0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:00:03 > 0:00:05- Welsh centenarians.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10- A series about Welsh people - born before the First World War.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14- I was starting school...
0:00:14 > 0:00:17- ..at the outbreak - of the First World War.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19- School days.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22- School days.- - This female teacher was very strict.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27- I'd have had a slap across my face - if I'd ran at the teacher.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29- Memories spanning 100 years.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32- My wife feeding young lambs.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- We were the ones - to have the first bath.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40- In this episode, - Ruby Ellis, who's 101 years old.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43- She's lived - in the same house in Penycae...
0:00:43 > 0:00:46- ..since she was born.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49- Emrys Williams is 100 years old.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52- His family home on Anglesey - was demolished...
0:00:53 > 0:00:56- ..to make room - for aircraft to land during WWII.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59- Happy birthday.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04- Mary Elen Davies, - known as Lel to her friends...
0:01:04 > 0:01:06- ..is 105.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09- She was raised - on a farm in Cerrigydrudion.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13- And Meirion Davies, - known as Dan to his friends.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16- Dan comes from the village of Carrog - in Denbighshire.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19- Congratulations.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21- You're 101. Congratulations.
0:01:22 > 0:01:23- You're looking well.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25- So are you!
0:01:36 > 0:01:38- Childhood
0:01:38 > 0:01:41- The first thing I'd do - was collect eggs...
0:01:42 > 0:01:47- ..where the hens had laid them - around their nests outside.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52- I'd do that before going to school - in the morning.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57- We played lots of games.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02- We had Ludo, draughts, - snakes and ladders to play with...
0:02:04 > 0:02:07- ..and we always had - pencils and paper handy.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12- I'd play marbles in the kitchen...
0:02:12 > 0:02:14- ..on the tiled floor.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17- I'd play hopscotch outside.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21- We'd only have meat on a Sunday.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25- Red meat like beef.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28- The butcher would bring it.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31- Or he'd bring bacon during the week.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34- In the morning, - we'd have milk and bread.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37- Or milk and bread every other day.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44- You remember this place, don't you? - Dancoed, and the tractor outside.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48- There you are with the Land Rover.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50- Yes, the Land Rover.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52- Yes, the Land Rover.- - She's someone you recognise.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55- That's my wife feeding young lambs.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02- First World War
0:03:02 > 0:03:04- I was starting school...
0:03:05 > 0:03:09- ..at the outbreak - of the First World War.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15- I remember them talking about - a bad man somewhere called Kaiser.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20- He mobilized the German army.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26- I remember my father - talking about the First World War.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30- They wanted volunteers - to guard HMS Britannia.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35- He wore a soldier's outfit - to undertake his duties.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39- He'd come home with a gun.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44- I remember him putting it down - at the side of the clock.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48- I remember a soldier - we used to call Tom Sowldiwr.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51- He'd absconded from the army.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- I remember him at the farm - where Nain used to live.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02- He'd gone into the field - and hid among the vegetables...
0:04:03 > 0:04:06- ..because the army - was searching for him.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08- But they failed to catch him.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13- School Days
0:04:14 > 0:04:18- First thing in the morning, - we'd have assembly in the hall.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20- The entire school.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25- We didn't have a piano - but we'd sing unaccompanied.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30- Mr Williams had a tuning fork.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33- A tuning fork.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36- That's how he'd start us off.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48- We'd have a short reading...
0:04:48 > 0:04:51- ..a psalm or something, - and then we'd sing.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54- What did we sing?
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- All Things Bright And Beautiful.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03- You'd get a slap across the face...
0:05:03 > 0:05:06- ..and the cane too back then.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08- Especially if you were late.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- We didn't do PE...
0:05:12 > 0:05:16- ..but we'd march around the yard...
0:05:16 > 0:05:18- ..and turn...
0:05:19 > 0:05:24- Like a military drill.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32- Bath-time and Bedtime
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- We only had three beds.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38- As the family grew, - four of us shared a bed.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41- Two or three in another bed...
0:05:41 > 0:05:44- ..and Mam and Dad in the other.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47- Once another baby came along...
