Our first pool - Fond Memories

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	Our first pool
	The photo on the left was taken in the late 1920’s on the eroded bank on the river Gwili. During the summer months our elders would create a dam with large and small boulders, thereby creating a pond suitable for small boys to learn to swim. The pond was affectionately called Pond Jel named after J.L. Thomas of Bradford House, the owner of the field the photo was taken on and the owner of the field adjacent to Capel Newydd. The majority of us, who often started with a dog paddle soon became proficient swimmers and to the horror of our parents, eventually joined our elder siblings and friends in the Hendy side of the marsh, where there was a fairly deep pool called pond Mawr.		Back Row: Elwyn Jones; Elvet Williams; Sammy Davies; Glyn Williams; Griff Williams; Ronnie Williams (brother of Glyn) Front Row: Matthew Jones; Luther Thomas; Oliver Williams(brother of Elwyn Williams); Norton Morris
	Hendy Swimming Pool, Summer 1939 David Timothy (Top) Luther Thomas (middle) Roger Evans (Bottom)
			One of the most enjoyable moments of swimming down the marsh was the tidal surge of water, with its race of tidal waters and was no place for weak swimmers or the faint hearted. We would walk down to a point further on than the main eleven arches, wait for the tidal wave to reach its peak (we called it the Don) and enter the river so that the force of the wave would carry us up river without needing to swim. It was almost impossible to get back to the bank until reaching the junction of the river s Gwili and Llwchwr near the old Cricket field. There were times when there would be as many as fifty of us down the marsh swimming and watching. Combined with the isolated danger of swimming in the marsh, a very busy railway line had to be crossed. The resolve by the villagers of the local communities to build the lido in 1932 was quite understandable and Hendy Pool has been the source of much enjoyment for thousands of people over the years, and I have many fond memories. Some of my fond memories Luther Thomas. January 2007
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