Historical accounts focus on a successful Investiture of 'Carlo' Charles Windsor as English Prince of Cymru/Wales. Sure, darkening Investiture day was the death of the two 'Abergele Martyrs', imprisonments at the FWA Trial of the three of us 'Swansea Nine', including myself along with FWA Commandants Cayo and Coslett. Plus news seeping in that the Police were being very clever and most radical anti - Investiture nationalists, not least Patriotic Front members were put under a massive all Wales 'Lock Down'. Where by not being able to actually intern patriots, they virtually put many nationalists under a form of 'House Arrests' with Coppers stationed outside their homes and plain clothes men brought in from England following Nationalists around all day. Many Nationalists were torn between attempting to get to Caernarfon or attending the last day of the FWA trial, some as Roy Jones and Robert Hinton had already fled to Ireland to watch the Investiture in a Dublin Pub? Whilst Gareth Lockwood and Ffred Ffrancis actually went and made it into Caernarfon Town but did not carry out any protest action?
Action against the Investiture in the town on 'I' Day itself was left to two young men, members of Plaid Cymru who gave the English Royals the 'V' sign at passing of the Royal Carraige, later fined £5 each for a 'Breach of the Peace'. One had held up an Anti - Investiture Protest placard, a very brave thing to be doing alone amongst a crowd of hysterical loyalists. A special court had been set up in the town for 'trouble makers' and two patriots of Fflintshire were charged with possession of weapons, another patriot was also charged with disturbing the peace and throwing a banana skin at the House Hold Cavalry. . Another youth lobbed an egg and another youth lobbed a rubber ball at the Royal Coach as it left the Castle after the Investiture, it is interesting that these arrests were being carried out by officers of the London Metropolitan Police
John Jenkins MAC had Brit Army Band Duties that day in Caernarfon providing a wonderful cover for planting of bombs, one of which had not gone off as planned, causing a most unfortunate accidental injury to a young boy looking for a ball he had kicked over a wall. Of course most regretable and it would be even more regretable not to record this fact. Other than the Abergele Bomb one had also been placed on Mackensie Peer, Holy Head this had not exploded but one placed in a P.O. letter box in Cardiff had. Apart from these hoax bombs had been placed on the Railway track between Chester and Bangor, throughout Cymru/Wales there was a constant barrage of Bomb Hoaxes Calls related to specific targets and also to the media causing more confusion than panic. All in all Cymru/Wales was drifting towards 'Days of Fear' or at least mayhem!, giving Jock Wilsons 'goons' much cause for concern and the Quisling Establishment a big head ache with the worries pressing down on them fast and furious as the big day came closer.
Another fact around which mystery hangs is the death of a Soldier in Caernarfon Town, seemingly he had been placed in the back of a military vechile that had caught fire so burning to death the unfortunate soldier. I have very little archive record by way of local paper news paper cuttings that inform on events in the town the night before Investiture day, I have been told of fighting between Welsh Patriots and English Royalists also between local youths and Soldiers.
How truthful such accounts are, I do not know and thus my record will always be left incomplete, a research is needed of not just Gwynedd/North Wales Papers but also of other regional and local papers. For much anti - Investiture radical campaigning in week up to Investiture, on the day and week after as Carlo in imitation of Edward I's tour of Cymru/Wales, took form of continued Patriotic Adfywiad activism.
This was taking the form of a mass tearing down of Union Jacks and Red Dragon flags and bunting put up to celebrate the Investiture, the South Wales Echo as early as 26 June was reporting of such ''Vandalism'' in Newport, Caerffili, Caerdydd and throughout Y Rhondda and else where. Same in North Wales as well as shop windows
who where displaying Investiture stuff were
being daubed or windows smashed. As well Investiture Garden - Flower Beds were kicked up or otherwise destroyed as flowers were sprayed with chemicals to kill them. Where Investiture propaganda was placed on high, blown eggs filled with paint were hurled at them. English Royalist Plaques celebrating the Jewbilee of Victoria as well as E"R insignia on Post Boxes were daubed.
The authorities had at great cost managed to forestall a major outbreak of serious hostilities in Caernarfon town itself, I was forced to make the decision of telling the P.F. Investiture 'Chaos Caernarfon' Sabotage Groups to stand down. It would not have been right to see they go into action without Toni, Glyn and myself with them, so instead it was suggested that each PF/ISG make their own 'Autonomous Adfywiadwr' decisions as to any action to be taken.
Already, it was realised Caernarfon Town would be a tough nut to crack, so instead our 'Adfywiadwyr Gwladgarol' were told to pass word along the grape vine that the Caernarfon 'Hard Target' was going to be a too difficult nut to crack. So instead the word was put out, get the 'Soft Targets' around the town by all and every ways and means possible. Much we had deliberated on as possible, what I now call as 'Adfywiad Actions' as third level Anti - Investiture Activity possible for a Civilian Resistence to carry out as noted below, was indeed carried out over a very wide area of Cymru/Wales.
Much of the above, I was totally unaware of as more and more focusing my mind was the obvious fact I was going to get sentanced. I had been offered a way out, sign a declaration, a surrender that I would never again wage such campaigns as against the Investiture ever again, I did not sign and so was sentanced to nine months but having already served time only served three more months in Jail.