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- ..they'd put the baby - in bed with them.
0:05:52 > 0:05:58- When I was small, I'd have a bath - in front of the fire in the kitchen.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01- It was lovely!
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- Having a bath - gave me a lot of pleasure.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- We had a bath once a week.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18- But we always washed - our faces and hands.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23- And the boys - had to wash their knees...
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- ..because they'd get very dirty...
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- ..when they played marbles.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- Six of us would be washed...
0:06:36 > 0:06:38- ..in a bath on the floor.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- We were washed one at a time.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44- Then we were dried.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- This was every Saturday night...
0:06:47 > 0:06:49- ..and then we'd go straight to bed.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54- We had a big iron bath...
0:06:54 > 0:06:57- ..with brass taps.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02- The bath's feet were like paws.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- It was a very long bath.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09- We were the ones to have - the first bath in Plas Bennion.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13- We had the first bath.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16- The first bath in Plas Bennion.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- Two little ducks, 22.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21- Three and four, 34.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- Eight and seven, 87.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- Four and three, 43.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33- Killing pigs
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- Food is very different - from the food you had as a child.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39- I'm not sure.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41- I'm not sure.- - You had to kill pigs years ago.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46- We'd salt a pig.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50- And hang it from the ceiling - on a hook.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- We had a pigsty...
0:07:53 > 0:07:56- ..and sometimes, only sometimes...
0:07:57 > 0:07:59- ..Uncle Tom, as we called him...
0:07:59 > 0:08:02- ..who was Mam's cousin...
0:08:02 > 0:08:06- ..brought us piglets to fatten up.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09- We'd kill two pigs a year...
0:08:09 > 0:08:11- ..and salt them...
0:08:12 > 0:08:14- ..on a stone table.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16- We'd rub in salt.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21- We'd have it for lunch every day.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26- The pigs were killed - when I was at school.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28- The deed had been done.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- They'd boil - the pig's head and trotters.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- The three of them - boiled in a saucepan on the floor.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40- I'd be on my knees on the floor.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43- I'd try to remove all the bones.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49- The pigs would hang - from hooks on the ceiling.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55- I'd put it in a clean cloth...
0:08:55 > 0:08:59- ..tie a knot in it...
0:08:59 > 0:09:03- ..and place a plate - over the top of a large bowl...
0:09:03 > 0:09:09- ..and a big stone on top of that - to squeeze out all the fat.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13- We'd make sandwiches out of it.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15- We used to call it brawn.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19- The boys would have the bladder.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22- They played football with it.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29- He'd stand - with two feet on the table...
0:09:29 > 0:09:31- ..and sew the canvas.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- I want to tell you this, Uncle Emyr.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41- I want to thank you.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45- If it weren't for you, - Charles wouldn't have succeeded.
0:09:45 > 0:09:46- Someone else has told me that.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48- Someone else has told me that.- - You created the drama.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52- He produced it but if you - couldn't create what he wanted...
0:09:52 > 0:09:54- ..he was a nobody.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57- ..he was a nobody.- - It looked nothing on paper.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00- He was a very good amateur actor.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01- He was a very good amateur actor.- - Yes, he was.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- But I did all the stage work.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- I remember one play called - Pawen y Mwnci (The Monkey's Paw).
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- I didn't know - how to make a monkey's paw.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18- But at the end of that week...
0:10:19 > 0:10:22- ..Mam had killed a hen - and was plucking it.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26- I saw the paw - the hen's feet.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31- I went to my father's greenhouse - to fetch feathers from a fur coat.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- It did the job - and I was praised for it.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- My father knew ID Hooson.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46- I think the home insurance...
0:10:46 > 0:10:50- ..to protect against fire...
0:10:50 > 0:10:54- ..was paid - to Hooson & Hughes solicitors.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57- Whenever there was an eisteddfod...
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- ..the children's - poetry competition...
0:11:02 > 0:11:07- ..always included - some of his work, like Y Cwningen.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09- I can remember it now.
0:11:09 > 0:11:15- "One with its velvet paw - rubbing the front of its nose."
