It was a full house at Pembroke Town Hall last Friday when the Pembroke and Monkton Local History Society brought Haggar's back once more to the Main Street.

In front of a large gathering, it was an honour for the society to welcome Sarah Haggar, who gave an excellent presentation on the life and work of her great, great-grandfather, William Haggar, whose vision and dogged determination made him a leading figure in the world of cinema and a pioneer of early film-making.

Sarah told the audience that she had researched into the letters of William's daughter, Lily, and she presented those early years of the Haggar family through Lily's eyes; the hardship, hunger and poverty which drove this remarkable man to succeed against the odds, and who persevered with his moving pictures, seeing the future and strong in the faith that 'there is money in it'.

The audience were then treated to the showing of some of Haggar's silent movies and were fortunate also to welcome musician and colleague of Sarah's at Milford Comprehensive School, Mark Jones.

Mark has composed a piano accompaniment to the films and everyone was able once more to enjoy the films as they should be viewed, to music.

So many people commented afterwards that the music had really made the films come alive and had contributed so much to the experience and enjoyment of the evening.

The first film viewed was the first fictional film to be made - 'The Maid of Cefn Ydfa'.

This melodrama, an old favourite of Welsh audiences, was first shown in the Bioscope at Swansea Fair.

It was a sensational hit and people flocked to see it.

'The Maid' made William Haggar's fortune.

This was followed by further successes and also screened were other Haggar 'hits' - 'The Life of Charles Peace' and 'The Desperate Poaching Affray'.

William Haggar died in 1924, before the advent of the talking film, but he had made his mark and died a very successful man.

We all owe him a great deal; there should be a museum dedicated to his life and work.

At the end of the performance, thanks were given to Sarah and Mark and also to Stuart Asman, the society's IT expert, who 'projected' the films, and to Vicki Haggar for organising the evening.

The evening ended with a tribute to Sarah's father, Roy Haggar, the family historian, who is so greatly missed.

The old photograph slot the society has chosen this week is of a queue outside Haggar's Cinema taken around 1950.

This was a time when cinema was the chief form of entertainment, before television eroded those audiences and led ultimately to the closure of so many.

Not all the faces are known - perhaps someone may be able to name them? These are those named - from left, Jimmy Cook, Bob White, Frankie Leonard, Mr. Seabourne and (in the cap) Billie Smith.

The society's next meeting will be their 'Local History Coffee Morning' on Saturday, November 5, from 10.30 am to 1 pm, at Monkton Priory Church Hall.

The society are looking for old photographs on a military theme as Remembrance Sunday is near.

Anyone who may have any wartime pictures taken in Pembroke is asked to please share them with the society.

Also included will be an old home movie belonging to the Haggar family, with some really interesting footage of Pembroke in the '40s, '50s and early '60s.