[Featured image: Heledd & Cathryn Gwynn]

Last month we introduced The Pembrokeshire Story, a Torch Theatre project inviting young people to speak to older generations about their stories of living in the county, to share in a living archive. This month we reveal more about this exciting piece of Pembrokeshire heritage, soon to be unveiled.

The project, launched last month has seen a creative team, led by James Williams, collecting intergenerational stories from people across the county for reproduction in various forms. We talked to James about its development, who shared an insight of what’s in the pipline.

Connecting communities

“At the heart of The Pembrokeshire Story, is connecting people” James says, “We wanted to connect artists with the community and ultimately for people’s stories to be heard. These are ordinary folk, living their ordinary lives but to some people these stories are quite extraordinary.”

The Pembrokeshire Story originated from the Torch Theatre’s Artistic Director, Peter Doran. He made a remarkable discovery when talking to his 90-year-old father, who was suffering from Covid 19 during the pandemic, about his life as an evacuee in Pembrokeshire. Peter was certain that stories such as his own families should be told, or risk being lost forever.

James was delighted to be asked to take lead on the project having recently moved to the area after long time links to the county,

“I moved here recently, with my family from Cardiff. I’ve always felt very welcome in Pembrokeshire and having been working here on the Torch Theatre Christmas show since 1998, it always feels like coming home. It’s a place that really resonates. Not long after we moved, the lockdown happened. I really wanted to get to know the area and the people and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity.”

Capturing everyday lives and experiences

James emphasises that they wanted the project to be about people living and working in Pembrokeshire, about people’s everyday lives and experiences.

“Everyone has a story to tell. Everybody’s story is different. We have collected stories from farmers, people working in the fishing industry and the oil refinery, the guy who used to open the gates at Milford harbour and café workers too.”

These stories included Margaret Batchelor from Hermon talking about how she came to live in Pembrokeshire and her enjoyment of quilting, Blaise Bullimore talking about setting up the Skomer Nature Reserve, Nigel Rowland talking about the tug boats in Milford Haven, Delyth Cwmbetws talking about the Young Farmers Club and farming in Eglwyswrw and Margaret Morgan talking about her memories of St David’s.

James adds,

“There are lots of memories shared, stories of nature, arrival, departure, of good luck and of hardship.”

Of course, the sheer diversity of lifestyles within the county was something which those involved in the project wanted to address,

“The county covers such a vast area and there are many different characteristics to these areas. We travelled from North of the county such as St Dogmaels and Cilgerran, which is very rural and welsh speaking, to the South.

Watching the recent programme on the BBC which showed how the original stone circle at Stonehenge had come from Pembrokeshire made me think about what an amazing history we have and how incredible that we are still able to see the structures that were left here by people from the Neolithic period. It’s that idea of connecting the ancient to the modern. We even spoke to people who moved away from the county but still feel a strong connection.”

Reducing loneliness and isolation

Having creatives active in the community, reaching out to people to help them share their stories, had a big effect on people who may have been feeling quite lonely and isolated.

 “Some people didn’t want their stories told but just wanted to talk to someone and share their experience. Others said that they didn’t have any stories to tell, then they talked for an hour and the artists said they wished that they had recorded the conversation. Everyone’s life is unique.”

He talks of one couple from Narberth, Peter and Cathleen, who are both deaf and told their story to one of the artists, working alongside an interpreter.

“For them, it’s their everyday life, but for others, their story will be really interesting.”

From the West End to West Wales

When finding the artists to work on the project, the focus was on using local freelance creatives connected to the community.

“Pembrokeshire is full of brilliant artists – people living here and from Pembrokeshire. It was about connecting people who are from the area. In terms of skillset, we needed a movement artist, someone to work with text, a photographer and musicians. We also wanted to project to be bilingual, so needed Welsh speakers involved too.” 

One of the artists, Angharad Sanders, a West End musical director, musician and music teacher, worked with local artist and manager of the Stackpole Inn, Rebecca to create a piece which combines Angharad’s skills with Becky’s story and her song writing, resulting in modern folk songs with a strong connection to the Welsh landscape and language.

Over the course of 6 weeks James and his creative team collected over 100 stories from local people, of all generations and backgrounds. These will be added to the living archive on the Pembrokeshire Story website, to be launched in June.

An interactive living archive

The Pembrokeshire Story website will contain the stories that have been collected so far. Visitors will be able to click on a map of Pembrokeshire to select an area, such as Narberth or Pembroke Dock and view stories from that area. There will also be stories displayed alongside artists who created the artwork inspired by the county.

James has also been working on digital element to the archive.

“I’ve been working on a video collage of the people taking part, capturing the response of the artists and projecting images onto buildings around the county. This will eventually be available for people to share, to spread the word and the stories within the community.”

The projections, put together by Torch lighting director Ceri James, convey content from The Pembrokeshire Story website,

“We had two projectors and a generator which the crew from the Torch drove round the county and set up much in the way they’ve been doing Sunset Cinema.”

Anyone out and about in the county over the last few weeks, may have spotted the Torch production team creating these iconic projections. Locations included are Capel Ty Rhos in Cilgerran, Burton Ferry, the Martello Tower in Pembroke Dock, Pembroke Castle, Haverfordwest Castle, Caffi’r Sgwar in Maenclochog and the Torch Theatre building.

“Caffi R Sgwar were so lovely and welcoming. We want this project to be about supporting local businesses too, places that everyone has an affinity with.”

An intergenerational project like no other

James praises the hard work of the freelance artists and the Torch production team.

“Everyone has gone beyond their normal role for the project and I feel proud to be involved. It’s been such a joy to make and the Torch Team have made it happen. We’ve also connected with organisations across the county and I’m particularly grateful for the support we’ve had from Shirley David from the Sign and Share Club and also Narberth Deaf Club.”

He also praises people in the Pembrokeshire community who have opened up to share their stories,

“I’m proud of their bravery. Some of the stories have been hard hitting, such as the story of someone losing a family member and gaining the support of the community, or another facing racism. Yet it’s important that we address these issues and are honest about them.”

In terms of the future of the project, James emphasises the fact that it will be a living archive, with ongoing plans to collect stories from all over the county.

“We would like to be able to go into care homes at some point in the future, to talk to the residents. They will have stories that it’s important are shared, before they are lost forever. The archive can also be useful for schools, wanting to learn more about the county and its history.”

As a creative lead and a writer, director and composer, James also sees the future potential to develop Pembrokeshire stories on a bigger scale.

“Some of the stories would be a great basis for theatre.”

It seems that the future of The Pembrokeshire Story is bright.

Share your story!

The team are keen to continue collecting stories in a variety of mediums to regularly update the archive and circulate within the community.

“When the idea began, it was important to Peter and to me too, that this is a living archive. We want to keep updating it with work relevant to people living in Pembrokeshire. How can we do this without learning more about these people?

You can draw a picture, write a poem or a letter, we can include anything that you send us, in the archive on the website, to capture your story.”

Click here for details on how to submit your story