John Hywel Lewis - The Wind Doll Man (1900-1950)

Cemaes Heritage Centre has a collection of Wind Dolls and a Tall Ship produced by John Hywel Lewis - The Wind Doll Man.

John was born with deformed feet which prevented him from fulfilling his passion to be a merchant sailor. John's artistic skills became apparent with the watercolours he painted at an early age.

In the 1930s Cemaes was a very popular tourist destination when John saw an opportunity to sell his brightly painted, whittled whirligig wind dolls to visitors as a holiday memento.

The Wind Dolls (examples pictured here) provided John with a steady income so that he could enjoy his love of painting.