Last Sunday I posted the above image of a Rhyl character circa 1900 on Foryd bridge, not the present one but the one before (a toll bridge 1861-1932). The question: Is she most likely to have been a Fisherwoman, Fortune teller, Nanny or Postwoman?
The answer: Fortune teller.
I lifted the image shamelessly from Philip Lloyd's excellent book 'Glorious Rhyl' published 2002.
Of the figure in question, Philip says: "The late Eric Foulkes who gave me this and many other lantern slides believed that she was part of Rhyl's c.1900 holiday 'scene', telling fortunes with the aid of a canary which selected cards in its beak."
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Also I posted the following aerial shot which had been taken in the 1920s and was blurred deliberately. The question: What is the name of the street marked by red dot?
The answer: High Street.
Here is the restored picture. The white car has just crossed the Alexandra Bridge aka Vale Road Bridge:
The date I have been given for this is 1923 so the scene may
have been part of the build-up to the ceremonial opening of the present coast
road from Rhyl to Prestatyn.
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Scoring 1 win for the Fortune teller and/or 1 win for High Street: Dilys Bagnall 2, The Great Gareth 2, Sue Handley 1, Jane Shuttle 2, John E. Davies 1.John Davies is a new player. He says, "I was very pleased that I got High Street right first time of looking.
"I am a Rhyl lad born and bred and our family home was at Morfa, 60 Warren Road, which my paternal grandparents purchased new in the 1920's. I am an only son with four younger sisters, Lesley, Margaret, Janet and Kathleen.
"The latter two still live in Rhyl and the other two live down south. You featured the Close where Janet lives on Rhyl Life a few months ago with a blanked street name - Eleri Close.
" I met my wife of almost 50 years in 1967 at The Schooner pub when she was holidaying with a friend in Towyn. We now live about 52 miles away in Warrington with our family.
"My grandfather was a steam locomotive driver and was on the rails for 49 years. He drove the Royal Train when George V and the present Queen and her sister Princess Margaret were with him on a visit to North Wales in the 1930s.
"He was the first driver to take the controls of the Welsh Dragon in 1951."
[The Welsh Dragon was a push-pull train that went back and forth between Rhyl and Llandudno in 1950s & '60s. - Ed.]
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MON 17th OCT 2016 UPDATE: John Davies writes, “In the newspaper cutting below, Miss Nan Williams in traditional Welsh costume shakes hands with the driver of Welsh Dragon holiday special, Mr. R.J. (Jack) Davies of Rhyl – my grandfather. The picture was taken at Rhyl station:
“When the train reached Llandudno on its first journey it was welcomed by radio comedian Cyril Fletcher and his wife Betty Estell.
“In the photo above, my grandfather is standing second from left (in black overcoat) with his four brothers. I don't know the year but I think the London & North Western Railway used this mode of transport in towns where there was no railway line. The town in this case may have been Mold but I am not certain.”
Further info welcome at: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk
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