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Today is the feast day of  Saint Euddogwy. 

Saint Euddogwy (also referred to as Oudoceus)  Died c.700 -  Euddogwy came to Wales as a young man and trained in theology at Llandeilo Abbey, eventually becoming ‘Bishop of Teilo’, the diocese which was based in Llandeilo Fawr, before travelling to Canterbury for his official consecration.  He was, in all probability, the founder of the monastery at Llandaff.  A contemporary legend relates that once when he wished to remove certain relics of St. Teilo and his disciples from Llandeilo to Llandaff, the people of Llandeilo were antagonised and ambushed Euddogwy and his entourage  in a remote pass at Penallt.  Euddogwy’s prayers miraculously caused the attackers to become temporarily  blind and unable to move. Another story relates that, once, when he was thirsty, Euddogwy asked some nearby women, who were busy preparing butter, for a drink of water. They laughed at him, claiming to have no cup or container in which he could collect the water. The saint picked up some of their butter and moulded it into the shape of a bell. As he drank, the butter miraculously turned to gold.

The Book of Llandaff records a number of grants of land to Euddogwy by various princes of South Wales, including King Cadwgon ap Cathen of Dyfed, King Awst of Brycheiniog and King Meurig ap Tewdrig of Glywysing & Gwent. It was during Euddogwy’s time that  the region between the Wye, the Dore, and the Worm (Herefordshire) was seized by Mercia,  an event generally supposed to have been made under King Penda of Mercia in 649.  Euddogwy resigned as Bishop to retreat to Llaneinion, near Tintern, where he died in solitude.

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On 2nd July 1940, 800 people were drowned when the Arandora Star was torpedoed off the Irish coast by a German U-Boat.   Among the 1200 internees aboard, being deported to Canada, were over 100 Welsh-Italians. These were predominantly cafe owners and small businessmen who had settled in Wales decades earlier. 

In early June 1940, immediately Italy entered the Second World War, all Italian males in Britain who held a passport  and were aged between 18 and 70 years were arrested and forced to leave their homes or workplaces with immediate effect. They were to be indefinitely interned under orders from the British War Cabinet.  Subsequent reports from the Red Cross and other organisations reveal that these internees were badly treated by the British authorities. They were imprisoned in inhumane surroundings, without  access to sufficient food, without  adequate sanitation or medical care. more than 700 Italian internees were transported to Liverpool, where they were herded aboard the former cruise liner, the Arandora Star, along with some 450 German and Austrian internees and Prisoners of War who were all to be shipped to  Newfoundland in Canada. 

The first Welsh national memorial to the victims of the Arandora Star debacle was unveiled at a ceremony in Cardiff’s Metropolitan Cathedral of St David in Charles Street, Cardiff on 2nd July 2010. The memorial a collaboration between the Welsh-Italian artist, Susanna Ciccotti, from Swansea and the world-renowned  stone carver from Ammanford, Ieuan Rees.

Born this day 1893 in Penarth. 

Ralph Hancock , who was widely known as  'Landscape Gardener to HRH Princess Victoria of England'

Ralph's first means of employment was as a Marine and General Insurance Broker in Cardiff, but in in 1926, he undertook a complete change of direction and became a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society.  He moved to Surrey with his family, where he embarked on the first of his  garden projects, which involved the design and construction of a rock and water garden for Princess Victoria at her estate 'Coppins', in Iver, Buckinghamshire.

Then in 1931 he  travelled to New York,  to promote his work in the United States and between 1933 and 1935 he was presented with the ambitious task of creating the “Gardens of the Nations” roof gardens at the Rockefeller Centre in New York.  In doing so, he echoed the styles of gardens from Holland, France, Italy, and England, where each garden had a hostess dressed in appropriately relevant costume. Via elevator and block and tackle he managed to haul 3,000 tons of earth, 500 tons of bricks, 20,000 bulbs, 100 tons of natural stone, and 2,000 trees and shrubs up the side of the eleven floors of the building. The garden was nourished by 96,000 gallons of water which was lifted by an electric pump.

