{"id":15483,"date":"2025-05-05T11:29:40","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T10:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15483"},"modified":"2025-05-30T10:28:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T09:28:04","slug":"the-life-and-times-of-mr-j-c-meggitt-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15483","title":{"rendered":"The Life And Times Of Mr J C Meggitt – Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Articles of Interest<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MR J C MEGGITT – Part 3
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In Parts 1 and 2 we read about John Claxton Meggitt\u2019s timber trading business and his retirement at the age of 70 after which he undertook numerous world travels during which he visited over 35 countries. He recorded his \u201cImpressions\u201d of these and of the people he encountered along the way in a number of \u201cletters\u201d to the Western Mail that were subsequently published in hardback booklet format. Here are more summaries of some of those impressions.<\/p>\n

Shanghai (1935) <\/strong>Over several days he was accompanied by expatriate missionaries and a former acquaintance from Barry, Leslie Pardoe, who with his wife had lived there for more than 20 years and worked as the head of the local Highways Department (he was the son of J C Pardoe who was the first surveyor to Barry UDC). In his report he wrote that he \u201cpassed through many miles of native streets and surroundings of all kinds, and was also brought into close contact with other aspects of life in the city\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

To say the least, he was not impressed with what he witnessed \u201cHow I wish I could speak enthusiastically about these three million people in Shanghai\u201d <\/em>He describes the deplorable overcrowding, the utter filth in housing and shops and the high prevalence of disease and degradation. \u201cIt is one of the open sores of the Far East\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n

Japan (1935) <\/strong>From the squalor of Shanghai he cruised to Japan, which gave him pleasure and delight. \u201cA most charming place for a good long holiday\u201d<\/em>. He noted, somewhat at variance to what we now know, that the country\u2019s principal industry is the manufacture of silk!<\/p>\n

Trans Siberia Railway (1935). <\/strong>Every Monday morning the \u201ctrain-de-luxe\u201d would depart from Vladivostok to commence an almost 3500 mile journey \u201cacross one of the coldest, bleakest, and most neglected countries in the world\u201d <\/em>to terminate in Moscow. He travelled in a \u201cmost excellent train\u201d <\/em>and describes the luxuries therein. Such contrasts with his descriptions of ordinary trains: crowded with \u201cpeasants\u201d; seats of bare wood; devoid of any type of comforts; held up in sidings as the deluxe trains passed. Did the ordinary people not think \u201call of that was at variance with the Communistic theories advocated throughout Russia?\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

Poland and Germany (1935)<\/strong>. He continued his train journeys for another 1500 miles from Moscow through Poland and Germany, and ultimately back to Britain. At that time, Poland had only been re-established as a nation since the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Of Poland, he writes \u201cThere seemed to be a brightness and cheerfulness of disposition that was absent in Russia\u201d <\/em>and he found nothing that was other than delightful. A stark contrast with Russia. \u201cI formed the opinion <\/em>(of Poland) \u2026\u2026.. will have a great future \u2026 and prove to be a steadying influence in Europe\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n

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The 1935 journal concludes with his impressions of the prominent people (one of whom he was personally acquainted with – Herr Hitler) he met whilst spending three days in Berlin. They came over as being resentful about the treatment that was meted out to them after 1919, the loss of their armed services, the loss of parts of Germany to neighbouring countries, the loss of their colonies. The list went on. He wrote that he did not hesitate to tell those he met that Germany \u201chad a bad record \u2026. being the most warlike nation in Europe\u201d. <\/em>He remonstrated with them about the events of 30th June 1934 \u201cThe Night of the Long Knives\u201d \u201cwhen, under the leadership of Herr Hitler, up to 80 leading statesmen and civilians \u2026\u2026 were shot in cold blood\u201d. <\/em>He was informed that he didn\u2019t understand the difficulties that Germany faced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe persistent persecutions of the Jews <\/em>(nor the attitude to the Christian Church) was not forgotten in our discussions. Everyone to whom I spoke protested that Germany wanted peace \u2026 on an equal status with other nations\u201d. <\/em>Nothing less was acceptable. In conclusion, he pondered: \u201cwho can tell whether Germany intends to take her revenge on France? It is not possible to remain many hours in Berlin without being aware that efforts are being made to strengthen her position\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n

