SOAR DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Soar was a small Welsh village, sheltered under Allt Cefntrefor and Clogwyn Gwyn.
During the war, and for many years afterwards, with the Chapel (Wesleyan) as a central point, there were fourteen houses and ten belonging to the Chapel, one car, a few motorbikes and many small bikes. Most of the people would be walking everywhere, everyone being neighbourly and looking out for each other. There was disagreement a few times, but I only remember the good times.
I lived there until I was about 11 years old and when I moved to Pengelli, a quarter of a mile away, after the war, I missed Soar immensely, and often walked to the top of Rhiw Garth to see if everything was alright there, and went to the Chapel on Sundays.
Three 'bakers' would come from around the area, Dic from Trawsfynydd, Alun and Morris from Penrhyn, and many others would come round to sell goods - one from Blaenau with his small suitcase asking 'do you want some small things like reels, needles, wool to repair socks, hairnets etc'. Another came from the vicinity of Porthmadog with a cart and a small pony to sell all kinds of crockery, a jug to hold milk, pans etc. If a 'chamber pot' had lost his ear, he would shout 'come on ladies if you buy this it won’t hear anything you’re doing', while a gypsy would come to sell pegs and flowers and paraffin for the chapel.
Georgi Potiwr was a very colourful character; at that time every vehicle that came to Soar would have to go down past Dolorcan to turn back, such as the paraffin truck that would bring paraffin to the chapel, and the hearse, when there was a funeral in Soar. After a few years, clean water came to the houses and electricity, and a sewerage scheme etc., for which everyone was very grateful.
The 'Home Guard' would be very busy in the area at weekends during the war, they would meet not far from the Stile Camp. The 'air raid shelter' would be in the cave behind Brontrefor - not sure how much use it got. If there was an air raid warning, the residents of Soar would go under the table just in case. Mr Lewis, Gwilym House (a teacher at the local School) would come to give a warning if enemy planes were approaching. He would use his whistle, and would stand next to Berthen Gron and then whistle the 'all clear' after a while and everyone was glad to hear it.
By 2023 there will only be foreigners living in Soar, not much Welsh to be heard there, the chapel has been sold, the close-knit community that was once there is now gone. It's so sad for me, and many others I'm sure, still remembering the residents in my mind having a conversation, fetching their clean water to have a cup from Ysgoldy Sexton Well. It is important to keep the well from being lost, as we lose everything else. Our language and our country are worth fighting for.
Frances Griffith