As Swansea University marks its 90th Anniversary, the Alumni Office received a number of emails and letters from past students relaying fond memories of their time here. One such letter was sent by by alumnus Thomas Conway (Physics 1951).
“I arrived at the then University College of Swansea, straight from Southport Technical College, late in the Autumn Term of 1948. Following my Higher School Certificate I found it very difficult to find a University place. This was because of the enormous number of demobilised ex-servicemen who had priority for the available University places. These mature students needed either to start their University Education which had been prevented by wartime conscription, or resume their studies which were interrupted by the war.
I was advised that Swansea has some spare places so I made a late application and following interviews with Professor ‘Tug’ Wilson, Mathematics, and Professor Frank Llewellyn Jones, Physics, I was accepted and admitted. So in 1948 a relatively small number of school leavers found themselves surrounded by a large number of mature students who were ‘Men of the World’ who were keen and dedicated students. In fact out of the 950 undergraduates 532 were ex-service men and women. The remainder were the School leavers including a very small number of women, possibly no more than 86.
The ex-servicemen also had the financial benefit of substantial Forces Education and Training Grants which left them ’fairly flush’ compared with the school leavers. It was a regular daily habit for the groups of the mature students to assemble in the Junior Common Room in the Abbey Building playing cards continuously ‘with a purpose in mind’. The Abbey also contained the Refectory.
Many of the ex-service students were ‘very mature’, old enough to be my Father. Some had risen to a very senior rank and many had seen the nasty devastating effects of the war.
At the time, that I joined the University College of Swansea I deduced that the College was largely a local initiative which had not benefitted from the large private donors, Charitable Trusts and big endowments from the great and the good in the way the national ‘Red Brick’ Victorian city universities had done.In fact from its birth in 1920 to 1948 the College, which started with just the Abbey Building and 89 students, had only acquired one permanent building, the Library, which was opened in 1937 by the then Duchess of Kent. The rest of the University College Establishment comprised a functional collection of temporary buildings of rendered brickwork with each building having an uninsulated corrugated Asbestos Roof. These buildings accommodated science, Arts, Engineering, Chemistry, Metallurgy and Life Sciences. A considerable building area was therefore necessarily devoted to Laboratory facilities.
There was a significant element of College ‘Espris du Corps’ and cohesion present in the student life at the college. Entertainment was self made with the Weekly Public Debate organised by the Political and Debating Society, ‘Pol & Deb’ in lecture rooms 1 and 2. This provided the opportunity for feats of oratory and excellent satire and humour. A notable ‘Pol & Deb’ occurred in 1949 with a very entertaining Mock Trial which provided a platform for the intellectual talent available and willing to exercise itself.The college in my period produced a significant number of literary figures who achieved fame in the public arena. These included Kinglsey Amis, W John Morgan, Geoffrey Nicholson, Mavis Nicholson, Peter Hellings and Clive Gammon.A notable feature of the College Campus was that all the men wore suits and ties. All the girls wore frocks and the created scenes of great colour and beauty around the college. This is clearly evident from the photographs taken at the time.From photographs taken before the war it is evident that there was another singular fashion feature present at the time. This was the wearing of the green and white striped College Blazer by both the male and female students. This created a very colourful scene which was often spoiled by the frequent reference to the blazer being very like a pyjama jacket.
In the university expansion initiated by Principal Fulton a large array of modern blocks were developed to fill the available space. This development was then accompanied by a student and academic staff expansion which now probably exceeds 12,000.A central feature of the new development was the Student’s Union, Fulton house. A magnificent spacious facility for student life. The student population around nowadays probably have no idea about what it was like 60 years ago let alone 90 years ago. The Student’s Union which preceded Fulton House was a large detached double fronted house name ‘Maes yr Haf’ on Sketty Road in Uplands. It was next door to a large block of flats which seemed to me to be out of place in that pleasant residential area.‘Maes yr Haf’ was suitably adapted for student use without any major structural alterations. I happened to be the Student’s Union Secretary for 1949-1950. My claim to fame in this period was the purchase of a grand piano for the union house at a public auction supervised by the SRC Treasurer, the History Lecturer and Student Friend, Glanmor Williams. Later to become Professor of History, Sir Glanmor Williams: a great man and a friend to all students.
One of my most enduring memories as a student at Swansea University was the Singleton Magnolia located ideally to collect the afternoon sun on the south side of the Abbey Building. This provided a magnificent Summer Term visual spectacle when the Magnolia bloomed in June. To some it was an inspiration, to others, as David Dykes says in his History of the University, it was a rude awakening if one had not started revision for the Summer Final Examinations by the time the Magnolia bloomed.
Finally, it is essential to mention with great affection ‘The Great Site’ – The College in Singleton Park. Not only that: the outstanding Marine Outlook to the South with the tremendous vista of Swansea Bay and then the glories of Gower to the West. Who would not want to study at Swansea?One University facility which did not exist in my period in College 1948-1951 and 1959, was the Alumni Department. In those days I recollect that there was only an Old Students Association run by former students. I joined this and still hold my Membership Card.”
For more information on Swansea University’s 90th anniversary visit: www.swan.ac.uk/alumni/NewsandEvents/News/Headline,43800,en.php