0:11:15 > 0:11:19- I loved it! Things like that.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24- "Two little rabbits - fleeing through the green grass
0:11:24 > 0:11:29- "Their hearts in their throats, - and Mic, the nasty greyhound
0:11:29 > 0:11:32- "Running after them - on Deio the servant's whistle
0:11:33 > 0:11:37- "One small rabbit, - sheltering under a tree
0:11:37 > 0:11:42- "Crying for its friend - in the light of the moon
0:11:42 > 0:11:47- "Raising its velvet paw - and rubbing the front of its nose."
0:11:47 > 0:11:50- # On the window are raindrops
0:11:51 > 0:11:53- # Hiding tears when they fall
0:11:54 > 0:11:58- # A yearning for lifelong friends
0:11:59 > 0:12:03- # The sun's rays are shining
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- # Raising a smile, - lightening the load
0:12:05 > 0:12:10- # Step by step we'll go on a journey
0:12:12 > 0:12:17- # Your reflection in the window pane
0:12:18 > 0:12:23- # Through the frame - you'll get an honest answer
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- # You've seen it all
0:12:30 > 0:12:34- # Hard times, better times #
0:12:34 > 0:12:34- .
0:12:36 > 0:12:36- Subtitles
0:12:36 > 0:12:38- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- # A sanctuary with a view
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- # A sunny spot to keep warm
0:12:45 > 0:12:47- # A place to meet and reminisce
0:12:48 > 0:12:50- # A place to be alive and happy
0:12:51 > 0:12:53- # Decades go by
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- # Here is where I'll remember
0:12:57 > 0:12:59- # This is a place to lift my spirits
0:13:00 > 0:13:02- # Every single year
0:13:05 > 0:13:07- # Every single year #
0:13:10 > 0:13:12- Let's go that way.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16- We're on the wrong side! - These bloody nurses.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18- Hush!
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- She's trying to get rid of you.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31- We lit the house with oil lamps...
0:13:32 > 0:13:34- ..and candles.
0:13:34 > 0:13:40- The electricity was switched on - on a Sunday.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42- Sunday evening.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- We'd go to chapel, - Capel y Groes, Penycae...
0:13:46 > 0:13:52- ..and ask our cousins to come here - to see the house when it was lit.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- They'd come in - through the back door...
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- ..and light a candle first of all.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03- Then they saw the switch.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07- There was a switch - in the kitchen and the middle room.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- It was less cosy somehow.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19- There used to be - a fireplace and lamplight.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33- My father planted the trees...
0:14:34 > 0:14:36- ..in both gardens...
0:14:36 > 0:14:39- ..between 1904 and 1908.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48- The number of apples was - a lot less this year than normal.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52- There aren't many pears.
0:14:52 > 0:14:57- I keep them for the blossom. - They look nice then.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05- The Second World War
0:15:06 > 0:15:09- I remember the Second World War.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15- We lived in Bwlch Mawn.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18- I'd been to a meeting...
0:15:19 > 0:15:23- ..and I'd taken my bike.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- I cycled a mile and a half.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- I remember the planes - flying overhead.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33- I said, "Liverpool's - going to get it tonight."
0:15:34 > 0:15:39- We heard the bangs.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- And we saw the flashes in the sky.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51- They needed room for an aerodrome.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56- 12 small homes were demolished.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59- Pen Ffordd was just one of them.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01- It was the last to be demolished.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05- My sister, who was 21 years old, - lived with us there.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09- She was gravely ill. She died at 21.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14- I remember the funeral.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18- There were lots of Irish and - Welsh mourners, but mainly Irish.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21- Everything stopped for a funeral.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24- An Irish man turned up with a hat.
0:16:24 > 0:16:30- There was lots of money inside - and he tipped it out on the table.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32- It was to pay for the funeral.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36- During the Second World War...
0:16:36 > 0:16:41- ..my father dug into the bank - and made us a shelter.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- He placed a chair either side...
0:16:44 > 0:16:47- ..and a door at the front.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51- Our next-door neighbours, - along with us...
