Bob, did you learn Welsh when you were in Anglesey? Were any adult language classes available locally?
It's been compulsory for many years for children aged 5-16 to learn Welsh, so I guess that includes children of Valley servicemen...people? No doubt it would help them if their parents did too?
BEagle, many parents of Welsh speaking children don't speak it because it was actively discouraged to learn or speak it when they were growing up. Go back only a couple of generations, and it was forbidden to speak it at school or to use it in public office. Look up 'Welsh Not', if you really are keen to learn more about it. That children today are being taught their mother tongue (in addition to English and not at the expense of it) can only be a good thing, and is welcomed by many non-Welsh speakers in Wales, including myself.
BV - very well said!