Tag: First World War

A Short History of Merthyr General Hospital – part 3

by Ann Lewis

During the First World War, Seymour Berry rendered valuable service to the country, by relieving Lord Rhondda of his business responsibilities, so releasing him for important work as a Cabinet Minister. After the war, he became director of over 80 public and other companies, including the great Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds, eventually becoming its chairman.

He was without doubt the most generous benefactor Merthyr has ever known. Indeed the family over the years gave a total of £100,000 to the people of Merthyr. He was awarded the title Lord Buckland of Bwlch in 1926.

His tragic death two years later in 1928 as a result of a riding accident was a great loss to the people of Merthyr. A fund was opened, and over 50,000 people contributed, but by far the largest portion was given by his wife, Lady Buckland and his brothers, Lord Camrose and Lord Kemsley.

The fund was used to build the Lord Buckland Memorial Hospital which was officially opened on 5 June 1931 and cost over £40,000 to complete. The new hospital was connected to the General Hospital by a corridor, where a lift and a stairway provided access to the upper floors.

Lord Buckland Memorial Hospital

The entrance, off Alexandra Road, was where the opening of the new part of the hospital took place, when Lord Camrose unlocked the door. This was followed by the unveiling of the Memorial Panel by Mr W. R. Lysaght, C.B.E. The inscription read:-

“This hospital was erected by Public subscription as a memorial to Henry Seymour Berry, first Baron Buckland of Bwlch. A native of this town. Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. 3rd  Honorary Freeman of the County Borough of Merthyr Tydfil. Chairman of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds.

In recognition of the high ideal of citizenship displayed in his generous gifts  for  the  alleviation of suffering in  the  town  and  for  increasing the happiness and  prosperity of his fellowmen.”

The people of Merthyr gratefully appreciated the hospital and it remained a voluntary one until 1948, when all hospitals were transferred to the Ministry of Health. Our area came under the care of the Merthyr and Aberdare Hospital Management Committee.

Merthyr and Aberdare Hospital Management Committee

Many improvements have been made over the years; they include the new theatre, opened in 1960 when the area behind the Buckland Hospital was extended. By 1962 the right hand side of the first floor of the Buckland building was converted as an extension to the children’s ward, and was later used as the Special Care Baby Unit.

In the 1970’s Prince Charles Hospital was built, and the building of a new large, modern hospital had repercussions for all of the other hospitals in Merthyr. In 1978, when the first phase of Prince Charles Hospital opened, the General Hospital closed to be adapted to receive several departments from St Tydfil’s Hospital, while it was being refurbished.

In 1980, the Maternity and Special Baby Care units were transferred to the Buckland Hospital and the department for the Care of the Elderly was transferred to the main hospital.

In 1986, with the refurbishment of St Tydfil’s complete, the Care of the Elderly department was moved there, and the main building of the General Hospital closed. At this time the Sandbrook and Berry wards were demolished.

Sandbrook and Berry wards being demolished in 1986

The Buckland Hospital remained open until 1991 when phase 2 of Prince Charles Hospital was finished and the Maternity and Special Baby Care units were transferred, and the building was subsequently demolished.

The main hospital building still stands but is in a pitiful state. There is a proposal to turn the building into 23 new homes. Let’s hope that the refurbishment will be sympathetic to the history of a building that the local people gave so much of their time, energy and money to build for the people of Merthyr.

The General Hospital in 2016

A fuller history of the General Hospital by Ann Lewis is available in Volume 4 of the Merthyr Historian.

Merthyr’s Chapels: Wesley Chapel

The next chapel in our series is Wesley Chapel in Pontmorlais.

In 1790 Samuel Homfray, owner of the Penydarren Ironworks introduced a new process for making iron and needed to send to Yorkshire and Staffordshire for men to help carry out this new process.

The new workers were followers of John Wesley’s doctrines, and so started their own cause, meeting at their cottages near St Tydfil’s Church.

As the cause increased a larger meeting place had to be found and the ever-growing congregation started meeting in the Long Room of the Star Inn.

Again the congregation increased and it was decided to build a chapel. A piece of land was acquired beside the Morlais Brook near the small wooden bridge that carried the then small road from Merthyr to Penydarren and Dowlais.