For all the disparaging of the FWA, one of their Northern Units carried out a signifigant action in Pwllheli
Night before the Caernarfon Investiture 1 July 1969 an FWA Unit made an attack in Pwllheli, an Investiture Celebration Marquee was set on fire, a Jaguar Car near by had painted on it the legend FWA On the windows of the Sailing Club near by was painted a slogan 'Pechod dros Cymru' - Shame Over Wales. So given that Wales as no rebellious republican tradition as Ireland or radical nationalist militant tradition as the Baltic States, Euskadi or Corsica we did not do so bad really. Personally I feel this is down to the example and leadership of Patriots who were not from the rural cultural nationalist pacifist tradition of Plaid Cymru. The key figures of Alternative Welsh Nationalism in the 'Sixties' who led this Anti - Investiture Campaign were as Cliff Bere, Pedr Lewis and Harri Web, Cayo, Glyn and Coslett, Toni Lewis and John Jenkins all ex - British Army members by virtue of conscription. Owain Williams despite being of rural background had lived in Canada for years and had become aware of Quebec Nationalist Militancy. Niel Jenkins like myself and Dafydd y Dug were in the tradition of the 18th century radical Bridgend 'Cobblers'. Myself had also a Merthyr Tudful 1831 background, for first five years of my life, I grew up in area of Merthyr Town where the 'Crowd' would gather during the Insurrecton in 1831. As for my Gilfach Goch background, interesting as all miners prosecuted following Tonypandy riots came from Gilfach, I guess I was fated to be a 'Welsh Rebel'.
Further, a great many leading anti - Investiture activists were 'English Speaking' young radical nationalists from the South. Certainly true of the Patriotic Front and Young Nationalist Association although they would drift toward CyIG language struggle, the PF would not their post Investiture path would lead to Cofiwn and as Cymric Consciousness Campaigners arise in an 'Adfywiad Gwladgarol' against the Festival of Castles - SARHAD'83. That is not to say, native speakers were not involved, they certainly were. Not least from Lllanelli and Lampeter also Caernarfon but they were for most part of 'Y Werin' and not the rural 'Cefn Gwlad' petite bourgeoise. Fflintshire was also a good fertile ground for Patriotic radical Nationalists, so not suprising that Adam and Balchder Cymru are based there. All they got to do now is follow in the tradition of previous Fflintshire rebels and get really radical and stop all their parading and camping. Be reminded of the Patriotic Action as
on 8 August 1969 Carlo visted the National Eisteddfod at Fflint as part of his post Investiture tour of Wales, there he was met with protest at the Eisteddfod and later in the day a signifigant demonstration was made, largelly by 50 - 100 members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith and Fflintshire Plaid Patriots, in those days they still had radical nationalists in their ranks. Poster placards being held up stated:
Brad 1282, No Welcome Here, Cofiwch Llywelyn and Llywelyn Our Last Prince. I do not know if there were further patriotic public protests as Carlo proceeded on his tour of Wales to finnish off in Swansea and Caerdydd, but I do know that outside Caerdiff City Hall is an Investiture Fountain and plaque to record this visit to Cardiff.
Conclusion: Unfortunatly the authorities and our enemies learnt more lessons that we did, they learnt how to subvert and undermine continued true radical Nationalist struggle by infiltration of spies, informers, wreckers and distractors. They certainly found it easy to devide and conquor radical nationalism by corrupting Cultural Nationalism with 'Saxon Silver' buying it out with a profitable 'Welsh Language Industry' that served to create and sustain 'Y Crachach Newydd' as England's Client Tribe in Cymru now effectivelly having taken over from the 'Old Taffia' as the Quisling Establishment of Neo - Colonial Collaborationists much under pinning the 'Sham Senedd' of the 'Bae Bradwyr Caerdydd - Senedd Unfree State'. Then we have not just the failed 'Alternative Nationalists' but Republican Renegades and now the present day 'Twin Evils' working against Radical Nationalist Struggle, namely the 'Cambrianista' and the 'Balchderiaid'
distractors. The former are no use at all but latter might as yet see the error of their ways and become Adfywiadwyr Gwladgarol Gwir?. Then there are still Plant Crachach out to save 'ShamelessS4C' and those pacifists still peddling avoidence of real issues and matters of concern to ensuring Cymru/Wales does not die before any imagined nucleur disaster. All of these you will note one way or another work against any real radical opposition to the present Sarhad 2011 - the English Royal Wedding - Brit Brain Washing of both the Welsh and Y Cymry. Thus also inhibit coming into existence a true National Liberation Movement and Struggle to restore our Sovereignty and end our servitude to the English Crown and not be citizens of a free and Independent Wales.
Ain't that the truth!
Caernarfon today, no doubt looks forward to a visit from William and Kate, post wedding and also looks forward to a third Investiture in the town. Caernarfon Castle has an exhibition of the 26 English Princes and there is no similar exhibition in the Town or at Aberffraw, Ynys Mon regards a 1000 year history of Native Princes decimated by the English Crown. Last but not least there are pubs that display murals of the 'Three Feathers' and the Black Boy Tafarn, much frequented by 'Gwladgarwyr Gwynedd' has a splendid exhibition of Investiture 1911 and 1969 plus small portrait paintings of the 26 English Princes of Wales - Yes! all these years later after the Gwynedd Revolt 1969, no one has done any thing about such slavishness. Now perhaps Gwynedd is pacified for good, as example of last visit of English Queen in 2010, protest was left to two brave teenage girls, HEROINES for sure!
Gethin ap Gruffydd.
Oh yes! those were the days!
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In passing:
Welsh nationalist : Conquest
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg The Welsh Language Society. ... in protest against the drowning of the Tryweryn valley and the 1969 investiture of Charles, ...
www.museumstuff.com/learn/.../Welsh_nationalist::sub::Conquest - Cached
www.museumstuff.com/learn/.../Welsh_nationalist::sub::Conquest - Cached
Duncan Higgitt: Welsh Nationalism | Rise Like Lions
21 Sep 2010... speech of 1962 led to the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, ... like those days of the Prince of Wales' investiture in 1969, ...
riselikelions.co.uk/opinion/duncan-higgitt-welsh-nationalism -
riselikelions.co.uk/opinion/duncan-higgitt-welsh-nationalism -
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