Oral History taken with Ystradgynlais resident Betty Hopkin on her memories of Josef Herman living in the village in the 1940s & 1950s. Recorded on the 28th January 2002.

Betty Hopkin

Oral History taken with Ystradgynlais resident Betty Rae Watkins on her memories of Josef Herman living in the village in the 1940s & 1950s. Recorded in February 2002.

Betty Rae Watkins

Oral History taken with Ystradgynlais resident Ewart Alexander on his memories of Josef Herman living in the village in the 1940s & 1950s. Recorded in January 2003.

Ewart Alexandra

'Around Britain 1945' was a radio interview between BBC Radio Wales and artist Josef Herman, Islwyn Williams and short story writer Dai Alexander who all lived in the Swansea Valley in the mid 1940s. Josef Herman Foundation Cymru trustee Betty Rae Watkins had the original transcript of this radio broadcast in her private archive. Local actors interpreted the script and brought the radio interview back to life in 2014 in a 1940s radio studio setting. The event was held at The Miners Welfare Hall in Ystradgynlais on June 10th 2014 as art of the 'Visiting the 1940s' event as part of the Mining Josef Herman project. One of the topics covered in the interview was the Humphrey Jennings film 'The Silent Village' which was filmed locally in the small community of Cwmgiedd. 

JHAFCymru