Money was collected and the foundation stone was laid in 1796. Thomas Guest, son of John Guest the founder of the Dowlais Iron Works, who was an ardent Wesleyan and also a preacher, contributed £50 towards the building fund, and indeed preached at the chapel when it was completed. The chapel was completed in 1797 at a cost of £602.13s.7d. This was the first English chapel in Merthyr.

A drawing of the original Wesley Chapel

The congregation continued to grow and in 1860 it was decided that a new chapel should be built. The builders were Messrs Morgan & Edwards of Aberdare. There was a disagreement between the minister, Rev Josiah Matthews and the congregation about the size of the chapel, so after the site for the new chapel had been marked out with stakes, Rev Matthews waited until that night, went out to the site and moved the stakes to make the chapel larger. This subterfuge was not discovered, and it was not until the chapel was finished did Rev Matthews reveal what he had done. The chapel was completed in 1863 at a cost of £880 and was officially opened on 15 January 1863. Incorporated into the building was a house on the north side of the chapel which was intended to be used as a manse for the minister, but it was never used as such and was instead let to private tenants.

In 1871 the trustees of the chapel decided to have a new pipe organ so set up a fund called the “Debt and Organ Fund” to raise enough money to purchase an organ and pay off the remaining debt on the chapel. By 1873 enough money had been raised for the new organ and it was installed at a cost of £192.10s.0d.

In 1913, it was decided to build a new and very grand Central Wesleyan Mission Hall on Pontmorlais Road West across the Morlais Brook from the chapel, on the site of the Old Drill Hall. It would have been connected to the chapel by an arcade. Plans were actually drawn up for the Mission, but before building began the First World War broke out. Due to the subsequent upheaval, the plans were shelved and the Hall was never built.

The chapel closed on 30 December 1979 due to prohibitive costs for necessary repairs to the chapel, and the congregation moved to Dowlais Wesleyan Chapel. The building has been since used as a furniture shop, and an arts and crafts centre.

Wesley Chapel decorated for a Harvest Festival

Jack Jones – Merthyr’s Literary Great

by Laura Bray

Many of you reading this blog will have heard of the book ‘Off to Philadelphia in the Morning’ charting the early life of Joseph Parry and his family as they try their luck for a new life in America. Some of you reading this blog may have been on the cast of the television series that was made in the late 1970s.  Remember that?

But how many of us know anything about its author – Jack Jones?

It’s an interesting story.

Jack’s given name was John Jones, and he was born on 24 November 1884 at number 14, Tai Harri Blawd, which, from what I can work out, is somewhere around the Theatre Royal/Taf Vale Brewery/ Dan y Parc area of town.

He was the eldest son of David, who was a collier from Merthyr, and Sarah, who was from Swansea and only 19 when Jack was born. David and Sarah, both Welsh speakers, had 15 children, only 9 of whom survived beyond infancy, and by the time Jack was six he already had three brothers – William, Francis and baby David – and also shared his home with two cousins, the eldest of whom, aged 15, was also a collier. By 1901 the family had moved to Penyard, by which time Jack, and his three brothers, had been joined by three more brothers and two sisters.

By this stage Jack was 16. He had left St David’s Elementary School three years earlier and gone to work underground, but was of an age to enlist and so joined the army – Militia Battalion of the Welch – and was sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War. Hating it, Jack went AWOL, but was recaptured and sent to India, where he remained until his demobilisation in 1906. He then returned to Merthyr. In 1908 he married Laura Grimes Evans, who was 6 years his elder, and for the next few years the family moved between Merthyr and Builth Wells, their two eldest sons being born respectively in these places. Times must have been hard – Jack worked as a bark stripper and then as a general labourer for the Railway Service Company in Builth Wells before finances forced Jack back underground, this time in Pontypool. These were turbulent times however – and when war broke out in 1914 Jack, as an army reservist, was called up back to his regiment, and sent to the Western Front, where he was mentioned in dispatches. After suffering shrapnel wounds, however, he was invalided out and returned to Merthyr where he became the recruiting officer.

