2018 is a very sad year  for sport in the village of Resolven, for after 24 years, and hundreds of children passing through their ranks, Resolven Junior Football Club has folded.

Club Chairman Mr Clive Chambers said, “This is a very sad time not only for myself, but for the village of Resolven. I never thought I would see this day, I saw this club grow from a handful of children in our first year, to having sides in every age group from under 7’s to under 16’s, the club has been declining over the past few years, so with a very heavy heart we have had to call it a day.”

Clive formed the side alongside Mr Steve Hadley back in 1994, when they realised that if children of the village wanted to play football on a Saturday morning, they had to travel to Neath, Glynneath or even Skewen.

Things were really hard to start with, but as the years went by more and more children wanting to play and their parents getting involved with coaching the different ages, and the club went from strength to strength.

Clive stated “This club was set up so that children could get out on a Saturday morning to get some fresh air in their lungs, make new friends and above all to have fun”.

Clive continued “We’ve seen hundreds of children going through this club, and I am so proud of what this club achieved, it’s been a fantastic journey, but after all these years we have decided to call it a day, due to circumstances beyond our control we have to close the club down.”

The club was set up for the children of the village, and at the end of each season the club would hold a presentation to reward the children for their commitment over the season. At the presentation every player would be presented with an article of clothing, with the club badge, and a trophy.

Final Resolven Junior Football Club Under 16’s Squad

At the final committee meeting there was a special presentation made by Clive to two of the clubs longest serving members. Mr Peter Gibson has served the club for 20 years and Mr Bob Low for 17 both have served as committee members and as coaches over the years, and without who’s help the club would not have lasted for all the years

Chairman Clive Chambers Presenting Mr Peter Gibson With A Plaque

Chairman Mr Clive Chambers Making A Presentation To Mr Bob Low

                                                                                    PETER GIBSON

                                                       BOB LOW

REPORT BY DEWI HARRIES

A  report on the monthly meeting of Resolfen History Society

This month’s speaker was the highly amusing and entertaining Huw Williams of Merthyr Tudful. Huw has visited us on many occasions and also held an adult education class in Resolven some years ago, an experience he recalls with affection. His topic this year was “Sweet Bêr Dâr”, a term which was used by its residents to describe Aberdare and its district. Its bilingual construction is indicative of the complex history of the valley and betrays far more of its history than the English version of “Queen of the Valley”. To others, including the residents of the Neath Valley, the residents were known as “Snakes”, its derivation unclear, though it may refer to strike breaking or be biblical in origin.

He described the valley at the beginning of the eighteenth century as being heavily wooded with oak trees. Indeed, a popular and probable myth in the Cynon Valley was that Nelson’s poop deck on the Victory at Trafalgar in 1805, came from Aberdare. Its geographical location as an open ended valley made migration easy for the residents of rural west Wales to migrate to the area as it was industrialised with iron smelting and coal mining in the early years of the eighteenth century. The migrants had to confront the challenge of a dangerous if comparatively well paid employment, but this was compensated by the lure of opportunity and housing which the pioneer mining valleys provided. They had to learn a new language of industrialised terms, though they and their owners remained Welsh speaking (the Cynon Valley has a distinctive Welsh accent in Welsh closer to that of Montgomeryshire which is now rarely heard, Ed.) The nature of the coal seams arranged in a syncline meant that the prized steam coal which fuelled the world became deeper and collieries such as Deep Navigation were operating over a mile underground. Recent scholarship has pointed out that much of the capital investment came from Bristol and thus the connection with the slave trade. Mr Williams pointed out that this should be viewed in the context of its time and not propelled into our more politically correct era. The prize at Aberdare was the 4’ seam, and this was eventually located by Thomas Powell at Dyffryn, so maximising a fortune and the founding of the famous Powell Duffryn Coal Company. The increase in production was dramatic.in the 1840s the production was around 12,000 tons which was largely used for smelting, but by the 1870s it stood at two million tons which was being exported around the world, fuelling the Royal Navy. Brunel himself had realised the importance of the Cynon Valley and between 1839 and 41 constructed the Taff Vale Railway which allowed the less efficient canals to be replaced by rail. This led to the development of Cardiff and Barry as major coal exporting ports.

