Bronze Age Gold from Wales

A slate (part of a collection of three slates) inscribed by members of the Blaenau Ffestiniog community. The slates were owned by Margaret Davies who moved to Blaenau Ffestiniog from the Birkenhead area as an evacuee during the Second World War.

Evacuees came to the Blaenau Ffestiniog area on a train, and reports state that the local brass band, the Oakeley Band (a brass band associated with the slate industry), welcomed them to the railway station on their arrival at Blaenau Ffestiniog. The first wave of evacuation during the Second World War was initiated on the 1 September 1939, and the slates dates from this period. The slates are dated 8 September 1939 – the day of Margaret Davies' birthday. The slates are believed to be a record of the birthday. According to Margaret Davies's family she only mentioned two recollections of her time as an evacuee:- 1) her dislike of onions stemmed from her time as an evacuee - evidently when she arrived at her ‘new home’, after a long day’s travel, she was given a boiled onion for supper (an example of ‘swper chwarel / quarryman’s supper’); 2) she had some understanding of the Welsh language as her 'new family' were fluent in Welsh.