The Americans arrive in Abercynon by David Watkins

The Americans arrive in Abercynon 

by David Watkins

One night just after Xmas 1943..my sleep in the small back bedroom of our Council House in Park View was disturbed by the constant rumble of heavy lorries in low gear as they descended the steep hill.

In the morning I went outside and found a crumpled Camel Cigarette pack.

In the morning I went outside and found a crumpled Camel Cigarette pack.

The U.S.Army Transport Unit that had arrived into the Welfare Grounds soon set up camp.

The Black G.I.s/Nco,s moved into Wigwams on the soccer pitch and ate in the Rugby Club Pavilion -the White Officers Messed in the Green-Bowls /Tennis Clubhouse and a multitude of GMC lorries onto the Cricket Pitch. 

As They!were arriving in Abercynon my Aunt and Uncle living in Pontypridd had two White Officers billeted on them......The reason!!.they had a separate Bathroom!and that Uncle was a ..Local Gov. Senior.

My relatives had no children so they treated their arrival as a memorial to two young men who possibly did not make it home...as the items they left were not reclaimed.

A week or so later Aunty and Uncle were invited to a reception in a Pontypridd Hotel that had become the Dist.U.S.A.Officers HQ.

Whilst there they were introduced to the British Army Liaison Officer  who explained the Joint Forces/Bathroom requirement and the social standing level required of the householders for the billeting.

However...Uncle was a bit of a Socialist and he raised the point that every house in Park View above where they worked in Abercynon had a Bathroom.

The answer he received was...”That the matter raised would be addressed.”

However..this became an exciting time for us kids.

From our home hillside vantage point we were able to watch Baseball Games on the Cricket pitch and on Sunday we were treated to a thing called a Burgher..and peaches and Carnation milk....”bring your own basin”.  Before leaving we were given a handful of C-Ration-one-cup coffee sachets ....for Mom and Dad.

Suddenly they were gone..leaving the grass of the football pitch marked by circles of flattened grass where the Wig - Wams had stood.

Metal Detectors...a thing unheard of..was replaced by a piece of tin bent around the end a stick.

By scratching across the empty ..Bed Spaces often led to a tinkle and the discovery of an American or U.K. coin.

I remember finding a Dime which I treasured.

Sometime later I found a baseball on the river bank that had been hit into the River Cynon and gave it to the nearby Secondary School as a keepsake.

During my Army Service1950,s stint in Korea I hitched a ride on a GMC heading through Seoul.

The black driver told me that a relative had arrived in Wales in the 1940,s and he complained that it never stopped raining,and one day he and his pal travelling on a local bus were asked by the conductoress..to sit some children on their laps as all the seats were taken.

One Sunday...I was waiting in “Line” for my treat very aware of a dreadful smell of sewage blowing over from the now ....Officers Mess.

In an attempt to clear an obstruction several G.I.s

wearing ..Gas Masks..were using some thin tree branches.

Standing next to me was a boy who told a soldier with lots of stripes on his arms that his uncle was the Councils Drain unblocker.

This resulted in a Jeep arriving and it took the two of us to his Uncles house...when the driver explained the situation in the Park.

And so we returned with ..Uncle and a set of Drain Rods.

Job done....Uncle returned home with a multi-pack of cigarettes and some Nylons for his wife.

Where have all those years gone?

Cofion-cynnes

David Watkins
16 May 2023, age 88