Andrew family home page

Colin Andrew, Swansea

Colin was Daniel and Mary’s youngest son and grew up

on the post war housing development in Portmead. His first

job was as a trainee laboratory assistant with the Aluminium

Wire and Cable Company (AWCO) at Jersey Marine, now the

site of Amazon’s distribution centre. He successfully studied

for an ONC and HNC in physics and during this time he

changed jobs and joined the Morganite Carbon Company as a

physics technician. The company was relocating its whole

business operation from Battersea in London, to a new site at

Morriston and so Colin had to spend his first six months

training at the London plant. He joined the Young

Conservatives and briefly became the editor of the Welsh

Young Conservative newspaper. His involvement sent him on

a fact finding visit to Luxembourg to view the workings of the

EEC and European Parliament prior to the UK’s membership

referendum in 1975 and he was a local election candidate on

two occasions in the Fforestfach Ward. He successfully studied for a degree in pure mathematics

and at Morganite had become physics laboratory supervisor.

Colin’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1985. It was during

the early 1990's that he met Siân Aluna Fender, nee Bannister. Siân, usually known as Aluna, was

the youngest daughter of Alun and Ann Bannister. She had previously been married to Clive

Fender, the same family having links to the Owen’s. Colin completed a PGCE teaching

qualification and then taught GCSE mathematics to evening class students at Swansea College,

later tutoring mathematics to students during the evenings. Colin and Aluna were married at

Murton Methodist Church; have one son together, Christopher, and Aluna’s son Lawrence.