In the summer of 1955, the rural Welsh-speaking village of Capel Celyn in North Wales was earmarked as the site for a new reservoir to provide drinking water for Liverpool. This would mean the destruction of every house and displacement of all the residents. For nine years, the villagers fought to save their homes and, when it seemed that all hope was lost, three young men decided to take matters into their own hands.
Owain Williams, Aberystwyth student Emyr Llewelyn, and former RAF military policeman John Albert Jones formed Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru, or Movement for the Defence of Wales. On the night of 9 February 1963, they travelled through blizzard conditions to plant a 5lb bomb which destroyed an electricity transformer on the site at 03:15 the following morning.
The event became a symbol of Welsh national pride, with ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’ (‘Remember Tryweryn’) graffiti popping up across Wales. While some saw the trio as criminals who risked lives, others saw them as freedom fighters and heroes.
Llewelyn was sentenced to 12 months in prison for the attack, while Williams and Jones were caught for blowing up a pylon at Gellilydan near Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd. Williams was given a one-year prison sentence while Jones received three years on probation.
Two years later, Capel Celyn was flooded, forcing 70 people to leave their homes. Its 12 houses, school, chapel, and post office disappeared under water. In wider Welsh society there was mixed reaction to the bombings, with some for it and others against it.
Dr Nia Wyn Jones, a lecturer in History at Bangor University, described the flooding of Capel Celyn as “a terribly important moment” for the nationalist cause. She believes that the bombing “crystallised fears” for the UK government that unless more concessions were offered to Wales in terms of the language and self governance, there was a “threat of further violence and of losing electoral dominance in Wales”.
It has been 60 years since Owain Williams was sentenced to one year in prison for blowing up an electricity pylon at Tryweryn site in 1963 and he still recalls the incident with clarity. He said that while he regrets affecting his own family, they had little choice but to take action.
The story of the drowning of Capel Celyn has had a lasting effect on Welsh history and is seen as a symbol of national pride by many. It is believed that without this event, Wales may not have achieved devolution and self governance.
Today, 60 years on from Owain Williams’ conviction for his actions at Tryweryn, there is greater willingness to consider the complexities in the narrative and look back at this defining moment in Welsh history with fresh eyes.
