Enlli and her peoples’ history is long, and roots run deep- since the age of the bear and wolf. At the moment, I am collecting memories from people who have connections with Enlli. This includes but is not limited to visitors, people who have worked in Enlli or had family living there.

I had the honour of interviewing Gwilym Ifôr Williams, who crossed the Sound at just three weeks old in 1928. He lived in Enlli until moving to Llaniestyn at 9 years old. Hearing his tales of roaming the island as a young boy were fascinating, and in his words “still very sweet”.

He lived in Nant with his family. He attended the ‘Ysgol’, with Mrs Murray-Williams as his teacher. “And the chapel of course… Went to Sunday school and nighttime chapel… Yes. Then we had Band of Hope in the school one night during the winter.”

Instead of today’s bustling speed-boat traffic, they saw “large ships passing all day long” and “recognised all Liverpool’s Blue Funnel ships!”. “And small things I remember… mum had a brother at sea. A sailor. We knew when Uncle Bob’s ship was passing. Once, my mother made my brother stand on top of a wall to hold a big sheet up, and the ship sounded its horn back at us.”. Next time you visit Enlli, remember to look towards the horizon.

Gwilym spoke of the island’s most important day; landing fuel for the lighthouse. “We were playing at the beach, and the big boat came ashore dropping large oil drums, diesel or something like that no doubt. And then loaded onto carts and taken up to the lighthouse.” The children stayed clear of course, but loved having a nosy.

The lighthouse was a big part of the lives of Enlli’s inhabitants. The lighthouse keepers became part of Enlli’s community over the years. The School children were allowed to go to the top of the lighthouse “…and the lighthouse keepers carried us to the top”. “Some of the light keepers as we called them, came over during the night. There was one, I remember, who came over to speak with my father and spoke about the countries they had visited… my father had been at sea. My father was in the Navy during the First World War, and had been to different countries… and I didn’t understand a word of English. Not a word! I called them ‘Yes, No’. “‘Yes, No’ are coming”. Yes, knew two words in English. ‘Yes’ and ‘no’.

The keepers were part of King George V’s Jubilee celebrations at the school yard too, “…everyone on the island, each and every one of us…”. And with big mugs of tea with a picture of the King and Queen on them, with sugar and “plenty of milk”. Everyone had an apple tart and ‘bara brith’ (of course). “With their uniforms and white caps… and my father, the only one with First World War medals. I was so proud of him!”.

As we all know, the weather is a inescapable factor in the daily flow and ebb of Enlli life. But today, weather forecasts are at our fingertips allowing us to plan days in advance. “The men knew when to set off from there and return safely. I remember my father saying ‘posts under the sun’ …bad weather. And that would always be, not in the south… around the south-west. If there were posts under the sun in a certain location. If they were in the south, then maybe it would be fine, or in the west, but south-west… that was a sign of bad weather.” Gwilym also remembers a ferocious storm where the sea had whipped up and crossed between Cafn and Porth Solfach, “Right across. Pen Diban where the lighthouse is… it was by itself!”

We are also fortunate of Colin Evans’ cautious care, and Benlli III allowing hundreds of visitors to explore the island hassle free. The voyage across Swnt (the Sound) is very luxurious compared to Gwilym’s day; “I remember them rowing before getting an engine… four men rowing a big boat. A big black boat. And sometimes coming from Enlli to Aberdaron, the wind would be from the south, wouldn’t it? A large sail would be hoisted… a large square sail. Yes, it helped them, didn’t it?” Imagine having to row across the Sound and then having to unload your belongings and shopping! Items had to be carried four times before arriving at the house; “From the shop to the beach, from the beach to the boat, from the boat to the beach and then across Enlli to home”. Despite Enlli only being around 2 miles off the Mainland, her people have always had to be fiercely independent.

Gwilym also spoke about a girl called Bessie May, a daughter of Carreg “a small small girl” who fell while running after her brother Wil, and Gwilym. “We didn’t want Bessie May with us did we. So we went. Bessie May fell on the road heading down to Cafn, and split her head open causing blood to spill everywhere. Wil ran to the house to shout for his mother. Bessie was on the ground, and I remember this blood. And so Nel ran and picked Bessie and said to me ‘Run to get your father! Run! This minute! Run to get your father!’. I remember it well. So I ran to get my father. And then ran back with him. Nel had wrapped Bessie May’s head in cloth… whatever was handy of course. And Bessie May’s father, a Godly man, was on his knees in the field praying. I see it now. On the field praying. My father took Bessie May from Nel’s arms, and ran for the Cafn. And he had to, with reason, call for other people to come with him to man the boat. And Nel went after him. Ifan was still in the field on his knees praying.”

This story leads me to discuss another memory Gwilym had that begins with his father busy making lobster pots with willow on the Mainland. “It was sunny, and my mother said ‘we’ll go for a walk up the mountain’ above Nant, the side facing the Mainland. So up I went with my brother and mother. My mother started making a fire. ‘Oh, mother’s making a fire… we can make a fire too then.’ So we collected everything to make a fire. There was smoke from mother’s fire… We were happy, we had smoke too didn’t we? Then my father made a fire in Grepach on the Mainland, or around there. The next morning when I woke up, my father was home. He came home quite quick. My father home, right, that’s it…OK. We sat down to have breakfast and there we were, being told off!

‘Don’t you EVER make a fire on the mountain!’

‘Mother was making a fire’

‘Well you weren’t supposed to make a fire were you!’

Two fires was a signal that something was wrong wasn’t it? So my father had borrowed a boat from Grepach, and rowed through the night. Then he had to walk from Cafn to Nant didn’t he? We probably didn’t think about those things at that time did we? So don’t mention a fire in Enlli to me!”

Gwilym had even more stories, however, impossible to shorten these special memories!

“…and that’s what I wanted to be. A carpenter like John Tomos…”– And that’s what happened, Gwilym Ifôr the carpenter. For those who don’t know, John Tomos was a carpenter in Enlli who made and mended oars and boats. Enlli’s roots and influence. 

Gwenllian Hughes,

Project Officer.