to many a boring lesson in school, but I do remember that they eventually added a small pond and expanded the cages further up towards the main road leading to the Castle.

It must have been there about 7 or 8 years – from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s, and there is no trace of it left today.

What do you remember about it? Share your memories in the comments below.

The Dark Side of Convict Life – part 11

by Barrie Jones

Chapter VIII. Henry describes Portland Prison’s cells, the classes of convicts and their perquisites, and the standard diet a convict could receive there.

The Dark Side of Convict Life (Being the Account of the Career of Harry Williams, a Merthyr Man). Merthyr Express, 12th March 1910, page 5.

Chapter VIII

The separate cell in a convict prison is what the reception cell is in a local prison, that is, a prison set apart for the receiving of convicts; but this also is a place of punishment known as the “refractory penal cell.” These cells are different to others, having the window in the roof instead of at the back of the wall. There are no tables, stools, bedding, etc., as in other cells, but only two gutta-percha utensils. The entrance to these cells is through a long winding passage, and the doors, which are double, have, in addition to a lock, a heavy iron bolt. After being made ready to be employed on public works I was taken to another part of the prison known as C hall, and I was located in a corrugated-iron cell, something, similar to those mentioned in a previous chapter at Dartmoor. These cells are very closely packed, and only a thin partition separates one man from the other. There are something like two hundred of them in each hall, and there used to be six halls in Portland, excluding the infirmary and penal cells, which are, of course, built of Portland limestone, namely A hall, B hall, C hall, D hall, F south hall and F north hall, the two latter being much lighter than the others. A, the foul-smelling dungeons have been condemned, and owing to the country having made an advance towards civilisation, the cells are now sweeter, and an ounce more of fresh air is allowed to travel into the lungs of a convict.

There is one thing in connection with these cells which pleases the convicts, and that is, it is possible to converse one with another without being overheard, as the iron partition having partly rotted away by age, there are holes which are often used as telephones. What drives a man out of his mind, and then to the lunatic asylum, quicker than the silent system? I can well remember talking to a poor wretch in one of those cells, in 1899. He was undergoing a term of fourteen years, and our conversation drifted towards the prison diet. He had only began his sentence, like myself, and it happened that I was allowed tea, instead of porridge, by orders of the medical officer, but no convict, properly speaking, was allowed tea under the rules until he had served two years’ of his term, that is, until he had attained, by good conduct, the distinction of a second-class convict. There are four classes, and each convict has to pass through as many as his sentence permits. He will begin in the probation class, and will remain in it one year, after which he will, by good conduct, be promoted to the third class, allowed to earn a gratuity of twelve shillings, and to write and receive a letter, also a visit of twenty minutes’ duration for each nine-hundred and sixty marks he earns in this stage. One year, from the third to the second stage, in the latter he will receive, instead of porridge, one pint of tea, half-ounce of margarine and two ounces of extra bread (ten ounces) each day in the week, and also be permitted to earn a gratuity of thirty shillings. After another year, again he will be promoted to the first class, and allowed to earn a gratuity of three pounds. Then, if undergoing a term of twelve years or upwards, after serving seven years and six months he will be entitled to earn an extra half-crown per month in order to purchase luxuries for himself, such as oranges, apples, marmalade, jam, biscuits, and so forth, except tobacco and beer, which are strictly prohibited. A convict in a special class will be entitled to six pounds on his release, but only on condition that he joins a Prisoners’ aid Society. Perhaps when he is discharged he finds work, but his employers may be informed that he is a ticket-of-leave man, and at once he is turned into the streets to either beg or thieve. He may have a wife and several little ones, who have been, for years, waiting his return, and they, too, of course, have to suffer. Is not this rather hard? Such is truly the case, without varnishing it in the least.

To come back to my conversation with this man undergoing fourteen years. He told me one day, when talking about the diet, that his stomach was so weak that it would not take the porridge, so, wishing to do him a good turn. I managed to devise a way in which to share my tea with him without being seen, and this is what I did. I took an old letter I had received from home, and I screwed it up into the shape of a tundish. I then placed the small end through a hole in the iron partition, and, holding the paper tundish with the left hand, I poured the tea into it with the right; the man in the next cell, at the same time, holding his tin cup ready to receive the liquid. Thus, in this small way, I befriended my fellow-convict.

Before concluding this chapter, I will give a list of the dietary for convicts of the present time:- Breakfast, 10 ounces of coarse bread, with one pint of tea, or porridge, and half-an-ounce of margarine. Dinner, Mondays, 16 ounces of beans, 16 ounces of potatoes, 8 ounces of bread, and two ounces of fat bacon; Tuesdays, 6 ounces of boiled mutton, 16 ounces of potatoes, and 8 ounces of bread; Wednesdays, 1 pint of pork soup, 16 ounces of potatoes, and 8 ounces of bread; Thursdays, 6 ounces of boiled beef, 16 ounces of potatoes, and 8 ounces of bread; Fridays, 1 pint of vegetable soup, 16 ounces of potatoes, 8 ounces of brad; Saturdays, 16 ounces of suet pudding (beef without bone, as the lags call it), 16 ounces of potatoes, and 8 ounces of bread. Sunday’s diet is considered the worst diet of the week; it consists of 6 ounces of tinned beef, 16 ounces of potatoes, and 8 ounces of bread. In addition to thus a convict on hard labour is allowed two ounces of cheese for supper twice weekly. To speak fairly, in quantity the diets are enough for an ordinary man, but sometimes the quality leaves much to be desired.

To be continued….

Memories of Cyfarthfa School…..again

Many thanks for all the comments regarding the previous post about memories of Cyfarthfa School – they are all fascinating.

To make things a bit easier, and a bit more structured, here are some guidelines that might help.

If you can tell us about any or indeed all of the subjects below, please e-mail them to any of the addresses below, or to the email for this blog merthyr.history@gmail.com

Laura Bray – jasonbray@aol.com

Steve Brewer – stevebrewer68@hotmail.co.uk

Carole-Anne Johnson – c.harris51@yahoo.co.uk

Please get in touch via e-mail rather than by commenting – we can then organise things more ‘formally’ to make sure that nothing is overlooked or taken out of context.

Thanks