Raymond (Ray) Skinner
popular Butcher & Jonah patrol member
Raymond ‘Ray’ Skinner was our great-uncle and the sixth child born to James and Rosa Skinner of Abernant Farm. Ray was born 5th November 1903 and grew up on the farm. He was christened alongside his six siblings at All Saint’s Church in Kemeys Inferior in 1912.
Ray was an active child and worked with his brothers from a young age. From a letter written by his eldest sister Jessie in 1916, we know that Ray left school in Caerleon just before his 13th birthday. Jessie described him as a “contented farmer” and said that his distinctive looks and build came from the Baker’s, who were a family line on his mother’s side.
Even at a young age Ray would have been a vital help at Abernant, particularly after his two elder brothers enlisted in the army during WW1. Ray grew into a strong young man and played rugby for Usk seconds in the 1920s. Whilst at Abernant he developed the skills of a butcher, a trade that he would make into a career. He followed in the footsteps of his uncle and aunt William Henry and Jessie Locke, who had been butchers in Newport.
By 1931 all of his siblings, bar his brother Donald, had left Abernant Farm and his father James had died in 1927. Donald took on the role of managing the farm supported by Ray, who continued to live, and work part time, at Abernant throughout the 1930s. We find Ray still living at Abernant on the 1939 Register, where he was listed as a butcher.
As the 1930s came to a close, Ray started to spend time living with his uncle George Watkins at Dranllwyn Farm. Situated on the old Roman Road it was a short walk from Abernant, and by the early 1940s this became his permanent address. In addition to acting as the butcher at Abernant and other local farms, in 1936 Ray opened a butcher shop at 111 Caerleon Road in Newport and was listed in the Johns Newport Directory of that year.
He also farmed pastureland in Goldcliff, that he leased from his mother. When Rosa died in 1941 the executors of her Will sold the land, but Ray continued to farm it for many years under the new owner. He also maintained a lifelong interest in livestock markets and frequently attended them to buy stock for his shop, he was known to be an excellent judge.
In the early 1940s Donald Skinner left Abernant Farm and Ray appears to have put his efforts into growing his Newport shop. He was described as a well-known and liked member of the local business community and the shop became an institution on Caerleon Road for almost 40 years.
As WWII broke out Ray was working in the reserved occupations of farmer and butcher. Noted as being strong and well-built, Ray passed the rigorous selection process and joined the Langstone Patrol (codename Jonah Patrol) who were based in Wentwood. The Langstone Patrol were an Auxiliary Unit, part of a secret resistance network of highly trained and well-armed volunteers prepared to be Britain’s last-ditch line of defence should the German army invade. They operated in a network of cells from hidden underground bases around the UK.
The Langstone Patrol were based in Wentwood Forest on Coed Y Caerau Common, and some remains of the base have survived. It lies off a wooded path, hidden underground and disguised by trees and vegetation. A clean water well is situated close by. From the brow of the hill, eleven counties and the Bristol Channel can be clearly seen.
Situated about 40 metres northeast from the main Operational Base, there is a surviving ammunition and storage bunker. One of the missions likely to have been given to the patrol in the event of a German invasion would have been to blow the Severn Tunnel.
David Escott recalls that Ray Skinner was a man of some ‘character’: “I thought he was a farmer, but he was certainly involved in some rather suspicious ‘slaughtering’ activities during the war, and I believe members of Jonah Patrol benefited from joints of meat of undisclosed origin during the era of rationing”.
A number of tales about Langstone’s famous Jonah patrol survive today, here is one notable example. A false message that the German invasion had started reached the Patrol, they mustered at their base where they stayed for days. They stole eggs and the odd chicken to survive, before eventually asking a farmer where the enemy was, only to discover the truth!
As the threat of invasion seemed less likely, the requirement for the Auxiliary Units passed. In November 1944 they were ordered to stand down. In May 1944 Jonah Patrol was despatched to the Isle of Wight to allow regular forces to help out in France for the D Day landings. The Monmouthshire Area and Group Commanders organised a Christmas meal at stand down 1944 which Ray attended.
They had many reunions over the years, often meeting at the Greyhound pub in Llantrisant, Monmouthshire. The pub still proudly display a reunion photo in the bar, and have been asked many times by customers if they could make a copy.
In April 1947, Ray, now aged 43, married 23-year-old Dulcie May Nicholas at St John’s Church in Maindee. Dulcie lived in Newport with her mother and father, Ethel and George Nicholas. The newly-weds lived for a short while in Goldcliff as well at various addresses in Newport including 379 Chepstow Road and a large house, number 11, on Kensington Place. Ray’s niece Ann recalls visiting Ray and Dulcie at Kensington Place in the 1960s. She says that in contrast to his imposing build what a welcoming and nice man Ray was.
The couple had one child: Paulette born in 1948, who became a teacher. For much of their married life, they lived with Ethel Nicholas, Dulcie’s elderly mother. Two years after Ethel’s death in 1964, they divorced, and Dulcie remarried. Paulette lived with her mother but retained her Skinner name until her own marriage. Little is known about Ray’s life after his divorce in 1966, but he did continue to run his busy butcher shop.
When an American cousin came to visit in 1971, his brother Reg Skinner knew exactly where he could find Ray. He was at the local livestock market working as an order buyer and completely engrossed in the work he loved. Ray died in hospital 9th February 1974 from injuries sustained in a road traffic accident near Pontypool.
At the time Ray was living in Goldcliff and still working at his shop. He was cremated at the Gwent Crematorium and his ashes lie in the peaceful Garden of Remembrance. He left his estate to his family. After Ray’s death his beloved shop was taken on by another butcher and it continued to serve the community for many years. Today it is a beauty salon.
If you have memories to share about Raymond Skinner please get in touch: [email protected]