Last week, I wrote about Pembroke Rotary Club's Variety Shows of the 1980s and 90s, happy memories for many. The Local History Society is endeavouring to collect material and memories of local organisations past and present to preserve a record of what is, after all, an important part of our community life. There are many organisations in Pembroke and this time I am going to write about one which many belonged to in their youth, the Young Farmers Club.

Pembroke was a very different place in the first half of the last century, a busy market town: farming was one of the main occupations and many businesses were connected with agriculture. Pembroke Farmer's Club is a long standing organisation dating back to 1817.

So when did the Young Farmers movement begin?

In order to find out more, I went to see Mr. Tony Thomas who formerly ran the family firm of W. E. Thomas and played a prominent role in the South Pembrokeshire Young Farmer's Club, as well as the Pembroke Farmer's Club. It was his father, Capt William Evan Thomas MBE who was instrumental in the founding of the South Pembrokeshire YFC, which was based in Pembroke.

South Pembrokeshire Young Farmers Club so, when did it begin?

"The Young Farmers Clubs began in Pembrokeshire in 1939 with the formation of the Clynderwen YFC," Tony told me. "My father, Captain W. E. Thomas, was a founder of the South Pembrokeshire YFC along with Eddie Roberts, of Loveston, a leading farmer locally. Farming was very depressed in the 1930s and my father thought that part of the trouble was that there were not many experienced leaders and speakers of any note in the county. He saw the YFC as one way of promoting the farming voice more forcibly."

W. E. Thomas was a remarkable man. He was chief executive officer of the Pembrokeshire War Agricultural Committee following WW1 and, when this was disbanded, he went into auctioneering and estate management. He established the Pembroke Station Mart which was later amalgamated with the council owned cattle mart at Orchard Buildings during WW2. A modern housing development now occupies the site of this former mart; Pembroke's days as a market town long gone. The family firm of W. E. Thomas, Auctioneers and Estate Agents, was a familiar name in the Main Street. Besides this, W. E. Thomas was a leading member and Secretary of the Pembroke Farmers Club and was awarded the MBE.

The first meeting

Tony continued: "A meeting was called, with invitations circulated to young farmers in the area. It was held on January 24, 1942, and resulted in the formation of the South Pembrokeshire YFC in Pembroke, at that time the only club in this area, Tenby and Martletwy followed later. It was set-up with a view to organising social activities for young people from the farming community, as in those days social activities were very restricted: petrol was on ration and in any case parents didn't allow their children to go wandering off at nights. From a social point of view this was a great organisation because young people were allowed to go to the club which offered them many activities, educational as well as social."

Joining the Club

"I was only 11 at the time when my father set-up the South Pembrokeshire YFC, too young to join although later a junior branch was formed. I joined when I was about 15 and became its Secretary in 1949 and chairman in 1951. By that time there were 16 or 17 clubs dotted around the county: eventually a County Federation was set up, linked to the National Federation which was in London.

"The club was the focus of our social life and we joined in county wide rallies, quizzes between clubs, play readings, drama rehearsals, public speaking classes, dances. It gave us the opportunity to meet with people from all around the county. My wife Carol, whose family farmed at Talbenny, was also a YFC member and it was at a YFC dance that I met her. The YFC offered a great source of freedom especially for farmers who didn't get out so much before, that is why it was so popular.

"When I became secretary in 1949 there were over a hundred members in the South Pembrokeshire Club. You didn't actually have to be a farmer to join, and whilst I was a young farmer myself, many townspeople joined as well. It was a great time really."

Dramatic success

Tony told me that it was through the YFC that he became involved in drama and a successful producer of plays. In his first year as producer, the Pembroke Young Farmers won first prize in the County Drama Festival! No mean achievement with over 15 clubs competing. Tenby Little Theatre (sadly replaced by an amusement arcade in the early '60s) was where the competition was held."

What an achievement!

Membership of the YFC finishes at age 25, but Tony later became the Pembroke Farmers Club secretary, following in his father's footsteps. "Together we served 50 years," he told me - quite an achievement!

As an early member, Tony received an invitation to a dinner held in the Giltar Hotel, Tenby, last year to celebrate the South Pembrokeshire Club's 70th anniversary. It was packed out. The YFC is still going strong!

Contact

If you have any stories, photographs or feedback for this column, please contact me, Linda Asman, on 01646 622428, email [email protected]">[email protected] and visit our website http://www.pembrokeandmonkonhistory.org.uk">www.pembrokeandmonkonhistory.org.uk.

Next

event

Tomorrow (Saturday, February 2) - coffee morning and Exhibition, 10.30-1. The exhibition is by Pembrokeshire Museums Service - 'Pembroke's Place in Early Aviation History'.

Friday, February 15 - annual general meeting and talk by Simon Hancock 'The last man hanged in Pembrokeshire', 7.30 pm.

Both events at Monkton Priory Church Hall, entry free and open to all.