Ernest Thompson Willows had the title "The Father of British Airships" and Elsa Spencer, enjoyed the title "The Worlds' Premiere Parachutist." Sadly, history has largely forgotten these two great Welsh champions of the air. Elsa Spencer's birthplace was a pub in Church Hulme, Chesire, but Cardiff became her home until the day she died in 1964.

Born August 6th 1882 as Gladys Robinson, Elsa Spencer also used the name Daisy Delauney. Her first parachute descent came on August bank holiday in 1901. A newspaper account from the Yorkshire Evening Post claims she was only 13 years old. This was inaccurate as her chronology puts her as being 18 years old. Over 300 parachute descents are credited to her - all from balloons. Although she flew with many different balloon pilots; Capt. Gaudron, the Spencer Brothers and Harry Truman, her later career with E.T Willows would have been a natural fit as both these aeronauts lived-in the same city.

Fortunately, Elsa Spencer's husband George Gooding was a professional photographer. He had various studios in Cardiff and some of his plate photographs remain to this day. A photograph dated August 1919 (see above) shows the Willows, Elsa Spencer and her husband. On the far left is Joseph Thompson Willows, the father of E.T Willows. To his right is a somewhat apprehensive Elsa Spencer getting ready to ascend from Cardiff's Sophia Gardens. Her apprehension is warranted as on one of these descents she landed in Cardiff docks and nearly drowned. Ernest Willows is in the center attaching the "Liberator" line to the balloon and we believe the man on the right is George (Harry) Gooding her husband.

George served in the first world was in Lord Kitchener's "Model Army." He spent many years living rough in tents and together with his heavy smoking, affected his health. Sadly, George passed away in March 1934 at the age of 47. Elsa remained a widow until her death.

Tragedy was never far from many of the early aeronauts. Elsa Spencer worked with fellow female parachutist; Edith Maude Cook-who operated under various names including Viola Spencer and they were billed as the "Spencer sisters." Edith was one of many female parachutists to die tragically in the early days. On July 14th 1910, Edith Cook died of injuries in Coventry, five days after she parachuted onto a factory roof.

E.T.Willows also died tragically, along with four passengers, on the 3rd of August 1926 in a balloon accident in Bedford, England. E.T. Willows is buried in the Cathays cemetery. He is remembered with a school and a wonderful pub named in his honor. On the 15th of August, The Lloyds Sunday News published the first part of Elsa's Spencer's 25 year history of Parachuting. With the death of her friend E.T. Willows less than 2 weeks before, perhaps Elsa thought this was the time to hang up her parachute - there is no record of her ever making another parachute descent .

I visited Elsa in hospital shortly before her death in March 1964. I wore my uniform and proudly showed her my newly acquired parachute wings. She had been an inspiration for both my brother and I to join the British Airborne forces. Some weeks later, after I had returned to my unit, I learned that she passed away. The legs that had been battered and bruised so many times in so many rough landings were finally giving out. On the day of her death the doctors had scheduled an operation to amputate one of her legs. She never made it to the operating theater. The passing of this remarkable, brave and courageous lady was marked only with a small obituary in the South Wales Echo.

At her request she donated her body to the University of Cardiff medical school. The disposal of her ashes followed one year later - at an unknown location. Sadly, no plaque or memorial exists to mark the passing of Elsa Spencer, one of Cardiff's great parachuting pioneers.

Call-and-response is the rhythm of this world. Songbirds call out to one another in the trees; warm weather invites the blossoming of roses; a mother coos in response to her baby’s gurgles. And, for the most part, hymns are a response to the call of God on the human heart.

During the Welsh revivals that ebbed and flowed through the centuries, men and women heard the invitation to draw close to the Spirit. Their response was to compose text and tune. Itinerant preachers called miners, farmers, and apprentices to the chapel for prayer and worship. Crowds thronged to sing with heart and soul.

As “revival” means “restoration of life,” so each wave of revival brought refreshment and “living water” to parched corners of Wales. Today’s Gymanfa Ganus reach into the storehouses for the fruit that came from those seasons of harvest to celebrate hymns once a year. Gymanfas connect us to a rich and fertile past.

