Bessie "Bryn Teg"

B.A.Jones (left) with her sister Ginny

Miss B.A Jones
"Bessie Bryn Teg"
Born 23.01.1903
Died 17.07.1990








There is perhaps a small handful of Village characters that linger long in the minds of the older residents of Trelawnyd to this day and one of the most well remembered and respected of those is Miss B.A Jones.
She is still referred to by many that were taught by her in the village school  as Miss BA Jones although many that worked with her on the many committees she helped to run call her simply as B.A. Jones.
Of course those that knew her well refer to her with her village nickname as "Bessie Bryn Teg"

Miss Elizabeth Ann Jones was born in 1903 at Pen Isa Mynydd in Cwm.
She moved with her younger sister to the small holding known as Bryn Teg sometime in the 1920s and from an early age she threw herself into village life, politics and affairs with some gusto, a passion she carried on throughout her 70 odd years as a Trelawnyd resident.
The photograph on the right is Bessie as a small girl.


Miss Jones is always referred to by villagers as the academic of the two sisters. Indeed one present day Trelawnyd resident described the pair thus:-
"B.A. Jones was the school teacher and literally ran the village..
Ginny stayed home and looked after the cow!"

Bryn Teg in its former glory
You can just see Ty Wynne and the Nonconformist Chapel to the left

Bryn Teg in 1982 before the modern bungalows "swamped it on all sides

Miss BA Jones ( left) with the village school staff in the 1950s

Miss Jones is always remembered as a "firm but fair" school mistress She instilled into her pupils punctuality and discipline ( she ran the Sunday school and the Girls society so woe betide any child not turning up for either of the extra school activity) and was not adverse from giving an over talkative pupil a sharp wrap over the knuckles with her ruler. (As Arfon Jones will testify to)......some former pupils do state that she could be overly harsh at times, but perhaps that was a sign of the times


She taught the famous Welsh author  Emyr Humphreys whose father left a rather touching dedication to her in his son's  novel "A Toy Epic" John Humpreys was the village school headmaster for many years.

 The dedication states
"For Miss B.A.Jones O.B.E.
with admiration and affection for a devoted teacher/friend...who taught Emyr to write"


He refers to Miss Jones as being an O.B.E. but in actual fact Miss Jones was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 1960s for her community work (below)

The B E M

A letter signed by The Queen detailing B.A's award

Miss Jones was an integral part of village left.
She was an active member of the Wartime Defence , the Village Welfare committee , The Church ( where she played the organ for decades and refused to give up the organ key to anyone!) and later in her life she ran the Flower Show Committee with precision and care.
She ran the village Girls' Society, The Sunday School and played a huge part in The British Red Cross and the Woman's Institute as well as a score of other societies out of the village.
Bessie "Bryn Teg" dedicated a lifetime of service to the community of Trelawnyd.
A service record that should be remembered for many years to come

B.A Jones ( centre bottom row) with the rest of the village welfare committee