Gilbern car man’s former shop, Church Village

button-theme-powGilbern car man’s former shop, Church Village

Butcher Giles Smith kept a shop here after the Second World War. His hankering for a car with a body made of glass fibre led to the establishment of Gilbern, the only Welsh company to make complete cars.

The first three or four of c.1,000 Gilbern vehicles were assembled behind Mr Smith’s butcher’s shop. It’s believed that by this time he had moved his shop a few doors further west along Main Road, to the building now occupied by Lloyd’s Bank.

Giles happened to meet a German engineer called Bernard Friese, who was living in Laleston, near Bridgend, after being a prisoner of war in Kent. He used to climb over the camp fence at night, and fell in love with a local teenager whom he later married. The family moved to Wales when he got a washing-machine engineering job.

The Gilbern name took the first syllables of the men’s forenames. The pair started work in 1959 on the first Gilbern. By 1961, demand for the cars had grown enough to justify setting up a factory near Llantwit Fardre rail station, less than 2km to the west.

Bernard left the company in 1969 and established Morgan Marine in Llandybïe, Carmarthenshire, supplying fiberglass components for construction. He died in 2010.

With thanks to Crystal Beauty for hosting the QR codes.

Postcode: CF38 1RL    View Location Map

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