Birth of a Valley Project

A Canal Foreman’s Notebook

(John Phillips was born on 14^th August 1902/03? in Newbridge-on-Wye, Radnorshire and died aged about 76, back on his native turf.)

Jack Phillips, Swansea Canal foreman, late of 5, Factory Road, Clydach was a conscientious workman and a diligent recorder of day-to-day maintenance tasks as his recently acquired GWR work diary/notebook attests.

Jack Phillips' Notebook The notebook, which runs from 1933-1950, has been loaned by Mr and Mrs Tom Lawrence of Heol-Y-Cae, Clydach who responded to a press release in The Evening Post publicising my appointment as Heritage Lottery funded research officer to work on the Birth of a Valley project in conjunction with the Arena Pontardawe/Swansea Canal Society partnership. The Lawrences have recently moved back to the Swansea Valley and were thrilled to realise that Jack, Mrs Lawrence’s father, was already known to the Swansea Canal Society from photographs and oral and written records. His written record, mainly in pencil, has now been scanned and recorded for archive purposes.

His notebook begins two years after the last commercial cargo was carried on the Swansea Canal (Hill’s Colliery Co., Clydach carried coal to Swansea in 1931), and shows just how much work was required to maintain the waterway and keep it in tip-top condition.

Many of the entries merely give a date or dates and note that the canal was cleared at a specific place, from Swansea to Ystradgynlais. Clearing and other work, such as grass cutting, ditching, fencing and hedge trimming was carried out at Landore, Plasmarl, Morriston , Ynystawe, Clydach, Trebanos, Pontardawe, Ynysmeudwy, Ystalyfera and places in between. Cwmshon (sic) was a problem then as now, and gets a number of mentions in the notebook. In December 1934 it needed attention on the 13^th and 14^th and they were back there on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and the day after. These mundane but necessary tasks were sometimes carried out in difficult conditions. Jack mentions in passing a “Big flood in Tawe” on October 11^th 1933, with 5ft 9”of water recorded in the water pumping station and working on the canal at Trebanos in February 1937 during a snow storm. There are also a couple of occasions when it seems he did not see eye-to-eye with his boss, recorded tersely as “trouble with engineer.”

Work on a variety of weirs is recorded in the following terms. “Flagging on weir”, “repairing weir at Ystalyfera. (Two horses)”, “finished flagging and concreting on weir”. Work on The Swansea Canal extended in those days to “fixing stones in the river” (Sept.12^th 1941). Jack and his crew also scaled boilers at Clydach, cleaned the flues of those same boilers, erected notice boards at Ynystawe, replaced sleepers on various “feeders”, inspected and repaired culverts, fixed “trunks” and attended to floodwater (1.00pm-7.00pm Jan 23^rd 1944). They were also regularly called upon to deal with leaks in the canal, sometimes major ones it seems - “Stopping leak at Pontardawe 6.30am-5.30pm” (March 13^th 1949).

So, canal maintenance often meant long hours and presumably hard physical labour. Jack Phillips notes his weekly pay on a couple of occasions, probably when he was pleased it had exceeded average expectations - “Pay w.e. Sat. Sept. 27^th 1941, £5-11-7.” He also recorded the number of Sundays he worked during the year (Double time/Time and a half?). For example, he worked 31 Sundays in 1939 and 35 Sundays in 1944. He mentions regularly when he receives his Insurance Card, and that on Nov. 20^th 1942 he was issued with “new coat and leggings.” His fellow workers are named as “George in Pontardawe” (George Holloway) and “G. John” (Thomas Gwynn John) who received a new pair of boots on Jan.6^th 1936. Interestingly he also makes a note of a new recruit - Feb.25^th 1938 “J. Edwards started work on the canal.”

The notebook mentions “one horse” or “two horses” aiding the work on a number of occasions, right up until 1948. Jack’s background on a small holding in Radnorshire suggests he was accustomed to working with horses but he also notes when they had the use of a motor car. An example occurs in an entry for Aug.17^th 1941 - “From 7.00am-7.00pm, clearing canal at Ystalyfera (Motor Car).

Domestic and personal events crop up from time to time in this fascinating social document. There is the design (undated) for what looks like a love spoon, a brief entry for a marriage - March 10^th 1938, “Miss Williams married.”, the purchase of a blowlamp for 17/9d in January 1945 and later “Money received for odd jobs for year 1945 - £16-9-8.” Jack was also a member of The St. John’s Ambulance brigade and dutifully records his revision notes and the dates of his re-examinations, including the award of a gold medal in 1941 and gold bar in 1946.

I’m sure there are other insights to be gleaned from this document and look forward to bringing you regular updates after a full transcription is possible.