THE BIOGRAPHY OF MARY BOTT MBE

Mary Bott MBE (1924-2022)

Mary’s Early Life

Mary Bott (née Evans) was born on 16th October 1924 in Dulwich, London.

Her parents had moved to London and set up a dairy business after meeting in

Tregaron. The family were first language Welsh speakers and Mary didn’t speak

any English until she went to school in Dulwich. Mary’s memories of London

include playing a marbles game called “nickems and spanems” in the gutter!

The family attended Jewin Chapel which is the oldest Welsh chapel in London

situated in the area of Clerkenwell.Mary won a scholarship to attend Brondesbury

Grammar School – one of only a handful of pupils from her primary school to

achieve that!

Mary had a brother called David, they both spent much of their childhood living

with their Auntie Anne who was affectionately known as Nan-Nan and was from

Bryncrug near Towyn. She came to live with Mary and David in London to help

look after them but when the war started in 1939 Nan Nan took Mary back to

Towyn to live with her and to complete her secondary education at the local

school, while David went to stay with relatives in Tregaron.

Mary’s Life in the 1940’s

In 1940 at the age of sixteen Mary left school and worked as a Clerk at The

Welsh Board of Health in Cardiff. At the weekend Mary would go to the cinema

to see Charlie Chaplin films.

Just before D-Day in 1944 when Mary was 19 years old she was called up to join

the Land Army and initially was sent to a farm near Llangeitho and then moved

to a farm in Llanarth which had 30 milking cows. This is where she learned

how to use a milking machine and how to make hay. The Women’s Land Army

then sent her to work on farms in Tresaith, Rhydlewis and Penparcau near

Aberystwyth. The days on the farm would start at 5.30am and Mary recalled

those days as being hard work and exhausting, often clearing out the muck

and forming it into a big heap which would later be used to fertilise the soil on

the fields. On one farm she asked on the first day where the toilet was and the

farmer said “It’s outside and round the corner.” When telling the story Mary said

“I was very used to outside toilets but this toilet was in fact a field. When I came

back in, he was laughing and asked ‘Was it big enough for you?’ I didn’t know

where to look.” Despite all the hard work she had a lot of fun!

After the Second World War

By the time the war had ended Mary decided to go to college in Bangor where

she qualified as a teacher and then moved back to England to work in a school

just outside London.

Mary’s parents moved back to Blaenafon near Tregaron as they were originally

from that area. They ran a sub-post office there for a few years before making the

decision to retire and move to Dyffryn Cottage, Aberporth, a pretty seaside village.

Mary taught in Essex for about two years but after her father passed away she

decided to move back to Wales to live at Dyffryn Cottage to help look after her

mother who was in ill health. She also secured a job teaching at Aberporth

Primary School.

Mary, Ray and family

Mary continued to live at the house after her mother had passed away and

soon after she met Raymond Bott, her husband to be, at the Village Hall Dance.

Ray was an electrician at the RAE and came from Birkenhead near Liverpool.

They married in Birkenhead in1956 and made Dyffryn Cottage, Aberporth their

permanent home.

Mary and Ray had four children – Peter, Jane, Anne & Tony – nine grandchildren

and seven great-grandchildren. Mary gave up her teaching job while her

children were young and then later returned to work. Sadly Ray passed away

at a relatively young age of 66 years old.

Involvement in Village Life

After Ray passed away Mary’s involvement in village life increased. She was

at the centre of the community for decades and was renowned for selling

raffle tickets. Most Aberporth villagers have fond memories of Mary’s antics at

the annual carnival as she would always make an effort to dress up, usually

reflecting a topical theme with great comic effect!

Mary supported many charities, some of which were very close to her heart.

She was one of the founders and also the chairperson of the Buttercup Charity

which was set up to help families with sick children in the Aberporth area. Mary

was also a stalwart supporter of the Royal British Legion and sold poppies door

to door for many years. She staged many events which raised money for the

National Eisteddfod and the Trefoil Guild and she also supported The Blind

Society, The British Heart Foundation and Barnardos.

Mary was a trustee of Aberporth Village Hall and over the years raised

thousands of pounds towards the construction of the new village hall. On her

80th birthday instead of gifts she asked for donations towards the new village

hall and, in so doing, raised over a thousand pounds. Mary was also on the

Aberporth Community Council for many years and was a chairperson btween

1988 and 1989.

Mary’s faith was very important to her. She was a regular chapel goer and was

a member of the “Hen Gapel” the Aberporth Methodist Chapel where she was

made a deacon.

Mary and the Lib Dems

Mary, like her father before her, was a staunch follower of the Liberal

Democrats and at several elections she assisted the MP Mark Williams with his

campaigning. There was one election when the Lib Dem car came to Aberporth

and Mary was given free rein of the microphone – she had great fun making up some wonderful slogans – much to the amusement of the Aberporth electorate

and of Mark Williams!! He has many fond memories of Mary and says that she

was full of practical advice combined with a great sense of humour.

Mary’s Honours

Mary’s voluntary work earned her the honour of carrying the Baton for the

Commonwealth Games in 2001 and she was awarded volunteer of the year in

2005 by the then First Minister, Rhodri Morgan. In May 2015 she was asked to

light “The Beacon” in Aberporth as recognition of the 70th Anniversary of VE Day.

However, her biggest accolade came when she was awarded the MBE in 2006

for all her voluntary work and fund raising. It was a very special day for Mary

to go to Buckingham Palace and be presented with the medal by Her Majesty

The Queen. On that same day Tom Jones was knighted and the Beverly

Sisters received their MBEs. Mary’s children were also invited to attend the

occasion and they were very proud to see their mother being honoured. After

the ceremony they all met up with the MP for Ceredigion, Mark Williams and

he treated them to a meal at the House of Commons, the perfect ending to a

lovely day.

Mary’s experience as a Land Girl put her at the centre of attention at the

anniversaries of “World War Two” and she was invited to several events to

speak publicly about her experiences. She was also interviewed by ITV Wales

for a programme called “The Greatest Generation” which was broadcast on

7th June 2022. In May 2025 the book “WORLD WAR TWO – Voices From

Wales” by G. J. Lewis and Hugh Morgan was launched at The Pembroke Dock

Heritage Centre – families of those who had contributed to the book were

invited to the event and consequently members of Mary’s family were present.

The book contains compelling personal history of the events of World War Two,

collected fi rst hand from the ordinary people of Wales who were there at the

time – Mary being one of those people. It was a very proud moment for Mary’s

family to witness so many people paying their respects to the War Heroes and

to the Land Girls.

End of an Era

When Mary passed away in December 2022 it felt like the end of an era. She

epitomised good in the community... dedicated, hard working, caring, refl ective,

determined, principled, kind and always up for a laugh!!

REST IN PEACE MARY BOTT MBE