TESTIMONIAL - recorded by grandson, Nick West
Born in 1911 in the small village of Dolgarrog, North Wales, Walter was disadvantaged from a young age due to a birth defect (probably club foot or similar) which left him with a short left leg, small foot and fewer toes. As a young boy he will have seen his mother, Alice Jane, pass away in North Wales before the family returned to Oxfordshire where his father and mother were originally raised. It is not clear whether the move was prompted by the death of Alice or the decline of the aluminium industry in Dolgarrog but nevertheless it was a timely move. Shortly after the entire family returned to Oxfordshire, both dams in the Welsh Valley near Dolgarrog burst during an extended period of heavy rain. The higher dam was undermined, burst and overfed the lower dam which broke and left Dolgarrog with a local disaster.
The fact that only 16 people lost their lives was mainly due to the local village hall screening a newsreel and movie that day. The village hall was on higher ground and was well attended on the day of the flood! It is known that the family who moved into No.1 Bungalow after the West family departed, lost the mother of 8 (Elizabeth Brown) and one of her children (Betty Brown) during the dam burst.
On returning to Oxford, the entire family was dispersed to local relatives to allow William (Walter's father) to continue to work. It is believed that A cousin of Alice (Kate Lay) took Walter in. Kate Lay either owned or managed a fish and chip shop in Between Towns Road in Cowley. As a young man Walter had a left boot made to compensate for his now 6 to 7 inch shorter leg. He worked at Morris Garages car factory in Cowley, Oxford for almost all of his adult life.
| Name | Age | Rel | Birth Town | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William John West | 33 | Hd | Birmingham | Steam Motor Wagon Driver, Alluminium works |
| Alice Jane West | 29 | Wf | Chowley, Berks | |
| William George West | 7 | Sn | Carnarvon | |
| Wynifred Gladys West | 1 | Dt | Carnarvon | |
| Baby West | 0 | Sn | Carnarvon |
| Name | Age | Relation | Birth Town | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William John West | 43 | Head | Birmingham, Warwickshire | Motor wagon driver, The Aluminium Corp, Dolgarrog Works |
| Alice Jane West | 40 | Wife | Cumnor, Berks | Home duties |
| William Geo West | 18 | Son | Appleton, Berks | Motor wagon driver's assistant, The Aluminium Corp, Dolgarrog Works |
| Winifred Gladys West | 11 | Daughter | Porthllwyd, Carnarvonshire | Full time education |
| Walter John West | 10 | Son | Porthllwyd, Carnarvonshire | Full time education |
| Richard Charles West | 9 | Son | Dolgarrog, Carnarvonshire | Full time education |
| Arthur James West | 7 | Son | Full time education | |
| Alice Rosetta West | 5 | Daughter | Full time education | |
| Florence Emily West | 4 | Daughter | Full time education | |
| Edith May West | 1 | Daughter |
