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Name	Age	Address
Dorothy Sansum Dorothy Evans Mary Irene Davies George Spencer Bird Annie Louisa Morris Edgar Jones † Joseph Owen Parry Elizabeth Mary Prestwood Muriel Gwendoline Kerswell Isaac William Cecil Thomas Edith Connolly John Howard Price Jenkins John Beverley Jones Trevor John Bayton Annie Amelia Bentley Margaret Ellen Oliver Flora Rees Olga May Lance Cyril Charles Ings Lambert Lena Victoria Algar David Myrrdin Jones Alun Watkyn Jones James Howell Davies Mattie Adelina Jones David William Roderick Haydn Rees Stubbins William Richard Rees Jane Evans Gwladys Evans Percy Alfred Lewis Thomas Picton Evans Annie Mary Rowlands Richard Thomas Richards Annie Mary Lewis John Herbert Thomas Richard George Alden David Leyshon Williams Myrrdin Howells Edgar Jones Blanchette Thomas Felix James Eschle Mary Margaret Barrett Sarah James Irene Bishop Laura Ellen Williams Idris Jones Jane Daniel Margaret Mary Bevan Hilda Violet Davey Allan Wyke Catherine May Rees Herbert Parr Arthur Bucknell Andrews Harold Gwyn Howell Benjamin Llewellyn Davies † John Twissell Gwladys Williams Evelyn Doris Evans Herbert Lewis Margaret Jennett Lewis Elizabeth Grace Sturgess Gwen Williams Harold Ivanhoe Milsom Evan William Davies Cecily Mary Eschle Mary Ann Lewis Florence Winn Mary Adeline Edwards Marjorie Mabel George Annie Eleanor Howells Eveline May Twissell Sadie May Jenkins Geoffrey Lea William Dumayne Gwladys Rees Eleanor Jones Martha Olwen Williams Margaret Jones Margaret Maria Thomas Samuel Erasmus Jones William Arthur Price Naomi Eliza Davies Edith Olwen Evans Mary Annie Boxhall Annie Jane Morgan Doris Elizabeth Victoria Evans William Edwards Claudia Ruffina Owen Gladys Elizabeth Hughes Lena Rees Norah G. Eschle	11.5 13.1 14.7 11.6 14 13.6 13.2 13.7 13.9 12.4 13.3 12.9 13.5 13.6 13.9 13.8 14 13.1 13.3 12.4 13.1 12.7 13.4 13.4 12.3 13 14.2 14.1 12.5 12.9 11.4 11.8 12.2 12.1 13 12.8 13 14.2 12.8 13.4 12.1 12.7 12.6 16.5 16 12.2 13.1 14.8 12.4 9.9 15.3 13.8 13.5 13.7 13.4 15.2 12 14.3 14.3 16 13.1 17 12.4 11.8 13.1 14.5 14.7 13 12.3 11.4 13 12.6 10.9 14.6 14 14.5 14.7 13.7 15.8 13 13.5 12.1 12.5 14.6 15.2 15.3 14.3 15.2 12.8 11.5 12.2	Glancynon House, Aberdare 1a, Stuart St, Aberdare Cardiff Arms Hotel, Hirwaun 22, Cardiff St, Aberdare Brooklyn House, Aberaman 5, Victoria Row, Cwmbach Bronallt Stores, Abercwmboi 1, Lower Station St, Aberaman 62, Cardiff Rd, Aberaman 66, Mill St, Trecynon 8 Oakland Terr., Cwmaman Rd, Aberaman 45e, Oxford St, Gadlys 41b, Ynysllwyd Rd, Aberdare 49, Broniestyn Tce, Aberdare Crown Hotel, Aberdare 3a, Hall St, Aberdare Llantwit Cottage, Cwmaman Rd, Godreaman 24, Gladstone St, Aberaman 2, Hill St, Aberaman 22a, Lewis St, Aberaman 34, Herbert St, Aberdare 34, Dean St, Aberdare 8, Greenfield Tce, Cwmbach Talbot Inn, Pembroke St, Aberdare 15, Holford St, Aberaman 34, Tudor Tce, Aberdare 2, Pandy Rd, Hirwaun Tower Rd, Hirwaun Glancynon House, Gospel Hall Tce, Aberdare 85, Park View Tce, Abercwmboi 25, Llewellyn St, Trecynon 79, Gadlys St, Gadlys Training School, Trecynon, Aberdare 9, Mill St, Trecynon 51, Gadlys Rd, Aberdare 19, Cromer St, Abercwmboi 40, Broniestyn Tce, Aberdare Griffin Inn, Aberdare 38, Monk St, Aberdare Parc Olwg, Hirwaun Rd, Trecynon 13, Victoria Square, Aberdare 2, Maelgwyn Tce, Gadlys 6, Morris St, Cwmaman 60, High St, Hirwaun Monk House, Monk St, Aberdare Gellyneuadd, Penderyn 28, Aman St, Cwmaman 5, Trevor St, Aberdare The Laurels, Meirion St, Aberdare 39, Canon St, Aberdare 16, Holford Tce, Cwmdare 14, Canon St, Aberdare 6, Clifton Cresc, Aberaman Danyrallt, Abernant Rd, Aberdare Maesyberllan, Rhigos 38, Commercial St, Aberdare 40, Broniestyn Tce, Aberdare 26, Pendarren St, Aberdare 29, Lewis St, Aberdare Scales Arms, Cwmbach 61, John St, Abercwmboi 14, Ann St, Gadlys 70, Jubilee Rd, Godreaman 12, Jubilee Rd, Godreaman 13, Victoria Square, Aberdare 40, Windsor St, Trecynon 22, Violet St, Aberaman 32, Broniestyn Tce, Aberdare 24, Seymour St, Aberdare Post Office, Rhigos 38, Commercial St, Aberdare 8, Stuart St, Aberdare Glenburn, Abernant Rd, Aberdare 321, Cardiff Rd, Aberaman 5, Clifton St, Aberdare 1, Morris St, Cwmaman 75, Harriet St, Trecynon 46, Herbert St, Aberdare 5, Llewellyn St, Trecynon 2, Gladstone St, Aberaman 8, Bethel Place, Hirwaun Ardwyn, Brynheulog Tce, Aberaman 7, Whitcombe St, Aberdare 298, Cardiff St, Aberaman 15, Highland Place, Aberdare 34, High St, Hirwaun 138, Glanaman Rd, Cwmaman Gwynfryn, Cwmaman Rose Cottage, Abernant Castle Hotel, Aberdare 13, Victoria Square, Aberdare

