Sunday School Gower Camp, South-West Wales
The Gower Sunday School Camp
The very first camp commenced in July 1954 and was sited in a field belonging to Mr Grove in Port Eynon. The first intake were boys who attended the Sunday School in Ebenezer Gospel Hall near Town Hill, Swansea. Members of this church were dedicated to this new venture but had to approach Mr and Mrs Stuart Hare of the Fforestfach Gospel Hall because of their past experience in camp leadership when they were involved with the Scouts.
Later on, the camp moved to Bank Farm in Horton, Hangman’s Cross, Llanmadoc and eventually to Llangennith where it has remained ever since.
A girls’ camp started In 1958. Afterwards, there was the Postal Sunday School Camp which consisted of boys and girls who lived in places where there was no Gospel Hall. Instead, they studied Bible Correspondence Courses. For a number of years the schedule was that the first week was for the girls, the second for the Postal Sunday School and the third for the boys. The boys were always on the third week because they would help dismantle the camp. Nowadays, there is only a girls’ and boys’ camp which are held at the end July and the beginning of August.
In the early years all the gear was transferred initially by a seven ton truck which called at some of the Gospel Halls in Swansea. Later on, it was transferred from Ebenezer Gospel Hall to Llanmadoc on a British Road Service lorry. This was done on the Friday before the camp began.
It was a race against time for all the gear to be set up before the campers arrived. Mr Alan Jenkins, a camp leader, explains: “It was not unusual to be undertaking such work in the early hours of Saturday morning in the headlights of vehicles strategically placed, to enable the completion of certain tasks which could not be left until the next day, and be under execution while the campers were arriving. Arriving home at 3.00 am in the early hours of Saturday morning was not uncommon in those days, so by the time the campers arrived (mid afternoon on Saturday) you were ready to go to bed, exhausted before camp had began”.
Currently, preparations for the camp normally begin on the previous Tuesday and the campers arrive on Sunday afternoon.
Initially, the tents were hired but did prove to be sufficiently resistant to heavy rain which caused all sorts of problems with regards to sleeping facilities, clothing, personal belongings and the drying of such things. Fortunately, the organizers of the camp were able to purchase ex-army tents.
I was involved in the camp between 1969 and 1986. My parents bought me a sleeping bag from Halfords when it was in Vaughan Street, Llanelli.
The routine was as follows.
There was an early prayer meeting for the “workers” followed by breakfast. This consisted of cereal and a cooked meal. Next, we had a time of Bible Study. After that, the tuck shop was open and there was an opportunity to go to the shop in Llangennith. There was also the opportunity to play games on the field and table tennis, board games or chess in the marquee. A rota was drawn up for the campers to wash the dishes and peel potatoes for the evening meal.
During that time, the workers prepared the sandwiches such as those of jam, cheese, ham and tomato. The campers could chose which ones they required. After eating our sandwiches we went down to the beach to play and bathe, weather permitting.
In the meantime, the evening meal was prepared by people such Mrs Silvia Jenkins of Neath and Mrs Barbara John of Llanelli. Barbara’s husband, Willie, was a prominent and kind worker and was a good influence on the campers. Through him some campers were baptised.
There was a Gospel Service in the evening followed by supper, communal hymn-singing and Bible Study with our respective group leaders. Before going to bed, we would go to the toilets, crudely known as “the bogs”, at the top of the field. One night, my torch fell down one of them and was retrieved by John Tancock of Swansea! As we snuggled up in our sleeping bags the gas lamps gradually went out. We would shout, “Going, going, gone”. Since we were slow in settling down to sleep, I remember a worker say on one occasion, “Okay boys, get off to kip or you will be like zombies in the morning”.
People from Glanymor and Tyisha districts in Llanelli would visit the camp during the week. These included relatives of the campers and their Sunday School Teachers. Willie John brought ladies from the Morfa Gospel Hall in his car after he had retired from camp work. His uncle, Eddie, came down on his Lambreta scooter. Some visitors remained for supper and the hymn-singing. The singing was accompanied by an accordion courtesy of David Desmond – Dai Dez- of Swansea.
The leaders during my time at camp were Stuart Hare and his successor, Alan Jenkins. I am greatly indebted to Mr Jenkins for the use of his book Great is Thy Faithfulness, A Brief History of Swansea and District Assemblies Camp Work in preparing this article.