NHS Retirement Fellowship

FELLOWSHIP members met for their monthly meeting at the Waun Hall on 13 June, when their guest speaker was Michael Morgans who gave a most interesting account of his career in the milk industry and his long association with St John Ambulance. He began his working life in April 1965 the day after he left school, at the Felinfach Creamery, packing butter by hand. Shortly after this, a fellow worker was seriously injured and he realized the importance of first aid training and joined St John Ambulance, and 51 years later he is still working for them. After a three year college course, Michael gained a diploma in the industry and was promoted to supervisor. When the creamery closed in 1988, he saved many photographs from being thrown away and has now a comprehensive history of the creamery in pictures. The creamery was established in Ceredigion after the Milk Marketing Board was offered land at Felinfach, and was officially opened in 1955. Then, it received milk from the local farms which was sent by train to London to be bottled. The milk could be dispatched at 10am and arrived in London at 10pm. His photos included the familiar milk churns which were phased out in 1972 when bulk collection was introduced, with the milk going directly into the tanker on the farm. Eventually, the creamery closed in 1988 and Michael moved to the Llangadog creamery. Here, he was supervisor in the canning hall where canned rice and other milk-based prod-ucts were produced. Michael also had a number of photos of the Old Pont Llanio creamery and its station, which had been used by milk trains up to 1970 when the creamery closed. In 2000, he was proud to receive the MBE for services to the blood transfusion service, and now he spends his retirement long distance walking, and collecting old dairy equipment of which he has a considerable collection and he has represented the industry in the Royal Welsh Show. He also devotes much of his free time in the service of St John Ambulance. He was warmly thanked by Rheidol Davies for his most interesting talk and comprehensive collection of photographs of the milk industry in Ceredigion. On 11 July, members will be visiting Powys Castle for their annual summer trip.