This month’s photos from the Brecknock Museum collection in y Gaer are examples from the wonderful Albert Tilley photos that have recently come into the collection.

“Albert Tilley was a prominent figure in Brecon for decades,” explained Curatorial Assistant Jacquie Morgan.

“These documentary photos are valuable not only for the insight they give into Brecon in the mid-20th century, but also for the quality of the composition of the images.”

Many of the views shown here, taken by Tilley in the mid-20th century, are still recognisable today, even if many of the buildings are used for different purposes now.

The High Street view shows Ye Olde Cognac, with the memorial tablet to Thomas Coke’s birth in 1747 visible as it is today. A grocery shop, a Star Supply Stores, and a clothing shop advertising Chilprufe garments (mainly women’s and children’s woollen underwear) are shown, as is an RAC sign pointing to a free car park.

St Michael’s Catholic Church is pictured, with the direction of parked cars showing traffic flowed in the opposite direction to the current one-way system.

“The cars have registration plates with three letters and three numbers,” said Jacquie.

“And two have the familiar AEU registration of Brecknockshire. Breconshire’s code between 1903 and 1949 was EU. In 1949 (as the original numbering ran out) an extra letter was added in front, with AEU introduced in 1949.”

Three young men are walking along Wheat Street: their uniform appearance suggests they could be Christ College boys.

The view up Castle Street from the bridge is largely as it was until the inner ring road was constructed in the early 2000s. What was the Black Lion Hotel was one of the buildings demolished for the new road.

The image of the fair shows it in the centre of town in front of the Guildhall, and the view down the Watton shows numerous soldiers walking back to the Barracks. People are dressed in a way that now appears very formal, with gentlemen in three-piece suits, overcoats, and hats, and women in formal coats and hats, all very typical of the mid-20th century.

Albert Tilley was born in Widnes in Lancashire in 1896. He joined the army in 1914, serving on the Western Front in World War One before being wounded at the Somme. He came to Brecon to recuperate, meeting and later marrying Constance (Connie) Watkins, and remained in Brecon until his death in 1957. He lived at 1 Cathedral View, and much of his life revolved around Brecon Cathedral. He was verger there, and mace-bearer, a position he held with dedication and dignity between the creation of the diocese in 1923 and his retirement due to ill-health 33 years later in 1956. Encouraged by Gwenllian Morgan and Sir John Lloyd, he immersed himself in local history, including researching, documenting, and sketching the stonework, statuary, and woodcarvings in Brecon Cathedral. He shared his knowledge about the Cathedral with thousands of visitors, and his archive of valuable research is now in the National Library. After Connie died in 1941, Albert married Doris Davies of Newton Green in 1950: an indication of the regard in which Albert was held is that the Archbishop of Wales officiated at the ceremony.

“Although not born a Breconian, Albert Tilley – like the artist Sam Garratt – moved here as an adult and became a Breconian, immersing himself in the life of the town, contributing, making a difference, and leaving a valuable legacy to the area, a legacy we are delighted to help preserve in the Brecknock Museum collection,” concluded Jacquie.

If you remember Albert Tilley or have information about these images you’d be happy to share with us, Jacquie would be delighted to hear from you. Contact y Gaer on 01874 624121 or at [email protected] (FAO Jacquie Morgan)