During his 20’s Jack was becoming more interested in theatre, writing and in politics, and by 1920 had joined the Communist Party, representing his Miner’s Federation Branch at Pontypool in the formation Conference of the British Communist Party in Manchester 1921, from where he was chosen to become temporary corresponding secretary for the South Wales coalfield. For months he sought to establish a branch of the Communist Party at Merthyr, and gave active support to the Communist parliamentary candidate for the Caerphilly constituency.  But Jack was not a life-long communist and his political affiliations vacillated. By 1923 he had left the Communist Party in favour of the Labour Party, and had been appointed full time secretary-representative of the miners at Blaengarw, a job which necessitated him moving his family again, this time to Bridgend.  Although active in the Labour Party, criticism of his controversial first article for the press, ‘The Need for a Lib-Lab Coalition’, and his increasing disillusionment with Labour’s stance over nationalisation, resulted, towards the end of 1927, in his resignation from the post at Blaengarw, another house move – from Bridgend to Cardiff – and another political move – from the Labour Party to the Liberal Party. In the meantime he had also written and submitted a play, ‘Dad’s Double’, into a competition in Manchester where is had favourable reviews.

1929 saw Jack working as a speech writer for the Liberal Party and standing as a (defeated) Liberal candidate for Neath in the election but only a year later, Jack was unemployed and having to make ends meet by doing whatever he could – working as a platform-speaker for Oswald Mosely’s far right party, as a salesman, a cinema manager, a navvie and also as a writer. Now nearly 50, these must have been tough years, but Jack persevered and in 1934, he had his first novel published: ‘Rhondda Roundabout’.

More success followed and by 1939 Jack had written two more novels – ‘Black Parade’ (1935) and ‘Bidden to the Feast’ (1938); a play ‘Land of My Fathers’ (1937) and the first volume of his autobiography ‘Unfinished Journey’ (1937). A short run of the stage-version of ‘Rhondda Roundabout’ on Shaftesbury Avenue added to his fame.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Jack carried out lecture tours in the USA and Canada, worked as a speech writer on behalf of the Ministry of Information and the National Savings Movement, wrote radio-scripts and articles, visited troops on the battlefields and also had to deal with the death of his son Lawrence, who was killed in action in 1942. He also changed political allegiance again – this time supporting the Conservative, Sir James Grigg in the 1945 election. Jack still found time to write, producing ‘The Man David’ an imaginary presentation, based on fact, of the life of Lloyd George, in 1944, and then after the war, and in quick succession, two volumes of autobiography (‘Me and Mine’ in 1946 and ‘Give Me Back My Heart’ in 1950), three new novels (‘Off to Philadelphia in the Morning’ (1947), ‘Some Trust in Chariots’ (1948), and ‘River out of Eden’ (1951) and a play (‘Transatlantic Episode’ (1947). Personally these years were difficult: Laura died in 1946 and his other son, David, in 1948; although Jack did find love again, marrying Gwaldys Morgan, a library assistant from Rhiwbina, in 1954.

Jack wrote five novels during the 1950’s although these were not as well received and although he continued to write until his death, his last published novel was in 1956 – ‘Come Night, End Day’.

In terms of accolades, Jack received many. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1948, the first president of the English section of Yr Academi Gymreig; and, in February 1970, he received an award from the Welsh Arts Council for his distinguished contribution to the literature of Wales. He died on 7 May 1970 and is now all but forgotten outside Merthyr.

Perhaps it is time to reappraise this lad from Merthyr, who led a life so unlike many of ours and recorded his experiences so skilfully, depicting, in the words of Phil Carradice, “…an accurate and powerful picture of life in the industrial valleys of South Wales in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Arguably, it has never been done better.”

Merthyr’s Boxers: Billy Eynon

The next boxer we are going to look at is Billy Eynon. Many thanks to Gareth Jones for his assistance and advice in writing this article.

Billy Eynon was born on 26 December 1893 in Treharris. As a teenager he was lured into fighting at the infamous fairground boxing booths at Georgetown. In his excellent book ‘The Boxers of Wales: Volume 2 – Merthyr, Aberdare and Pontypridd’, Gareth Jones relates the story of how he was tempted to fight at Jack Scarrott’s booth on the promise of winning five shillings. When he went to collect his winnings however, he was told by Scarrott that his cornermen (both of course employed by Scarrott) were both entitled to two shillings each, leaving the young Billy with just a shilling!

