A FORMER wartime evacuee was transported back in time when a military museum brought along a treasure trove of artefacts to the care home where she now lives. Re-enactors Jerry Bone, and Lorraine Lister brought a host of memorabilia including gas masks and helmets to Pendine Park’s Bryn Seiont Newydd care home in Caernarfon.
The visit was organised by the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum at Caernarfon Castle, thanks to generous sponsorship from the local Tesco supermarket. As well as holding the gas masks and donning authentic helmets, the residents listened to music from the 1940s while they chatted with Jerry and Lorraine. Wearing an officer’s cap from the First World War, 93-year-old Mair Eluned Jones said she could remember the bombing of Merseyside when she was aged nine or ten.
Mair, who lived in Llanllyfni before moving to Bryn Seiont Newydd, said she was evacuated to the safety of a village in Gwynedd soon after the bombing started. Another nonagenarian, Canon Richard Jones, said he remembered the gas masks which were widely distributed by the British Government in the two years before the Second World War began.
The retired vicar, now 96 , was handed a child’s gas mask which was nicknamed the “Mickey Mouse mask” because of its colour and ear-like feature. “I can remember the gas masks but can’t remember having to ever put one on,” he told Jerry who was dressed in overalls typically worn by wartime Air Raid Wardens.

Stephen Rice, who hails from the Birmingham area, said at 76 he was too young to remember the war. Holding the cover placed over car headlights to prevent vehicles being seen from the air by enemy aircraft Stephen, a military band enthusiast, said: “My father had a Singer car and had these covers to put on the front headlamps. I also remember the rationing which we had to put up with.”

Jerry and Lorraine were delighted by the response of the residents at the home which specialises in caring for those living with dementia. An avid World War I collector, Jerry, from Prestatyn, said: “The residents were able to touch items once owned by soldiers who fought in wars during the early part of their lives. The opportunity to quite literally touch the past and help them to rekindle memories of those days.”
Lorraine Lister, from Rhyl, added: “We’ve found the artefacts trigger memories for people who suffer from dementia. I have seen the faces of people light up when they are given the opportunity to hold an item from their early days and the memories come flooding back and the stories they tell are just wonderful.”
Food and fuel were rationed in Britain from 1940 until July 1954 when meat and all other food rationing ended. Caerwyn Evans said he was also too young to remember the war but was proud he had served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. The 75-year-old said: “I joined up in Penygroes and spent a year in the barracks in Caernarfon. One of my memories is preparing for the Remembrance Sunday service when everything had to be polished and cleaned until they shone,” he said.

Bryn Seiont Newydd Creative Practitioner Emyr Gibson said the visit by the re-enactors had been “very worthwhile. I’m the youngest in our family and my gran was born in 1904 so before the First World War and I grew up hearing her stories about her experiences during both World Wars. It was fascinating to see so many artefacts from the period and have the opportunity to hold them and talk about them. It brought back many memories among the residents and they will speak about they saw and did long after the visit and it was very worthwhile,” he said.
The Royal Welch Fusiliers’ were founded in 1689 and the regiment’s notable battle honours include events such as Waterloo, the Boer War, both World Wars and peace-keeping visits to Bosnia in the 1990s before it merged with the Royal Regiment of Wales to become the Royal Welsh in 2004. The majority of the regiment’s recruits hailed from North Wales. Famous Royal Welch Fusiliers include First World War poets Ellis Humphrey Evans, (Hedd Wyn) and Siegfried Sassoon, renowned artist Sir Kyffin Williams, Lloyd George’s youngest son Gwilym, and Coronation Street actor William Roache.
The RWF Museum is housed in Caernarfon Castle and the Museum’s education officer, Shirley Williams, said: “We host visits from schools at the museum and also have an outreach programme. The sponsorship from Tesco came about from shoppers popping the little blue tokens they were handed at the checkout into the box designated for the museum. The funds have allowed us organise the visit to Bryn Seiont Newydd. We’ve visited similar care homes in Conwy and Denbighshire and hope to return to Bryn Seiont Newydd again in the near future.We’re lucky to have our expert re-enactors, Jerry Bone and Lorraine Lister, who have a fantastic collection of memorabilia which we can take with us to anywhere in North Wales.”

Museum Director Rebecca Smith added: “I would like to thank Shirley our Learning officer for her hard work on this pilot project. The RWF Museum will be expanding our work in the Community over the next few years and plan to make these reminiscence sessions across many venues including libraries, care homes and hospitals.”
For more details on the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum visit www.rwfmuseum.org.uk