On 2nd July 2013, Wales became the first country in the United Kingdom to bring into law an opt-out organ donation system. 

Previously, people across the UK had to a voluntary scheme and carry a card if they wish to donate organs. People in Wales will now be presumed to have agreed for their organs to be donated after death unless they have opted out of the scheme. 

First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "The Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 is arguably the most significant piece of legislation passed by the National Assembly for Wales since it acquired full lawmaking powers in 2011, with Roy Thomas of Kidney Wales Foundation adding "It gives hope to all those waiting for a transplant, not only those on the list but those who fear chronic organ failure and who may need a transplant”  

July 1866 saw the launch of Yr Australydd, a Welsh language Calvinistic Methodist newspaper, in Victoria (Australia), edited by William Meirion Evans and Theophilus Williams.

Yr Australydd was an Australian monthly newspaper in the Welsh language published in Victoria between 1866 and 1872. Its name translates as The Australian. Its intended readership were, obviously, Welsh Australians, but it was more specifically linked to the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist community. The newspaper's aim was also to encourage a sense of Welshness among its readers, by maintaining the language and promoting Welsh culture and literature.

The newspaper printed news from Wales and requested and printed literary contributions from readers, which included, poetry, short stories, as well as a serialised novel, entitled Cymro yn Awstralia (A Welshman in Australia, 1870). Publication ceased in 1872, for reasons which remain unclear and in 1874, it was replaced by Yr Ymwelydd, a similar newspaper edited by Rev. Evans.

The Treachery of the Blue Books.

On this day 1847, the infamous “Blue Books” a report on the state of education in Wales were presented to the Government

A public enquiry was carried out as a result of pressure from Welshman William Williams, MP for Coventry, who was concerned about the state of education in Wales.  The enquiry was carried out by three Englishmen, R.R.W Lingen, Jellynger. C. Symons and H. R. Vaughan Johnson, who met to discuss their findings at The Lion Hotel in Builth Wells.  Because none of them spoke Welsh, they relied on the information of witnesses, mostly Anglican clergymen at a time when Wales was mostly Nonconformist.

The report concluded;  

*  That schools in Wales were extremely inadequate.

*  That teachers should only speak English in areas where children only spoke Welsh.

*  Welsh speaking children had to rely on the Nonconformist Sunday Schools to acquire literacy.

*  That the Welsh were ignorant, lazy and immoral as a result of the use of Welsh and Nonconformity.

There was a furious reaction in Wales where they were referred to as “Brad Y Llyfrau Gleision” The Treachery of the Blue Books and they are thought to have been instrumental in the birth of the modern Welsh self-government movement.  However Saunders Lewis suggested that they were “the most important nineteenth century historical document we possess”  

Alun Lewis was born on 1st July 1915 in Cwmaman near Aberdare in the South Wales coalfield.  He was one of the best- known poets of The Second World War.

He read history at the University of Aberystwyth where he started writing poetry, before embarking on a career in teaching  at Lewis Boys' School, Pengam. In spite of his pacifist inclinations, he joined the army in 1940, suffering experiences which rekindled the depression he had suffered in his 20s, and inspired a fresh period of writing. In 1944, while on active duty against the Japanese, he died of a gunshot wound caused by his own hand weapon, although it was unclear. whether this was an accident or an intentional act of suicide

During his lifetime, Lewis published only one collection of poetry, entitled Raiders' Dawn, and one short story. These were followed by a further volume of poetry, and a collection of short stories, both published posthumously. There is no doubt that Lewis had he lived, would have become a significant voice in post-war literature in the English-speaking world.

Prince Charles's investiture as Prince of Wales took place at Caernarvon Castle on 1 July 1969  although he had been created Prince of Wales  on 26 July 1958.   Prince Charles spent ten weeks leading up to his Investiture learning about Welsh culture and language and during the ceremony he gave his replies in both English and Welsh.  The investiture was watched by millions on TV and attracted large and excited crowds in Caernarfon.  The Welsh borough of Swansea was granted city status to mark the occasion. 