Mr Williams, now turned to four unique features of the history of the Aberdare compared to the rest of south Wales. Firstly, the area was the first to have an iron bridge spanning a river. He discussed the claims of Abraham Darby at Ironbridge and other claimants on the Taff but was convinced that the first was on the Dare. Secondly, the Cynon Valley was the first valley to become exclusive to the production of coal. By 1870, the coal foundries had disappeared and coal mining dominated, twenty years before the Rhondda Valleys. This over reliance was remarked upon at the time as being very dangerous economically, since any hiccup in the coal trade would affect the area disproportionately. This became apparent when the still productive coal mines closed in the twentieth century.

Secondly, the Duffryn Colliery was the site of the first modern industrial dispute in 1843. Powell Duffryn dismissed 69 men and replaced them with another 200. This caused uproar, especially among the wives, who caused havoc by throwing pans and kettles at the new workers in favour of their partners. Cornish workers from the tin mines lasted one day when brought in to work, in the face of this militant sisterhood. Mr Williams stated that the role of women in the coalfield had always been prominent and that it was untrue that this had only appeared in the 1984/85 strike.

A third feature, was the fact that Aberdare was the scene of the first explosion and major coal disaster, when in August 1845 scores of men and boys as young as 10 years of age were killed by a combination of an explosion and carbon monoxide poisoning at Powell Duffryn. The Jury at the inquiry which was composed mostly of coal owners,met at the Boot Inn Aberdare and suggested that the cause was the poor ventilation of noxious gases at the colliery. This was later rectified by Nixon at the Deep Navigation colliery.

By 1851, the population of Aberdare stood at nearly 15,000, which though this would be eclipsed by Merthyr, gave it the fourth unique claim to be the first truly industrial community dominated by KingCoal.

Following a lengthy question and answer session, Trefor Jones thanked Mr Williams for a highly informative talk.

Trefor Jones

Resolven Community  Council has a vacancy for the above post.

Duties include opening and closing the Community Centre when required and general cleaning.

For further details and job description please contact the clerk by phone or email:

resolvencc:btinternet.com

Clerc i’r Cyngor (Clerk to the Council)–Cheryl Payne

6, Llys Bethania, Railway Terrace, Resolven. Sa11 4HG

Tel: 01639 711139

Mob: 07814 777854

Applications to be received by 28th February 2018

                            Resolven Community Centre

Jan 31st —the super moon rose in the UK’s night skies and coincided with a supermoon, making it appear 14 percent brighter.  There is a supermoon when a full moon orbits closest to earth and a  blood moon is just another name for a full moon that’s going through a total eclipse. The nickname refers to the moon’s rusty-reddish tint caused by the reflection of sunlight, during the eclipse. Many viewers in certain parts of the world were blessed with seeing a lunar eclipse but not here in the UK
 

This image was taken over the Vale of Neath, and I was fortunate as we had heavy cloud, and when the moon was rising the clouds parted allowing me a fantastic view of our nearest celestial neighbour.

Mike Davies

The CISWO Social group which meets in the Welfare Hall in Resolven is currently inviting new members to join.

The group meets at 10.30am every other Tuesday.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 13^th February 2018.

Activities include guest speakers, quizzes, bingo and free day trips.

The group is supported by CISWO (Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation) which is a registered Charity (no 1015581) and members must either have worked in the mining industry themselves or have been married to an ex-mineworker.

For further information please call Claire on 01443 485233

FEBRUARY MEETING

MR HUW WILLIAMS

“SWEET BER TAR”

Meeting begins at 7: OO PM in

THE CHURCH HALL ON MONDAY

12^th FEBRUARY

Membership: £10 (including refreshments)

 VISITORS: £3 

CROESO  CYNNES I BAWB

www.eclecs.blogspot.com