Eynon made such an impression however, that Scarrott offered him a week’s work at Brecon Fair. This was eventually extended to six-months, and provided Billy with invaluable experience.

Eynon’s first ‘legitimate’ fight took place on 31 January 1914 at the Drill Hall in Merthyr. The headline fight that night was between Eddie Morgan (see previous entry – http://www.merthyr-history.com/?p=592) and Tommy Phillips, which Morgan lost on points. The local crowd were appeased somewhat when Billy Eynon defeated Dick Jenkins in his debut match.

He was beginning to consolidate his reputation when the First World War broke out. Eynon joined the Royal Artillery, and despite being wounded in France, carried on boxing. He won the Army featherweight title in 1918 and met the Navy champion in Salonika before a crowd estimated at 200,000 people.

Western Mail – 19 May 1916

Following the war, Eynon, now boxing as a flyweight, appeared in his first fight against Kid Doyle at the Olympia Rink in Merthyr, a match which he won. The victory earned Eynon a rematch at the National Sporting Club in a fight which would be an elimination fight for the British title. Eynon lost the fight on points.

Soon after this, Billy Eynon changed weight-divisions to become a bantam-weight, and in 1920 challenged again for the British title. On 18 October he beat George Clark on points to earn a fight against the reigning British bantam-weight title holder Jim Higgins.

On 29 November 1920, Eynon faced Jim Higgins at the National Sporting Club. The fight would prove to be a controversial one. Eynon, hampered by weight difficulties was forced, on the day of the fight, to undertake vigorous exercises and have a Turkish bath to try to reduce his weight, whilst his opponent rested and prepared for the match. An exhausted Eynon took to the ring and although he acquitted himself well, the match went to Higgins on points. Many in the crowd, including the Prince of Wales, disagreed with the decision and vented their frustration by throwing gold sovereigns into the ring for Eynon. Although he lost the fight, Eynon himself said he made far more money that night than his opponent!

Billy Eynon carried on boxing for several years, but in 1927, he was forced to give up the sport due to a detached retina and the risk of blindness. In 1928 a boxing tournament was held in Merthyr to raise money to help for him.

Billy Eynon lived out the rest of his days in Merthyr and died in 1980.

Sgt John Collins V.C., D.C.M. part 2

by Tony Collins

Details of the Medal Citation for John Collins’ V.C.

The following is extracted from the book Heart of a Dragon – the VCs of Wales and the Welsh Regiments. 1914-82 by W. Alister Williams.

“On 30 October 1917 the operations against Beersheba commenced as soon as darkness fell with the 231 Brigade moving across Wadi Saba, finding their way across the rough, rocky terrain by means of screened lights illuminating their path. When they reached Kent Wadi, they ran into Turkish patrols which were driven back, thereby allowing the assault troops to deploy ready for the attack by 02.00.  The 25th Royal Welch Fusiliers(RWF) was positioned on the right of the 74th Division, in the centre of the line where, along with the 24 RWF, they were to be the brigade’s two attacking battalions, with D and A Companies in the front. The infantry were supported by artillery, but not on the scale used on the Western Front.  Instead, the crews of the 100 fields guns and twenty heavy guns had to be selective in their targets and endeavour to react as much as possible to the changing fortunes of the battalions in the attacking force.  The 60 Division, on the right of the line, who were to commence the attack, were to initially receive the full support of the artillery.

As dawn broke over the eastern horizon, the Turkish artillery opened with very accurate shrapnel fire on the British troops on the hills and at 06.48, D and A Companies moved forward into the heavy shrapnel fire and, as soon as they came within range, into machine-gun fire.  Just over half an hour later, a message was received that the British artillery were having to cease firing as they were unable to see their targets because of the dust.  Despite this, and ignoring their casualties, the battalion edged forward to the final crest of the hills before charging the enemy positions.  Every effort was made to silence the Turkish machine-guns but to no avail, and the battalion paid a very heavy price in men killed or wounded.

The ridge was traversed with a hail of lead and a line of dead, all shot through the head, that marked the limit of the advance testified alike to the determination of the attack and to the accuracy of the Turkish shooting.  It became clear that to call on men shooting from behind no sort of cover to use their rifles against machine-guns very strongly entrenched was throwing away lives to no purpose.  Automatically everyone drew in under cover of the last ridge and waited for some turn in the battle which would afford the infantry the opportunity to push on and bring matters to a definite conclusion.  (Historical Records of the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry).