South America and West Indies (1938) <\/strong>This 20,000 mile round tour was undertaken onboard the SS Reina del Pacifico down the east coast of South America, around Cape Horn to return along the west coast, through the Panama Canal and the West Indies. His deviation to Robinson Crusoe Island was written about in Part 2.<\/p>\n

South America, South & West Africa (1939) <\/strong>Yet another escape from the northern hemisphere winter aboard the SS Viceroy of India. He travelled to Tristan da Cunha (dreary, desolate, lonesome)<\/em>, St Helena (the best known of all the solitary islands), <\/em>Cape Town (the greatest thrill of all the cruise, totally unexpected and in no way rehearsed)<\/em>, Rio de Janeiro (attractiveness beyond praise \u2026 palatial public buildings, open spaces, many miles of views of inlets of the ocean, the mountains, the foliage and the ever commanding presence of the statue of Christ the Redeemer can only be inadequately described) <\/em><\/p>\n

On October 4th 1948, the Western Mail published a tribute to mark his 90th birthday which was celebrated with a family party. \u201cAs straight as a guardsman, though a little hesitant owing to failing sight, Mr Meggitt, now the doyen of Cardiff businessmen, is physically well and mentally alert, but a confidant prevailed upon him to cancel a sea reservation to New Zealand\u201d. <\/em>That article concluded with tributes to his many years of public and church service.<\/p>\n

Research on ancestry.com reveals that he died on 18th April 1950; his life was truly well lived.<\/p>\n

Tony Hodge<\/p>\n

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Articles of Interest THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MR J C MEGGITT – Part 3 In Parts 1 and 2 we read about John Claxton Meggitt\u2019s timber trading business and his retirement at the age of 70 after which he undertook numerous world travels during which he visited over 35 countries. He recorded his \u201cImpressions\u201d of these and of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[421,228],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-41J","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15382,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15382","url_meta":{"origin":15483,"position":0},"title":"The Life And Times Of Mr J C Meggitt – Part 2","author":"Alan Williams","date":"9th April 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MR J C MEGGITT - Part 2 In Part I, we learned how the 28 year old John Claxton Meggitt came from Wolverhampton and established a thriving timber supply business in Barry. Initially this was to supply the timber needed for \u201cfalse works\u201d in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Picture7.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15231,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15231","url_meta":{"origin":15483,"position":1},"title":"The Life And Times Of Mr J C Meggitt – Part 1","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MR J C MEGGITT - Part 1 \u00a0 In his article in the April 2024 Edition of What\u2019s On, Steven Jones wrote about certain people who were notable in the early days of Barry\u2019s development. One of these was named Meggitt. Here is the story\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/circular.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/circular.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/circular.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/circular.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/circular.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/circular.png?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15618,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15618","url_meta":{"origin":15483,"position":2},"title":"J C Meggitt Story – Post Script","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Articles of Interest THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MR J C MEGGITT - POSTSCRIPT In the three previous issues of What\u2019s On, we learned how 28 year old Meggitt had come to Barry in 1884 at the start of the construction of the dock and set up a thriving timber\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Leggit-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Leggit-01.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Leggit-01.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Leggit-01.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Leggit-01.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Leggit-01.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14835,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14835","url_meta":{"origin":15483,"position":3},"title":"A Brief History Of Barry To 1939","author":"Alan Williams","date":"22nd November 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A BRIEF HISTORY OF BARRY TO 1939 We all go to Barry, at least now and again, but how often do we pause to consider how the town of almost 60,000 people today became developed in a relatively short space of time? This chronology has been (mostly) taken from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Picture9.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9173,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9173","url_meta":{"origin":15483,"position":4},"title":"Avian Art","author":"Alan Williams","date":"2nd March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"An ink drawing of a Buzzard, by Mr Gordon Jones. which perched in his garden on Port Road. Wenvoe is full of people honing their skills at this uncertain time in our lives. \u00a0 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Picture3frame.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10155,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10155","url_meta":{"origin":15483,"position":5},"title":"History Of Wenvoe’s Allotments","author":"Alan Williams","date":"24th August 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"HISTORY OF WENVOE'S ALLOTMENTS As a former allotment holder I was fascinated to read this article in the South Wales Star dated 31 March 1893. Next business: the selection of Field wardens for the Allotment. Mr T Thomas and Mr G J Thomas re-elected. Wenvoe Vestry Meeting: The Allotment question.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Allotments"","block_context":{"text":"Allotments","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=146"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/allotments.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15483"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15483"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15620,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15483\/revisions\/15620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}