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From Coal Dust to Moon Dust

$29.95

Anyone born in 1930s Britain entered a world that would be almost unrecognisable today: a world of coal fires, handwritten letters, horses on village roads, and lives bounded by the pace of local communities. Over the decades that followed came war and reconstruction, social transformation, and technological revolutions that took the world from coal dust to moon dust.

This is the story of one ordinary woman from South Wales who lived through that extraordinary change. Wife, mother, teacher, musician, and community leader, Mary’s life was remarkable not because of fame or status, but because of the quiet purpose with which she embraced the changing world around her.

For every copy sold, A$5 will be donated to the Royal Voluntary Service, which Mary supported for over sixty years. Please pre-order your copy for delivery in November 2026.

Anyone born in 1930s Britain entered a world that would be almost unrecognisable today: a world of coal fires, handwritten letters, horses on village roads, and lives bounded by the pace of local communities. Over the decades that followed came war and reconstruction, social transformation, and technological revolutions that took the world from coal dust to moon dust.

This is the story of one ordinary woman from South Wales who lived through that extraordinary change. Wife, mother, teacher, musician, and community leader, Mary’s life was remarkable not because of fame or status, but because of the quiet purpose with which she embraced the changing world around her.

For every copy sold, A$5 will be donated to the Royal Voluntary Service, which Mary supported for over sixty years. Please pre-order your copy for delivery in November 2026.

ABOUT THE AUTHORs

David Howard-Jones
David Howard-Jones

David Howard-Jones

Author

David is Mary’s youngest son. Born in Wales, he studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Oxford before embarking on a global career in management consulting and financial services across the UK, US, and Asia-Pacific.

David volunteered with the Royal Voluntary Service in South Wales during the 1980s and 1990s. He developed this book with Mary as a family-focused project to record the extraordinary era of history spanned by his mother's life, ensuring her recollections were preserved for future generations. David is married with three children and works in the investment management industry.

Mary Howard-Jones (nee Thomas)

Co-Author & Narrator

Mary was born in Glamorgan, South Wales, in 1933. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Rosa, Mary volunteered with the WRVS (today the RVS) for over sixty years, from the 1950s through to the 2010s. Her service spanned North, West, and South Wales, including roles in emergency services and community support from hospital and law court cafés to aged care.

The book is not a conventional memoir but is intended as a reflection on how one ordinary life might serve as a lens on the extraordinary change we will all live through. It spotlights how experiences open up when we choose to engage with a shifting world, and the enormous value of seeking to leave places a little better than we found them.

Royal Voluntary Service

Royal Voluntary Service is a British charity on a mission to grow volunteering across the nation, to build a stronger, better-connected society. We want to see volunteering become the norm and for everyone to be able to play their part no matter who they are, where they are from or what stage of life they are at. Our goal is to remove long-standing barriers and open-up ‘volunteering for all’. Working together we help grow the nations' volunteer community and run services to support people's health, wellbeing and connections.

Royal Voluntary Service is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales number 2520413 and a registered charity number 1015988 (England and Wales) and SC038924 (Scotland).

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