The sight of so many of his comrades lying exposed in front of the ridge was too much for Collins.  With total disregard for his own safety, he rushed forward several times to bring the wounded back behind the ridge from where they could be carried back to receive emergency medical treatment.

Over to their right, the 60 Division had been held up whilst trying to take Hill 1070 and the limited artillery was concentrated on that area of the front.  This precarious situation continued for several hours and at about 11.00, Capt Fitzhugh, leading the Lewis Gun section stood up to try and identify the position of a Turkish machine-gun which was causing his men considerable problems. As he panned across the front with his binoculars, he was shot in the head by a sniper and killed.  Although only a junior NCO, Collins was now acting a rallying point for the men in his section and others around him.  Less than an hour later, the artillery switched its fire to the Turkish positions in front of the 74 Division and obliterated a particularly strong redoubt in front of the 25 RWF.  This had an immediate effect and the fire from the Turks in front died down as their trenches disappeared under the barrage of exploding shells. The infantry then fixed bayonets and advanced through the still uncut wire defences, enfiladed by rifle and machine-gun fire as they tried to take what little cover there was.  Within a few minutes, they had captured the enemy position, killing large numbers and taking 140 prisoners.  Collins was at the forefront of this charge and is reported to have bayonetted fifteen of the Turkish defenders. Having secured the trench, he then led members of the Lewis gun section and set up defences ready to repel any possible counter-attack.  The fighting in this sector ended at about 15.00.  Miraculously, despite being under fire for over nine hours, Collins escaped unscathed.  The attack had cost the battalion 2230 casualties.

The delay in capturing the area south-west of Beersheba prompted the Corps commander to order a classic cavalry charge by the 4th Australian Light Horse which crossed the open ground east of Beersheba and captured the town, thereby forcing the Turks to withdraw and open the route for an assault on Gaza which fell to Allenby’s forces one week later.”

It was for his actions that day that Collins was awarded the Victoria Cross.  The Citation reads:

“For most conspicuous bravery, resource and leadership when, after deployment, prior to an attack, his battalion was forced to lie out in the open under heavy shell and machine-gun fire which caused many casualties.  This gallant non-commissioned officer repeatedly went out under heavy fire and brought wounded back to cover, thus saving many lives.

In subsequent operations throughout the day, Corporal Collins was conspicuous in rallying and leading his command.  He led the final assault with the utmost skill in spite of heavy fire at close range and uncut wire. He bayonetted fifteen of the enemy and, with a Lewis gun section, pressed on beyond the objective and covered the reorganisation and consolidation most effectively although isolated and under fire from snipers and guns.

He showed throughout a magnificent example of initiative and fearlessness.”

He was decorated with the VC by HM King George V at Buckingham Palace on 1 June 1918.

Details of the Medal Citation for the DCM.

“……..(As part of the assault on Jerusalem) on 29 Nov 1917 D and B Company were ordered to take the village of Beit-ur-et-Foqa commencing at 20.00 and arriving at 03.30 the next day. The assault commenced 15 minutes later and, at first, everything went well.  D Company and part of B Company, a force of only 80 men, traversed the difficult terrain and reached their objective just as dawn was breaking, catching the Turkish garrison completely by surprise as they were either forming up on parade or preparing a meal.  Dividing his small force into two Maj Rees advanced and captured a Turkish officer. When they reached the village, using the prisoner as an interpreter, they called upon the garrison to surrender.  The Turks appeared to be complying with the request before opening fire with six machine-guns which fortunately had little effect, as the men were able to take cover behind low garden walls from where they returned fire.  Collins, by this time a sergeant, was instrumental in organising part of his line and was able to bring very effective fire onto the Turkish positions.  In a very short period of time, the Turks began to put up their hands and the entire garrison quickly surrendered.  The Welsh troops found themselves in charge of more than 450 prisoners and a small escort was detailed to take them back to the British lines.  Maj Rees attempted to contact the British line for support but was unsuccessful.  The main Turkish force then realised that Beit-ur-et-Foqa had been captured by an under-strength British unit and began to close on the village from all directions. By 08.00 they were surrounded and under fire from all sides.  Amongst the four officers and thirty men, John Collins played a pivotal role in visiting each group of defenders to ensure that they were being used to the best possible advantage. Rees, realising that his position was untenable, then withdrew his men from the village and succeeded in reaching the British lines at 09.45. The village was recaptured later that day by a stronger force from the 2259 Brigade.”

