Have you heard of Wendell Morgan or maybe met him whilst walking in or around Gorseinon? He’s a local character who’s lived here his whole life; he loves this area and still lives in the same house that he lived in as a child. His family came here for employment at the steelworks following a terrible pit disaster in Senghenydd in 1913. 439 miners lost their lives in the disaster and Wendell’s family decided that a change of career for his father was needed.
Wendell was born in 1935 when many diseases were prevalent in Wales. We don’t see many of these any more due to childhood vaccinations being freely available. One of these was Diphtheria, which is a potentially fatal contagious bacterial infection that mainly affects the nose and throat, and sometimes the skin. Unfortunately, Wendell contracted this illness at just 5 years of age and spent 5 weeks in a hospital bed with no visitors allowed because of the risk of infection. He spent so long being inactive that he had to learn to walk again, but he survived and regained his health. Wendell and his family felt very fortunate, as many children at Garngoch hospital died from the illness.
Following this difficult patch the family remained healthy and well and two years later Wendell’s older brother went away to serve in the merchant navy when he was only 16 years old. He wasn’t away for long when he was reported missing in action which was devastating news for the whole family. This was made especially difficult because shortly after receiving the news his father was required to go to Birmingham to work for 3 years until the end of the war. It was during this time that Wendell’s mother really struggled as they hardly ever saw his father and she was desperate for news of her missing son. She decided to go to the Spiritual church in Kingsbridge to try to contact her son but this didn’t help. It was 3 years before the family were formally told that their son/brother had died. It was a very sad time for their whole street as five families all lost a young man, or boy, to the second World War.
At the age of 13 Wendell started playing football in Garden Village and loved the game. One Saturday when he was 17 he was playing in Underhill park in Mumbles and a scout from Cardiff City was attending. After the game Wendell was invited to go for a practice game the following week, and after the game he was asked to sign up as a professional player. He played for Cardiff’s second team for a year before going to the army. Wendell was called up for national service aged 18 but he had already worked for 3 years prior at various jobs: at the steel works and repairing cars locally. It was a very different time for teenagers then.
The Korean war was happening at this time and quite a few boys from Gorseinon were sent there; it was so cold they got frostbite. Wendell was glad he wasn’t sent there, he was in the Hussars tank regiment and was taught to drive tanks and rescue lorries. Wendell continued to play football in the army; they had a good team with 3 or 4 professionals in it. Wendell fondly remembers that the footballers and boxers were given special treatment in the army. They had special accommodation and better food than the other conscripts! Afterward, Wendell was posted to Germany, and his contract with Cardiff was cancelled as he couldn’t get there often enough to play. He continued playing football in the regiment in Germany and was offered a professional contract and a job by a local team when he finished in the army after 2 years service. He decided against taking this offer because his parents had already lost one son and they wanted Wendell to come home.
Wendell returned home to his family and shortly after was offered a contract playing football with Brentford. He took the offer and played for 3 years, staying with relatives in the area. He was then bought by Gillingham where he played for one season. After that he was bought by Swansea Town so he returned home again. Wendell played for the Swans for one season then transferred to Newport for a season followed by Llanelli for another season, after which he finished his football career. Wendell, however, never lost his love for the game and was keen to put his skills to good use locally. It was in the early 1970’s that someone suggested he should start a youth soccer club in Garden Village; this football team hadn’t started back again after the war, due to losing so many players. Wendell along with others on a committee helped with training, admin and finance for about 8 years. After this some of the seniors started a senior side and the club is still active today (https://www.facebook.com/gardenvillageafc)! Several players have been chosen from this team to play professionally; Leighton James was selected to play for Wales and another player was signed by the Swans.
Wendell’s work with the Garden Village football club was helped not only by his football career but also with his work in accountancy. He started this work after his football career ended and he joined a small group of local accountants. His career continued as Wendell became a member of certified accountants and then amalgamated with chartered accountants. He went on to study taxation, failing the first time but passing the second and became a member of the Certified Taxation Accountants. This led him to a varied career including a year spent between Australia working on the railways in Sydney & Perth and in the Government tax department in New Zealand. When his mother died in 1981 Wendell decided to become self-employed and started work from the front room of his home. This proved to be an excellent choice – he was so busy he had to employ another person to help with the workload and it kept Wendell busy until his retirement.
Unlikely as it may seem, given such an eventful and varied life, this led to the focal point of Wendell’s life – his belief in God and hope for the future kingdom of God on the earth. He grew up in a family that had a faith and attended the Church in Wales, where he was a keen member of the choir. He was ‘baptised’ there when he was 17 with a sprinkling of water on his head, but he didn’t have much understanding of the Bible. It was later in life in his mid-fifties or maybe early sixties when he started to think again about his knowledge and beliefs. He was encouraged by friends to join them in Bible reading seminars which were being held in Swansea with the Christadelphians.
Wendell says,
“I enjoyed the lessons very much and learnt a lot. I wanted to learn more and I heard that there were Christadelphians in Gorseinon so I went along there and continued to read my Bible and understand more. After about 9 months I realised that I needed to be baptised by full immersion in water and I asked them to arrange this for me. I understood there was urgency and that Christ could return any day. My faith has had a huge impact on my life – it gives me such a wonderful hope for the future. This world is full of non-believers, as the Bible says it will be, but I love to share my faith and hope, and I talk about God’s Word to anyone who will listen. I try hard to lead a life that is an example and encouraging to
others (although I often fail). I have been a Gorseinon Christadelphian for many years and I encourage anyone interested to come along and learn for themselves.”
Wendell has attended regularly since then and has enjoyed contributing over the years by keeping the accounts and serving on the welfare committee, and in many other ways. He enjoys arranging regular breakfasts for the men/boys of all ages on occasional Saturday mornings at the Roma café. When he was a little younger he enjoyed visiting the Christadelphian care home in Mumbles and helping out on their welfare committee. He no longer drives and spends his time closer to home, especially in his garden and enjoying long walks around the local area.
Gorseinon Christadelphians 