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This story was heard during a reminiscence project at Myrddin Day Centre, Carmarthen. It is contributed to the People's War website with permission.

We were farming in the Horeb area, between Nantgaredig and Brechfa. I remember having a visitor during the War and he couldn't believe nobody could speak English. We went to see my Granny first and some of the neighbours called round, and they all spoke Welsh; none of them spoke English. We went somewhere else and nobody spoke English to him. He couldn't stand it. He'd been told that only about 28 peoples would speak Welsh in Wales. Well he was hoping only 28 people could!

I know one boy who wasn't allowed to speak Welsh in the home. Well, in the school yard and the playground, Lord knows what words he used to hear. English or Welsh? He didn't know. In the house, he was afraid a Welsh word would come out.. you know in the school yard they speak half English, half Welsh. He picked a lot of words up, but if he picked a Welsh word up it was.. well, in the end, he wouldn't speak in the house, and in the end they said they'd take him somewhere and my father said 'where? bring him to my house, he can speak some English there!'

We didn't have any evacuees on the farm. We were a big family already. Some evacuees have come back to the area because they enjoyed their time in Wales. They had a better time in Wales than up in England - more freedom.

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