Sheep Shearing

It’s all hands on deck at shearing time and Maes Caradoc farm, Nant Ffrancon, has help from an Italian prisoner-of-war.

Sidney Whiteley of Harrow, a keen climber and photographer who visited Snowdonia regularly during the 1930s/40s, created a detailed, inter-titled record of shearing at Maes Caradoc farm, Nant Francon. A sea of sheep that has flowed down from the hills is gathered near the farm. The animals are sorted, washed in the river (probably at the nearby farm Braich Ty Du), shorn and branded. An Italian prisoner-of-war rolls up the fleeces.

Selected for exhibition at the National Eisteddfod, Caerffili, in 1950, this film was also awarded a special commendation by Amateur Cine World magazine. The Italian prisoner of war may have come from Pabo Hall, Bryn Pydew, Llandudno, where Italian prisoners-of-war were housed during WWII. Mr Whiteley’s wife, Margaret Ellen (nee Simon), was London-born of Welsh parents.