LOCAL reporters do encounter the occasional problem when they turn up to talk to someone celebrating their 100th birthday.
Sometimes, they don’t have much of a local connection. Perhaps they have moved here late in life to be near family. Fascinating recollections, of course, but not too local.
That is emphatically not the case with Miriam Sutton, who was born and bred in Barry. She can recall a very different Barry – as it was in the 1920s and 1930s.
One strong memory is of her father, who worked as a painter on the ships, leaving the house in the morning to go to the docks and see if there was any work that day. He stood in line and, if there was nothing that day, then no pay. It was irregular work but he did rise to be a foreman. He and Miriam’s mother raised four children – three girls and a boy.
The Pallas children (Miriam’s maiden name) were bright. The youngest, Wendy, is still alive and is a retired teacher. The middle sister, Sheila, was a nurse and health visitor. She has passed away, as has brother David, who became a doctor and emigrated to Australia.
Miriam was also a bright girl and she passed the 11-plus and went to the County School for Girls in Barry. She remembers being happy and sporty – playing netball and hockey – and dreamed of being a PE teacher.
But money was the problem. There were no student grants in those days and the family couldn’t afford to support her while she trained. Her future was unclear but then World War Two intervened. Men joined up and there were openings in various industries for girls and women.
As it happened, Miriam’s mother cleaned for a ‘posh’ family in Gladstone Road. They were connected with the railways and so young Miriam found her first job in the station booking office. She did well – partly due to an aptitude for maths and Miriam enquired about helping the war effort by going to Bletchley Park. Sadly, the Government would not release women who had taken men’s jobs.
Ironically, that refusal led to her marriage. She met Richard Charles Sutton – known to everyone as ‘Jim’ – who was in a protected job working with steam engines, keeping the railways moving.
The two decided to get married and did so in 1944. Miriam was 20. Jim was destined to work on the railways until he retired – although that retirement was hastened when electric trains came in. Jim was a lover of steam trains. He retired after 45 years on the railways and passed away aged 79. Sadly, Jim’s love of trains proved to have a dark side, as he contracted mesothelioma, which gave him breathing problems in later life.
After the war, there was rapid change in Barry. As men returned from the war, the housing near the docks and railways became overcrowded. This was a problem that was only eased when new estates such as The Colcot were built.
While the overcrowding was at its height, Miriam went to work for the charity ‘Save the Children’ in its ‘Domino Club’ in Thompson Street. The club would give stressed parents a break and would burn up the children’s surplus energy. Miriam was in charge of the kids and volunteers and taught them gymnastics and took the kids to Porthkerry Park playing rounders and games. She also loved to teach the children how to cook and, in many ways, she never stopped. It has only been in the last year that she stopped cooking Sunday lunches (with her famous Yorkshire puddings) for a houseful of family and guests.
Miriam also worked for many years in a shop in Butlins and made good friends with the holiday makers that she saw every year.
As new housing was built in Barry, Jim and Miriam didn’t sit around waiting. They found a plot of land on Port Road and built their own bungalow! Jim did much of the work while Miriam was the ‘project manager’.
They had bought a plot with plenty of land behind the building, and they set about making it a market garden. Given Miriam’s love of cooking and baking, it was a perfect match. Customers coming to buy produce would enjoy Miriam’s cakes and stay for a chat. The bungalow soon became its own community hub.
There was one setback, as Miriam and Jim were unable to have children. They started looking to adopt and two babies – Nigel (1960) and Julie (1963) joined the household. Sadly, Nigel passed away but Julie is very much the proud daughter and is recovering now after her efforts organising the 100th birthday celebration.
Miriam is a proud grandmother, great grandmother and soon-to-be great great grandmother as great grand-daughter Amy is expecting in November. Around 70 family and friends came along to St Andrews Golf Club in Dinas Powys. It was a special day for a special lady.
By Philip Irwin – Senior Reporter
Got a story worth telling? Contact us and we’ll tell 33,000 other readers
.
- Praise for Cowbridge’s own ‘local hero’
- Llantwit restores historic tribute to St Samson
- Vale sharp-shooter scoops top Lottery prize
⭐ All of our social media in one handy place – here
Pencoed tangled up by ‘Seaweeds’
Primary school’s former deputy head is banned from teaching
I make no apologies for calling Plaid Cymru ‘separatists’
‘The importance of participation and continued learning’
Opposition leaders clash with First Minister over independence rally
How Kevin saved a stranger’s life