0:16:52 > 0:16:54- ..hid in here.
0:16:54 > 0:17:00- Not every time, but when you - could hear the planes overhead...
0:17:00 > 0:17:05- ..we'd wear big coats - and sturdy shoes...
0:17:05 > 0:17:07- ..and stay in here.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25- We had lots of farmhands.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29- Prisoners of war...
0:17:29 > 0:17:33- ..came to work on the farm.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36- They were nice enough.
0:17:36 > 0:17:42- I couldn't understand - why they were our enemies.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44- They were the same as us.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50- There was a prisoner of war camp.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54- They doled them out to farms.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58- A lorry would be sent - to collect them in the morning...
0:17:58 > 0:18:00- ..around five o'clock.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05- They had to speak Welsh to us.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- We didn't speak much English.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10- Many have died.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13- All that row.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18- I read about them in the Daily Post.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21- I find out - who's alive and who's dead.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- The Children's Christmas
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- Christmas!
0:18:35 > 0:18:41- I've spent every Christmas - throughout my entire life...
0:18:41 > 0:18:43- ..at Bryn Hyfryd.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47- I've never been away at Christmas.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52- I remember before Christmas...
0:18:52 > 0:18:55- ..I'd send letters to Santa Claus.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58- They had to go up the chimney.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01- I don't know why I did that.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04- I had to write...
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- ..hundreds, I think!
0:19:08 > 0:19:13- What do you remember - of Christmases as a child?
0:19:13 > 0:19:14- It must've been hard.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- It must've been hard.- - Yes, it was.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19- There were eight of you, after all.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23- We'd have an apple and an orange.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25- That's what you had back then.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29- I'd ask...
0:19:29 > 0:19:33- ..for nuts, oranges and toffee...
0:19:33 > 0:19:37- ..because I knew I'd get those.
0:19:37 > 0:19:43- I didn't have big presents - but I always had something to wear.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48- Either gloves or socks.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52- Or a jumper.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57- As children, our Christmas presents - were a penny in a stocking...
0:19:57 > 0:20:00- ..and an orange or an apple.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- Sometimes both.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07- Children nowadays - wouldn't believe it.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26- Life over 100
0:20:26 > 0:20:28- What's it like to be 100 years old?
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- You're as young as you feel.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- That's what it is.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41- You don't expect to reach that age - but it creeps up on you.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- Dear me, - I don't look ahead to the future!
0:20:52 > 0:20:54- I hope I'll be healthy...
0:20:55 > 0:20:59- ..and won't be a burden - on my family.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- I'd like to go...
0:21:04 > 0:21:06- ..the same way as my eldest brother.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09- He died in his sleep.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12- I think he had a heart attack.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18- But there's nothing wrong - with my heart at the moment!
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- I enjoy life to the full.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27- I'd like to do one thing - before I die.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- Especially - during the final stages of my life.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35- I never liked being - in the public eye.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37- I was always in the background.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- My job involved being backstage.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- What does it feel like - being 100, Uncle Emyr?
0:21:52 > 0:21:57- I've been a good boy - and I've worked hard.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59- I've had a great time too.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03- You've had some good times.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05- You've had some good times.- - Yes.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06- How do you feel today?
0:22:06 > 0:22:08- How do you feel today?- - I'm enjoying life.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- My mind's active. - I remember things well.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16- How does it feel - being 100 years old?
0:22:17 > 0:22:19- What would you say is the secret?
0:22:21 > 0:22:25- Choose a young partner. - Don't have one who's too old.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33- Well, when people ask me...
0:22:33 > 0:22:37- ..what I've done...
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- ..to reach 100 years old...
0:22:41 > 0:22:44- ..I say, "It's down - to living in Plas Bennion."
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- I've been brought up - on Plas Bennion air.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- And Ruabon water. Welsh water.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58- And meat from the farm shop.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06- I was born here in Bryn Hyfryd...
0:23:06 > 0:23:09- ..and I hope - this is where I'll stay...
0:23:10 > 0:23:12- ..until the end of my days.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:23:55 > 0:23:55- .