Occasionally a Gymanfa will offer something new. Hymns of yesterday mingled with hymns of today in this year’s 80 ^th annual Gymanfa Ganu in Beavercreek, Oregon. Held on June 28 ^th , 2015 in Bryn Seion Welsh Church (built in 1884, it is the last active Welsh church on the West Coast of the U.S.A.), this year’s two afternoon gatherings included hymns birthed centuries ago and those recently penned, to the delight of visitors from Wales, Canada, Alaska, and surrounding states.

The chairman of the Gymanfa Ganu, Tad Davis, welcomed all. Geneva Cook was at the organ. Nerys Jones (born in Llanfair Caereinion, sang with the Seattle Opera and the English National Opera, and studied in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) directed us with a voice of beauty and power. She briefly taught us the tonic sol-fa method of sight-reading, including hand motions.

The Festival Chorus of the Welsh Society of Portland came forward to sing four original pieces, directed by Dr. Jamie Lynn Webster (PhD in Musicology and Ethnomusicology from University of Oregon) and accompanied by accomplished musician, Mary Reese. Dr. Webster had asked Christopher Wicks (University of Montreal and Marylhurst College) to submit a new arrangement of “Calon Lân”; a complete version was emailed to her by the next morning! The second original was a new arrangement of “Lisa Lân” by choir member Jeff Lewis. The final new pieces were hymns written by (my father) Dr. Idris Evans: “Grow With God” (“Tyrd Gyda Duw”) and “Catch the Spirit” (“Dal Yr Ysbryd”), arranged for choir by Jeff Lewis.

John Owen, visiting from Boise, Idaho, sang a solo with feeling and strength, inspiring an enthusiastic standing ovation. We then raised the rafters with beloved standbys like “Diadem,” “Rachie,” “Blaenwern,” and “Cwm Rhondda.” The Rev. Greg Tatman gave the benediction, after which, a Te Bach (“little tea”) offered guests a sumptuous array of home-baked goodies, a now much-loved tradition at Bryn Seion Gymanfas.

As inspiring as the new musical contributions to this Oregon Gymanfa were, the Rev. John Clinton Evans lamented to the audience that the Welsh churches he visits are practically empty these days. So what will Gymanfas in Wales and around the globe look like in the future? Will there be another revival to bring new songs to Wales and to those with Welsh roots?

As we sang, I looked at my 20-year-old son, Evan (named after one of the leaders of the 1905 Revival), sitting with me to support his Taid (grandfather). My son’s generation and his counterparts in Wales will probably not create new four-part hymns. However, as the Spirit calls to the young, they will respond with their own style and their own expressions of love. They might compose the next favorite worship song in Welsh for electric guitar, drums, and keyboard. They may draft new arrangements to accompany old Welsh lyrics. It is possible they will meet in updated venues like school halls instead of chapels.

Jacqueline Rhianon Gonnerman

AmeriCymru: Hi Mari and many thanks for agreeing to this interview.

Mari: My pleasure. It's good to have the opportunity to put the record straight about the origin of the Tudor dynasty which is the backdrop for my novel. English writers have had it their own way for too long because despite films, books and television series which would have you believe otherwise, the Tudors weren't an 'English' dynasty. Well, not entirely. Their roots are in France ... and in Wales. And not a lot of people know that!

AmeriCymru:  So what's the Welsh connection?

Mari: The original Tudor, the one who gave his name to the best-known royal dynasty in British history, was from Penmynydd in Anglesey. He was Owain ap Maredydd ap Tudur who Anglicised his patronymic Welsh name to become Owen Tudor. He was related either by blood or marriage to three of the ancient royal houses of Wales, the 'Uchelwyr' as they were known. He could claim descent from the families of Ednyfed Fychan (who was chief advisor or 'seneschal' to Prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth), also to the Deheubarth dynasty of South Wales and the Powys dynasty. In fact, his grandmother's sister was Owain Glyndŵr's mother. Are you still with me?

AmeriCymru:  Yes, just about! So how was it that a young man from North Wales gave his name to this so-called 'English' dynasty?

