In Memory of
Ivor Wellbelove
Born in Gorseinon in 1931, he spent most of his life working as a civil engineer. After retirement he worked part time in B&Q until he was 86. He died in December 2024 at the age of 93.
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Ivor was born at 6 o’clock on a warm, sunny August morning in a terraced house in Gorseinon, a town near Swansea. In the early 1930s it was a hive of the coal, tin and steel industries. He was born at his Gran’s house, as his Dad Arthur, who worked at the local tinplate factory, his Mum Gladys, and later his younger brother Frank, all lived with Gladys’ parents. When Ivor was about 6 years old they finally had a home of their own, only a few doors down from Gran. As Ivor wrote, “As we were not well off our meals were basic but nutritious with things like bone marrow and jam sandwiches and plenty of veg. And sometimes the odd rabbit or chicken which my father had in the garden”. He told us that he went barefoot in the Summer to save his boots for the Winter, and he always wore short trousers as the coal dust made your legs so black you didn’t need long trousers. He went around with a gang of boys getting up to all kinds of mischief, then they’d be chased by Constable Jones, who had size 13 boots which connected with many a backside! He left school at 14 and went to work at the Mountain Collery, which was at the top of his road, labouring above ground sorting the coal. When he was 15 he went underground, working as a miner’s boy. He had to fill the coal carts and push them to a central collecting point, for which the miner paid him directly… 2 shillings & six pence on a good week. No pit-head baths in those days… it was a tin bath in front of the range at the end of the day. At 18 he went to do his National Service, joining the Royal Engineers. He spent time in Germany, helping to build temporary bridges over the rivers, to replace those blown up in the war. One day he was guarding a check point when a big flashy staff car pulled up. “Papers please”, he challenged them. “Don’t you know who we are”, said a big-wig in the front. “Sorry Sir”, said Ivor, “But I still need to see your papers”. “Good work Sapper”, said Field Marshal ‘Monty’ Montgomery from the back seat. When he finished his National Service he decided he didn’t want to go back to Wales. One of his army friends, Frank, lived in Gosport, so he went there instead. Frank and his girlfriend Pam got fed up with Ivor hanging around with them, so arranged a blind date with Pam’s friend Joy. The first meeting was on Fratton Bridge on 3rd June 1953 and the rest, as they say, is history… 71 years of it. When he went back to Wales he told his Mum, “Her family are very posh, they’ve got an indoor bathroom, upstairs!” - Gorseinon was still a tin bath and the privy down the garden. Joy and Ivor got married on 10th September 1955, and celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary in 2024. At first they lived in a couple of rented rooms in North End, but in the late 1950s they got a council flat in Leigh Park, later moving to two more houses on the estate. John arrived in 1960 and Ann in 1962. Ivor did all sorts of jobs; working in an aircraft factory, the Dockyard and a car showroom (where he famously drove a brand-new display model into a wall… he blamed his wet wellies!) It was when he started labouring on road and construction sites that he got involved in civil engineering. He would ask lots of questions and the engineers would show him how the surveying equipment worked. Then they started asking him if he could do setting out for them and he’d say yes, then go home that evening and look up how to do it in a book. This led to a long and successful career as a civil engineer. Joy and Ivor had always wanted to own their own house, so when the opportunity came up to buy their council house, Ivor got a job in Oman to earn the extra money they needed. After a 2-year contract building a military airfield and roads, Ivor took a job in Saudi Arabia, working on electricity power lines. They had a long-distance marriage for 10 years, in the days before email and the internet, where letters were written on thin blue airmail paper and took ages to arrive. But it meant they reached their goal of buying a detached bungalow in Cowplain, where they lived together for nearly 47 years. Joy and Ivor became enthusiastic travellers, going to places like the Taj Mahal and northern India, cruising down the Nile, Bangkok and the jungles of Thailand, and San Francisco and the Grand Canyon. Ivor came back to the UK for good in the early 1980s and carried on with civil engineering jobs, including the lock gates at Port Solent (which he fell into one day, arriving home covered from head to toe in smelly mud). He worked past his state retirement age, finally hanging up his theodolite when he was 67. But retirement wasn’t for him, and within 2 years he’d got a part-time job on the shop floor at the Havant B&Q store, where he worked until he was 86 years old. A keen DIY-er, he was in his element, helping the customers and coming home with the ‘bargains’ he’d bought. Though ask Joy if a job was ever finished before he started the next one… he was easily distracted! Ivor was a keen amateur footballer when he was younger… too keen as he was always coming home with an injury. He recently told us he was approached by a scout for Charlton football club. Unfortunately, when they found out he was 24 they told him he was too old to be a professional. He also loved watching rugby, especially when Wales were playing. When he retired at 67, he decided to take up lawn green bowling, and he enjoyed the sport for many years, playing for Cowplain and Denmead Bowling Clubs, and winning quite a few trophies. He even played for Hampshire on one occasion. In his army days he was part of a successful rifle shooting team, a hobby that he returned to early in 2024, when he joined Waterlooville Air Rifle Club. By all accounts he hadn’t lost his skill hitting the bullseye. He was also a very enthusiastic photographer and was a member of Havant and Portsmouth Photographic Societies. Again, he won many prizes for his pictures, and was awarded a Licentiateship from the Royal Photographic Society in the 1980s. In the days before digital photography he had his own darkroom down the garden, where he’d disappear for hours on end until Joy would bang on the door to make sure he hadn’t been overcome by the chemical fumes! Ivor was very accident prone – he’d probably already used up 9 lives before he was 50. But he always bounced back from any injuries or illnesses, even having a quadruple heart bypass when he was 80 (and returning to work 6 months later). By the time Covid arrived he had a few health concerns which meant he had to isolate for over a year. He missed his bowling, but amused himself on his computer, tweaking his huge collection of digital photos, and playing on his flight simulator. Joy would often find him asleep in front of the screen, mid-transatlantic flight… luckily he would have the autopilot switched on! When Joy went to live at Belmont Castle Care Home in May, Ivor was an almost daily visitor, becoming part of their family. If the staff were busy, he’d get something out of the games cupboard and encourage everyone in the lounge to join in. Or he’d start a group sing-along – a true Welshman, he could sing! He was still driving until October, but when he made the decision to give up the car, he knew it was time to start thinking about moving into the Care Home with Joy. Unfortunately, things moved quicker than we expected and he wasn’t able to enjoy the time there that we were all hoping for. But we can be thankful that his big personality was there to the end, and he’s left a big gap to fill.Remembered by Ivor Wellbelove
Ivor Wellbelove's Tributes
- £75.00Donated by John Wellbelove31/01/2025