POEMS
Your Farewell from Crynant
Farewell dear comrade, farewell
As you depart for native land
Where you’ll entertain your friends with many tales
Of the time you spent way down in Wales
You came here to help in the battle for coal
Changed from a city boy to a human mole
But I think you never did regret
The changes, because of the friends you met
Friends that will miss you for years to come
For their friendship and confidence you had won
In work, and on the sporting field
Your absence, all brynawell will miss
And most of all we’ll miss you on the corner
Where we all spent many a happy hour
You are leaving now the hardship of the colliery
To your old job in the refrigerator factory
And when you are snug and warm in your new abode
Think of your comrades down in Cefn Coed
Tell the cockneys as they sit around the fire
Of the courage and sacrifices of the miner
So, as I hope that you succeed to reach the top
Let your memory go back to the nights in shanty shop
And if you meet a Welshman, shake him by the hand
In friendship for your stay in that little land.
Skid Bace (November 1947)
(Thanks to John Breeden for this poem which was given to him from a friend when he was demobbed in 1947)
Bevin Boy Veteran Badge
Badge can be issued to men who were conscripted directly into the mines, those who opted for mine work in preference to joining the Armed Forces, or those who were in the Armed Forces and volunteered to become miners during the period 1942-1948.
The Bevin Boys scheme was introduced in 1942 by the then Minister for Labour and National Service, Ernest Bevin. The scheme ran between 1942 and 1948 and involved recruiting men to work in coal mines during and immediately following World War 2.
The badge is available to all surviving Bevin Boys and formally recognises their work in the UK coalfields during and immediately after World War II. The badge can only be issued posthumously to the widows of men who died on or after 20 June 2007 and fall into the above category.
The application form for the badge can be found here:
Or you can contact the Department of Energy and climate change who administer the badge
on 0300 068 5716
Bevin Boy Commemorate Medal
For the relatives of deceased Bevin Boys who do not qualify for the Government Bevin Boy Badge (those Bevin Boys who died before 2007) a Commemorative Medal has been commissioned by the Bevin Boys' Association.
The Bevin Boy Medal is available to Ballotees, Optants, Volunteers and next of kin called up between 1943 and 1948.
The medal is solid silver and can be ordered here:
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© J L Swift/W Taylor MBE
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