Mari: Well, so many of his family had supported their kinsman Owain Glyndŵr in his heroic battle to save his people from the English invader, that they were naturally devastated by defeat. Then, with an astonishing degree of arrogance, the English king offered a 'pardon' to Glyndŵr's family which, when offered a second time, was finally accepted by Glyndŵr's son Maredydd who then went to London and entered the service of King Henry V, probably as a sergeant-at-arms. There's no written record to support my theory but I think it very likely that Owen had followed his cousin's example in going to London because he certainly went into the service of the English royal family, eventually becoming Clerk of the Wardrobe to Queen Catherine.

AmeriCymru:  That doesn't sound like very much of a job!

Mari: No, it doesn't, does it? But actually, it was. He would have been in charge of her seamstresses, laundresses and tiring women and would have dealt with suppliers like her cordwainer (Ed: Her who? MG: Her shoemaker). When Her Highness travelled, her Clerk of the Wardrobe would have been responsible for the safety of her jewellery, her personal cutlery and plate as well as her gowns, both formal and informal. And, of course, he would have overseen the accounting ledgers for all the expenditure involved. Quite a responsible job!

AmeriCymru:  But that doesn't found a dynasty, surely?

Mari: No, it doesn't. What happened was that King Henry V, in the interests of bringing France under English rule, had married the Princess Catherine de Valois, daughter of the French King Charles VI. Then, when King Henry died, Catherine was left a widow at the age of twenty. Her baby son inherited his father's title and became King Henry VI. He was just ten months old and needed all his mother's love and protection so, naturally, Catherine remained at the English court where she was regarded by many with deep suspicion simply because she was French and therefore not to be trusted. Very vulnerable, Catherine had few friends except one - her Clerk of the Wardrobe who was also an untrustworthy 'foreigner' to English eyes.

AmeriCymru:  Ah ... I'm beginning to see the connection!

Mari: You've got it! Yes, the two gravitated towards each other and became friends, ultimately falling in love and embarking on a clandestine affair which was enormously dangerous. Though Catherine was the Dowager Queen of England , she was little better than a kitchen wench in that she had been got with child by a servant! They had to keep it a secret at all costs, otherwise Catherine would be sent to a nunnery and Owen would almost certainly lose his head.

AmeriCymru:  Dramatic stuff! Have you always known the story? Were you a fan of history at school?

Mari: No, absolutely not. I was a complete dunce. I hated history in the way it was taught to me. It seemed to be little more than a string of boring facts and dates. If only I'd been told the stories behind the facts, I'd probably have loved it. But, no, I failed my History exam gloriously, not once but three times. I've come to History as a subject since I've retired and realised what an important part Wales and the Welsh played in British history of the 15th century. Certainly, many members of the Tudor dynasty would have had a good grasp of the Welsh language - Henry VII was brought up by his uncle, Jasper Tudor (one of Owen and Catherine's sons) in Pembroke Castle and, two generations later, the chief among the ladies in attendance on Queen Elizabeth I was a Welsh woman by the name of Blanche Parry. Yes, there were plenty of us around - and that's only the tip of the iceberg.

AmeriCymru:  So, given all these fascinating facts, might you be thinking about a sequel to this book, featuring any more of the Welsh Tudors? What's next for Mari Griffith?

Mari: Well, there is another book in the pipeline though it doesn't continue where this story leaves off, it's more an offshoot of it. The Duke of Gloucester persecuted poor Owen Tudor mercilessly and the next book is about his 'comeuppance'. The Duke's wife, the Duchess Eleanor, had an associate called Margery Jourdemayne who was strongly rumoured to be a witch. Not the broomstick-riding kind, more a village 'wise woman' with ideas above her station. But those who were of a mind to undermine the Duke's authority chose to do so by accusing his wife and her associates of treason and thus bringing him down by association. The sensational trial at which they were accused was the biggest cause célèbre of the fifteenth century and I'm in the final stages of committing it to paper.

AmeriCymru:   Well, good luck with that! Have you any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?

Mari: Yes, of course - I really hope you enjoy reading Root of the Tudor Rose and I'd be delighted to hear your comments. As for the next book, it's to be called The Witch of Eye . It's already commissioned, again by Accent Press, and should be available early next year. And I promise that my friends at AmeriCymru will be among the first to know the publication date! In the meantime, I'll leave you with some links you might like to follow:

www.marigriffith.co.uk

www.accentpress.co.uk