WW1 Casualties

† Edgar Jones was in the Durham Light Infantry, and died on October 26th 1918. He is buried in the Berlin South-Western Cemetery.

† Benjamin Llewellyn Davies was in the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, and died May 31st 1918. He is buried in the Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, France.

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Notes

Spring term entry: The pupils Dorothy Sansum, Dorothy Evans and Mary Irene Davies enrolled during spring or summer terms of 1912. All the others enrolled in the Autumn term.

Age on Entry: Pupils entering Form 1 were generally aged 12+ in the early days of the school. There was no Form 2 and the four-year course to School Certificate concluded in Form 5.
In 1912, the school recruited pupils to higher Forms, as well as to Form 1, so for example,Margaret Jennett Lewis would have entered directly into 5C a higher Form.
The order of pupils in the table is the order in which they were enrolled.
 

Pupils

Dorothy Sansum lived at Glancynon House situated very close to the entrance of Glancynon Foundry. The foundry was located next to the Commercial Inn on the banks of the River Cynon. The firm specialised in the manufacture of iron and crucible steel castings, and self-oiling steel tram wheels and axles.

The Bird family There have been three generations of the Bird family passing through the school, starting with George Spencer Bird, ABCS 1912–15.
His sons were Graham S. Bird 1934–41 and David Stuart Bird 1944–51.  Graham and David each sent a son to the school in the 1970s, Jeremy & Simon respectively.

T.J. Bayton’s father worked at the Trecynon Tin Works.  This was a tin-plating works situated at the bottom of Meirion St.

Annie Bentley lived in the Crown Hotel; this was, and still is, in Gloucester St, but it is now the home of Aberdare Rugby Club.  The building is at the junction of Gloucester St and Dean St near the railway station.

Cyril Charles Ings Lambert left school in the summer 1915 to be a clerk in the Civil Service.  In the New Year Honours, (Civil Division), list of 1946, he appears as a recipient of the MBE.  The citation tells that he was still in the Civil Service, “Principal Clerk, Department of Overseas Trade.”

Richard Thomas Richards lived in the Training School. This Industrial School of Merthyr Tydfil Poor Law Union, Trecynon, was built in 1871 by the Poor Law Guardians, originally used as an Infirmary, but in 1877 converted to the Training School. The school was intended to separate pauper children from the influence of the adults and gave training to the children in different trades and occupations. The institution held 200 children.  It’s known whether Richard was a member of the school, or the son of a staff member.

Myrddin Howells lived in the Griffin Inn, 290 Cardiff Rd, Aberaman, situated just beyond the right turn into Regent Street in the direction towards Mountain Ash.

