Thomas George (Tom) Bevan

Tom Bevan was born in the heart of the South Wales industrial region in Skewen, near Neath in the county of Glamorgan. He left school at 14, having missed a considerable period in the later years while suffering from scarlet fever. This left him too weak to go straight into the usual occupations for boys in that area - the many mines and steelworks that were thriving. He started work as a Grocer's assistant in Neath, and would have his honesty tested by the owner leaving cash on the floor to be found when he did the sweeping up at the end of the day. It stopped when he told the owner that he would keep any money he found on the floor while sweeping up!

With the outbreak of war he was drafted into the RAF. He did his training at Cosford, where he met his future wife, Nancy, before being posted to the Middle East. He never spoke much of those days, though he was very fond of telling how one year they had to have Corned Beef for Christmas dinner. He didn't keep that menu, though we do have one from 1943. Being Welsh of course, he was known as Taffy during his service years.

When he left the Air Force at the end of the war, he went back to Neath and married Nancy Gilbourne, taking employment in the local Baglan Bay Steelworks. At this time many of the mines and steelworks were closing, and when Baglan Bay closed he moved to the Elba Tinplate Works. These were hard times for many in South Wales, many of the men working only 3 day weeks as the work dried up. When the Elba in turn closed, he moved to Metal Box Ltd, still in Neath. He stayed there until he retired through ill health in 1974.