- Edward Watts, MBE DL (Newport)
Edward Watts (Emma Drabble)
▶ Watch interview with Edward Watts
Edward Watts is chairman at the Mission to Seafarers at Newport docks, a safe haven for seafarers from all over the world. He has family connections to the sea.
“I went into shipping, but on the land side. My father went to sea, my grandfather went to sea. In…Pill, or Pillgwenlli if you want to call it by its correct name, nearly every family had someone who went to sea within their family. It was just part of life.”
“I’ve been here over fifty years. In the recent past the docks were full, this was a busy place with boats coming in from all over. Because you had coal, iron ore, steel, because Llanwern was going full pelt. So, Newport was a very big and very important port. Therefore, there were people here from all over the world. It is a dock area, and so it was a multi-cultural area long before it became twee to call it multicultural. Take me. My grandmother is from Cornwall and my grandfather from America.’
“We would have upwards of 100 seafarers in here at the Mission of an evening once upon a time, but also you used to have hostesses come down and dance for the seamen. And these days people go ho-ho, you know, but it wasn’t – it was quite…innocent! You know, they would come dance for the seamen, their taxi would come at half past nine and take them home! And the elderly ladies from the church would come down and chaperone! You know, it was quite quaint.’
