Aberdare Boys’ Grammar School

This enamel badge appeared on the eBay auction website in October 2024. A successful bid was placed by an Aberdare collector, and the badge is now back in the Cynon valley. The name of the school is shown as A.C.S., almost certainly signifying Aberdare County School. (Of course, the dragon, book, and motto also match.)

The date of the badge is not known, but the absence of ‘B’ for boys, or ‘G’ for girls, suggests that the date might well be pre-1913 when the school was mixed and known simply as Aberdare County School, rather than Aberdare Boys County School and so on.

In the Sporting Activities section of this website, the Aberdare County School Soccer XI, 1903–04, have an embroidered badge on their shirts also bearing the letters A.C.S.

The reverse of the badge. The maker’s name is not present.

Dewi House badge up to 1959–60.

Dewi House badge from 1959–60.

The style of the Dewi badge was changed to the shield shape by Ken Reynolds (House Captain) and Drew Haman (Vice-Captain).

Drew Haman’s House Vice-Captain ribbon.

Penri House Badge

In Alwyn’s U6th year, all the prefects’ badges were black regardless of the prefect’s House colour, except Wynford Bowen who had
a red Head prefect badge.

Penri House badge
(The design of this 1957 badge lacks the ornamentation - compare with the 1954 version above.) By 1958, the Penri badge assumed the conventional shield shape.

School Chess Club Badge

Not a School Badge, but Dylan with a group of pupils from both grammar schools, took part in a production of Tartuffe staged at the Little Theatre in 1963

Colin supplied these images of the Llewelyn and Head Prefect badges.  He was Head Prefect and Gary Griffiths the Deputy in the 1963–4 year.  He said that prefects had few if any privileges. Instead, prefects had the task of keeping lower school boys out of the building at break and lunchtime, often being besieged at the door near Room 3 and the stairs to the staff room.   Also, there was bus duty. This involved keeping order at the bus stop on the school side of the main road and allowing innocent Aberdare citizens to leave the bus before hoards of our boys joined the crush to get on.   Gary and Colin also had to propose and second a vote of thanks to the guest speaker at the Distribution of Certificates ceremony.

This shows the back of the prefect’s badge with the name of the manufacturer.
The company Fattorini and Sons of Birmingham is still thriving,
click here to view their web site.