The Home Front museum, Llandudno

button-theme-textileLink to French translationThe Home Front museum, New Street

After serving in the Royal Artillery during the Great War of 1914 to 1918, Frank ‘Skip’ Meredith established a garage and taxi business in this building in 1919 along with his two sons Francis and Ernest. Both sons were respected players and coaches of Llandudno Wednesday Football Club.

photo_of_taliesin_street_vj_day_partyPart of the building was requisitioned for wartime use by the Auxiliary Fire Service in 1940, and 12 volunteers were trained in fire-fighting duties and other aspects of Civil Defence. They manned the pump and trailer housed in the garage.

Bombardier Francis Meredith was a member of the local Territorial Army before the war and at the outbreak of hostilities, in 1939, joined the regular army immediately. After being sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force he was evacuated from Dunkirk in May 1940. After further training, he was posted to North Africa in July 1942 serving with the 8th Army.  On February 10th 1943 he was wounded by gunfire from a Luftwaffe dive bomber and died, aged 34, in the ambulance while being taken to a British Army field hospital. He is buried at Tripoli War Cemetery in Libya.  His wife Doris and Daughter Patricia lived at 26 Taliesin Street (the road opposite the museum building), Llandudno.

Old photo of wartime wedding dressDuring Llandudno’s VJ (Victory in Japan) Day celebrations that marked the end of the Second World War, Patricia Meredith was crowned ‘Victory Queen’ and a huge street party was held in Taliesin Street (see upper picture). Red, white and blue bunting was hung between the houses and residents sang along to a pianist and danced, while the children played musical chairs around the trestle tables set up with party food and drink.

Meredith’s Taxis and garage closed in around 1960.  After changing hands a number of times the building was acquired in 1999 to house the Home Front Experience, a museum which opened in September 2000 to provide an insight into life in 1940s Britain.

One of the exhibits is the home-made wedding dress of Barbara Raymond, who married Alan Davis in Merthyr Tydfil in 1942. The wedding photo shows her in the dress. With material in short supply, wedding dresses were often made at home during the war, sometimes using parachute silk!

Also displayed is the Women’s Land Army uniform of Violet Williams, who signed up in 1944 aged 16. Billeted to the WLA’s Eryl Aran hostel in Bala, she worked on various farms. Her tasks included cutting hay, milking and planting and harvesting vegetables. She led a bull, on foot, to market! When catching rats (which would eat food needed by people), Violet and her companions would tie the bottoms of their trousers with twine to stop rats running up inside!

With thanks to Adrian Hughes, of the Home Front museum

Postcode: LL30 2YF    View Location Map

Website of the Home Front Experience

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