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Bill Pegington


Bill Pegington, as he was known was the son of William Henry and Agnes Ann Pegington.


Bill was living at the Hill Farm in 1934 when he married Beatrice Doris Vivena EDWARDS on the 8th November.


The marriage took place at Ebenezer Baptist Chapel, Griffithstown. He gave his occupation as farmer.


While at the Hill Farm their first son, Robert William was born in 1937.

Second World War

At the outbreak of World War II, they were still at the Hill Farm and “Beat”, Bill’s wife used to tell the story of the underground shelter in the garden, where they sought refuge during an air-raid warning on the Royal Ordnance Factory, Glascoed, which the farm overlooked. They had rushed down to safety in their night-clothes, but didn’t stay long, because a big four inch slug started climbing up her leg. They never went down there again! On another occasion (on the 31st October 1940 according to official records) she claimed that the blast from a bomb dropped on the nearby ROF blew her from the doorway across the room. The German pilot later reported back to Germany that he had bombed Bristol, 40 miles away and was even given a medal for it! The Battle of Britain Campaign Diary records: - "The Royal Ordnance Factory at Glascoed was attacked by a single enemy aircraft at 1250 hours. The attacking aircraft dropped 12 bombs, three of which are still unexploded and then proceeded to machine-gun the factory from a height not greater than 200 feet. The roof of the building was damaged and whilst the unexploded bomb is being removed there will be a slight interference with production." 

They also remembered vividly the day a German fighter strafed the workers as they were leaving the factory canteen, but nobody was hurt on that occasion. Life was very busy for Bill and his wife and they had workers from the factory billeted by the War Office with them, meaning that Beatrice was often feeding up to 16 people a day! Farming was however a reserved occupation and farmers were exempted from the general mobilization of the population, because of the desperate need for food.

The family used to make a little swimming pool by damming the Bertha Brook at the bottom of the farm.


RECORDS

1939 National Register