Blanchette Thomas, (1899-1981), was the daughter of memorial mason Daniel Thomas and his wife Sarah of Parc Olwg, Trecynon. Blanche later qualified as a doctor, (MRCS, LRCP (1923); DPH, RCPS (1924)), and became Deputy Medical Officer of Health in Aberdare. She married County School master Peter Edward Phillips, (PEP), in 1938. Blanche and PEP both attended the Trecynon County School: Blanche from 1912 until her transfer to the new school at Plasdraw in 1913, and PEP, who was younger than his future wife, 1915 to 1920.

The Eschles were watchmakers of 13 Victoria Square, Aberdare. Cecily, (1899–1969), was the eldest of the six children of Leonard Edgar Eschle and his wife Katherine Ellen, née Connolly.
Honora Gertrude Eschle, (‘Nora’, 1900–1984), and Felix James Eschle (1900–1967) were twins. (For some unknown reason, Nora entered the school 5 weeks later than her two siblings).
Leonard’s father was Felix Eschle a German watchmaker, born 1834, Vohrenbach Baden, Germany but who married Hannah Dance of Taffs Well in 1892.

Arthur (Archie) Bucknell Andrews, 1899-1981 chemist.  Left school after one year to become apprenticed to Pharmaceutical Chemist.  Much later in life, he ran the pharmacy at 218 Cardiff Road, and 29 Lewis St, Aberaman.  He was a keen amateur cinematographer and some of his films of Aberaman events are available online from the B.F.I. Archive, e.g. “Street teas - Aberaman, after 1939-45 war”.  He retired to Park Lane, Trecynon.

Harold Gwyn Howells was the oldest of the Richard & Mary Howells' three children.  His younger sisters were Gwyneth and Mary, (the latter known as Marie) were twins. Their mother died shortly after the birth of the girls.  Their father, Richard Howells, 1862–1941, was an accomplished musician and music teacher. Harold was brought up in Dan-yr-Allt, Abernant Road, where he continued to live with his sister Marie, a violinist.  Like his father, Gwyn was also a pianist and organist, and gained the qualifications, LRAM, ARCM and ARCO.

Florence Winn’s father was an electrician in a power station.  Whether this was the AUDC station in Gadlys Yard, or the Powell Duffryn one south of Cwmbach is not known.

Marjorie Mabel George Marjorie Mabel George was the fourth of the six children of F.D.E. George and his wife Mary Ann, (née Jones). Mr George was a well-known undertaker of 24&25 Seymour Street, Maes-y-Dre.

Sadie May Jenkins was a daughter of George Jenkins who became headmaster of the boys’ department of Park School from 1921 to 1934. He had previously served as headmaster at Robertstown (1899–1903), and at Capcoch Mixed School (1903–1920). A keen musician, he conducted the combined school-children’s choir at the Aberdare Public Park on the occasion of the visit of the King and Queen in 1912. He came to the Park School on January 1, 1921, and remained until his retirement at the end of 1934, receiving the thanks of the Education Committee especially for his labours during the troublesome times of 1921 and 1926, in feeding the school-children.

Geoffrey Lea was a son of Alfred Lea jeweller.  There is still, (2024), a shop carrying the name Alfred Lea at 18 Commercial Street, Aberdare.

 

Amongst the parental occupations of the 1912 intake, there were,
Accountants 3, Assurance Superintendent, Baker (not a Master), Blacksmith, Blacksmith deceased, Boot Dealer, Boot Dealer deceased, Butchers (Manager) 2, Butchers (retail) 2, Carpenters 2, Chemist (retail), China Dealers 2, Colliers 18, Colliery Examiner, Colliery Fireman, Colliery Masons 2, Colliery Official, Colliery Weigher, Commercial Traveller, Draper, Electrician in Power Station, Engineman, Farmer, Foreman on G.W. Railway, Foreman Quarry Man, Grocers 5, Head Slaughterman Cwmbach Co-op, House Decorator (deceased), Inn keeper, Jewellers 4, Labourer Colliery Yard, Licensed Victuallers 4, Manager of Foundry, Manager of Gas Works Co., Master Painter, Merchant (retired), Mill Manager at Tin Works, Minister of Gospel, Music Teacher, Oil Merchant (retail), Ornamental Sculptor, Overman, Painter (Master) (deceased), Repairer in Colliery Works, Retired Licensed Victualler, School Master then Head in Elementary School, Shot Firer, Stationer, Tailors 2, Timberman (Colliery), Undertaker, Wesleyan Minister (deceased), Winding Engineer. No occupation 1.

 

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