St Patrick - a Welshman?
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in many communities across the world each
year on March 17th. And, although he may be the patron saint of
Ireland, many
scholars believe he was Welshman!
Dewi Sant
- Patron
Saint of Wales March
1st is the National Day of Wales
- but who was St. David, and why are leeks and daffodils traditionally worn on
this day?
The Victoria Cross
On 26th June 1857, at an award ceremony in Hyde Park, Queen
Victoria presented the first sixty-two Victoria
Crosses in front of a cheering crowd of 100,000
people. A century and half later, the medal
remains the highest honour for bravery and
valour that can be awarded to members of the
British Armed Forces.....
St Dwynwen St Dwynwen's Day.
St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers, which makes her the
Welsh equivalent of St Valentine......
Christmas Traditions in Wales Including the unique Boxing Day custom of beating young girls with
boughs of holly......
The Legend of the River Conwy
Afanc The Afanc was a
legendary Welsh water monster, likened, some have said, to the Loch Ness
Monster. The Afanc lived in Llyn-yr-Afanc (The Afanc Pool) in the River
Conwy.......
“Just one more push” to Passchendaele On 6th November 1917, after three months of fierce fighting,
British and Canadian forces finally took control of the tiny village of Passchendaele in the West Flanders region of Belgium, so ending one of
the bloodiest battles of World War I. With approximately a third of a
million British and Allied soldiers either killed or wounded, the Battle
of Passchendaele (officially the third battle of Ypres), symbolises the
true horror of industrialised trench warfare.
World War Two
Chronology
Presenting the major
events of each year of World War II, from the German invasion of Poland
in 1939, the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940, the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbour in 1941, Montgomery’s famous victory at El Alamein in
1942......
Traditions and folklore
An
introduction to some of the folklore and traditions in Wales
The Legend of Gelert A very faithful hound...
The National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod is the
largest and oldest celebration of Welsh culture, unique throughout
Europe......
Destinations UK
- St
Dogmaels and Cardigan, West Wales
St Dogmaels occupies a
beautiful situation, overlooking the River Teifi opposite the town of
Cardigan.....
Lloyd George Some have called him ‘the most famous Welshman ever born in
Manchester’, however it was David Lloyd George’s Welshness that so
steered his career and establish him one of the most influential British
politicians of modern history....
Joseph Jenkins, Jolly Swagman
'Waltzing Matilda' is Australia’s best known folk
song and tells the story of a swagman. Yet
possibly the most famous swagman of them all was a Welshman, Joseph
Jenkins.....
Patagonia - the Welsh 'New World'
The first group of nearly 200 settlers sailed from Liverpool in late May
1865 aboard the tea-clipper Mimosa.......
Owain Glyndwr (Owen Glendower), the medieval Welsh nationalist leader
The Longbow
The longbow, also called the Welsh longbow, was a powerful type of
medieval longbow used to great effect during the Hundred Years War....
Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward (T.E) Lawrence, more popularly known as Lawrence of
Arabia, was born at Tremadoc in North Wales....
The Great Orme Mines The Great Orme Mines in Llandudno boast over 5
miles of explored tunnels and passageways. In 2005 it won the title
of 'The Largest Prehistoric Copper Mines in the World' in the Guinness
World Records. This year marks the 15th anniversary of
the mines being open to the public for everyone to visit and enjoy
this incredible site.
The
Leek - the National Emblem of the Welsh Proudly sported every St. David’s Day on 1st March and
at every international rugby match, the leek is now widely recognised as
the national symbol of Wales. But why is it that patriotic Welshmen and
women across the world attach this strong smelling member of the onion
family to their clothing?
The true origins are now perhaps lost in myth and legend...
The Red Dragon
The proud and ancient battle standard of the Welsh is The Red Dragon
(Y Ddraig Goch)....
Destination UK - St Davids
- tiny Cathedral city, one of the
most important shrines of medieval Christendom and place of pilgrimage
for centuries
The Welsh Atlantis?
Amongst the many legends associated with the Great Orme in
Llandudno is the story of Llys Helig (Helig`s Palace) and the
lost Land of Tyno Helig......
The Mold Riots
The history of the border town of Mold in northeast Wales is
fascinating in itself; it is however the events surrounding the
summer of 1869 that will record forever the town's role in the social
history of Britain.....
Merthyr and the Welsh Men of Steel
In the mid 1700’s, Merthyr
Tydfil was just a small Welsh farming village in the upper Taff Valley.
By the early 1800's Merthyr was the largest town in Wales and the
world's number one steel town.....
A Taste of Wales
The Discovery of America.......by
a Welsh prince?
The Romans in Wales
There was a fierce battle in
A.D. 50 at the hill fort at Hereford Beacon between the Silures and
the Roman army. Although the Silures, led by Caractacus, lost the
battle, the Romans maintained only a brief and
tenuous grip on the native Welsh......
Destinations UK -
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion Long before the
Normans built the first castle in Aberystwyth, Iron Age settlers used
the hilltop called Pen Dinas to build a huge fortification which
still dominates the skyline today.....
Twm
Shon Catti - The
Welsh Robin Hood!
The Ogre of Abergavenny In the 12th century, the Norman Lord William de
Breos earned the undying hatred of the Welsh people because of his cruelty. He is remembered as the Ogre of Abergavenny....
The Rebecca Riots Men dressed as women protesting against English Law in Wales....
Isca - the forgotten Roman fortress
The English Conquest of Wales The struggle of the Welsh princes against the English crown
1797
- The
Last Invasion of Britain How Jemima Fawr"
(Jemima the Great) and the ladies of Fishguard, with the help of
rather a lot of Portuguese wine, saved the day!
Destinations
UK - Oxwich, Gower, South Wales A castle, a historic
church, a nature reserve, three miles of golden sand......and an
intriguing history of "wrecking"!!
Rulers
of Wales The
Kings and Princes of Wales
The Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is based upon a 14th century manuscript
known as ‘Red book of Hergest’. The work is a collection of eleven
tales of early Welsh literature and draws upon the mystical word of
the Celtic people intertwining myths, folklore, tradition and
history......