It was for his actions that day that Collins was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.  The Citation reads:

“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty.  As soon as the enemy opened fire at point blank range, he rallied all the men near him, took control of a portion of the line, and brought every available rifle to bear on the enemy.

During the consolidation he did exceptionally good work, and later, when the enemy counter-attacked, went under heavy fire from post to post to see that they were being held to the best advantage.

His ability and devotion to duty were of the highest order”

Collins was decorated with the DCM by the Brigade Commander on 4 January 1918.

Memorial stone for John Collins at St Tydfil’s Church

Sgt John Collins, V.C., D.C.M

by Tony Collins

The charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse at Beersheba late in the afternoon of 31 October 1917 is remembered as the last great cavalry charge.  This year is the 100th anniversary of that event and is particularly revered in Australia.  It was part of the wider British offensive collectively known as the third Battle of Gaza.  There was only one Victoria Cross awarded during that Battle and that was to my grandfather Sergeant John COLLINS, VC, DCM from Merthyr Tydfil.

John (Jack) COLLINS was born in Bickenhall, Somerset, and was one of fourteen children of THOMAS and MARY ANN COLLINS.  Life was hard in rural England and Thomas and Mary, together with eight of the younger children, moved to Penydarren, Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales in 1889 which had the largest ironworks in the world at that time.

In 1895 at the age of 18yrs John Collins enlisted in the Royal Horse Artillery as a driver (horses not vehicles!) and served in South Africa during the Boer War and was one of the first troops to enter Ladysmith with the relief column on 28 February 1900. He also served in India and would have completed his 12 yrs in 1907.  He was one of the oldest recipients of the VC and one of the longest serving soldiers.

He married my Grandmother, MARY ELLEN O’BRIEN, aged 20 yrs, in 1910. He was then aged 33 yrs. They had six sons and two daughters.

Although his reserve service would have come to an end in 1913 he voluntarily enlisted in the newly formed Welsh Horse (eventually the Royal Welsh Fusiliers) in 1914 at the age of 37. They arrived at Anzac Cove on the 8 October 1915 alongside Australian and New Zealand troops to carry out mining operations on Hill 60. How crestfallen must it have been, starting out as part of a regular regiment of Household Cavalry, then becoming infantry and then being used as pioneers. They were one of the last detachments of British troops to leave the peninsular.

The regiment then moved to Libya, North Africa, then on to Cairo before reaching Gaza in 1917. Now part of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers they were part of the attack to take the town of Beersheba and thus force the Turks out of Gaza.  On 31 October 1917 he was part of D Company at Wadi Saba, Beersheba (at which the famous charge of the Australian Light Horse took place) when it came under heavy shrapnel and machine gun fire and the battalion paid a very heavy price in men killed or wounded. It was in this action that he won his Victoria Cross.

On the 4 January 1918 he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (an extremely high level award for bravery second only to the VC) for action on 29/30 November at Foka and Hill 1750 Palestine where with a company of 80 men took a village occupied by 600 Turkish troops, taking some 300 prisoners, including 10 officers.

He was wounded whilst serving with the Fifth Army at Hinges in Northern France and his war came to an end.  He was discharged in February 1919.

After the war it was difficult for my grandfather to obtain employment as many thought they could not offer menial position to the winner of a VC.  On the 9 November 1919 a dinner was held for the holders of the Victoria Cross hosted by HRH Edward Prince of Wales.  When HRH met my grandfather he asked where he was working and my grandfather replied “as a coal tip labourer”.  The Prince responded that he thought a winner of the VC deserved a better job.  Following the dinner, my grandfather received numerous job offers eventually accepting a position as a security guard at the local steelworks.  As ever, it is not what you know but who you know!  He died after a fall at home on 3 September 1951.

John Collins’ grave at Pant Cemetery

To be continued in the next blog……