However the ceremony aroused considerable hostility among nationalists who viewed it as being associated with the subjugation of  the Welsh people since the 13th century, when the last native Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was deposed by Edward l of England.

For action this day 1916 Group Captain Lionel Wilmot Brabazon Rees was awarded the Victoria Cross

The son of an army officer, Rees was born in Plas Llanwnda, Castle Street, Caernarfon in 1884 and attended Eastbourne College before entering the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. In 1912, he learned to fly at his own expense after which he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps.  During World War I, in the first hours of the Somme Offensive, Rees was on patrol when he engaged the enemy in a series of attacks.   The valour of his actions earned him the Victoria Cross. Its citation reads:

"On 1st July 1916 at Double Crassieurs, France, Major Rees, whilst on flying duties, sighted what he thought was a bombing party of our machines returning home, but were, in fact, enemy aircraft. Major Rees was attacked by one of them, but after a short encounter it disappeared, damaged. The others then attacked him at long range, but he dispersed them, seriously damaging two of the machines. He chased two others but was wounded in the thigh, temporarily losing control of his aircraft. He righted it and closed with the enemy, using up all his ammunition, firing at very close range. He then returned home, landing his aircraft safely"

After the war, Rees was based in the Middle East with the RAF. He had a keen interest in archaeology, and while flying on the Cairo to Baghdad route, he took some of the earliest archaeological aerial photographs of sites in eastern Transjordan (now Jordan) and is considered a father of the archaeological studies of this area, as well as a pioneer of aerial archaeology.

On July 1st 1826, Telford's Conwy Suspension Bridge was opened.

It was one of the first road suspension bridges in the world, replacing the ferry at the same point and at the time, was the only crossing of the river, and was consequently the only way to access the ferry that leaves for Ireland.  The bridge is located close to Conwy Castle and therefore, Telford matched the bridge's supporting towers with the castle's turrets.

On 1st July 1941, 35 people were killed and 46 were injured when huge parachuted land mines fell on the Maindee area of Newport.   Alfred Searle, a local solicitor, and his housekeeper were among the fatalities  when his house 'Gaerwood' suffered a direct hit.

On July 1st 1780, Anthony Bacon acquired the lease of the Hirwaun ironworks.

The Ironworks  at Hirwaun near Aberdare was founded by John Mayberry in 1757, but its profit and renown began when the entrepreneur Anthony Bacon acquired government contracts to supply weapons and ammunition in 1780. The goods were initially transported to the port of Cardiff by mules and packhorses.   The Hirwaun Ironworks saw their peak of prosperity when in 1819, they were purchased by the industrialist William Crawshay of Cyfarthfa, who expanded the works. The region's mining industry also prospered through providing the necessary coke for the blast furnaces at the ironworks.

The village of Hirwaun thrived, and by 1830, nearly 900 men were employed at the Hirwaun works, and the first steam engine in the locality was constructed to serve the works.

However, following the depression of 1829 the ironworks declined and the Crawshay family closed the site in 1859.

The Tonypandy Riots 1911

Today we are pleased to announce that Sheila Lewis .will be contributing a short story to our second edition. Original writing from Sheila Lewis Tom Stephen's Riot:-

Read more about eto and buy edition 1 here

The Tonypandy riots on the Wikipedia

From the intro:-

"Tom Stepehens Riot is a work of fiction based on the actions of a courageous man of that same name, whose main concern was for the safety of his lady and her two young children when riots broke out at Tonypandy, Rhondda, in 1910.

Tom was step-father to my Great-Aunt Blodwen.

Blodwen Williams had been born in December, 1905, and was just 18 months old when her father died. She had a brother who was four years older. Their widowed mother tried to earn a living from her dress-making by carrying her sewing machine from house to house often walking many miles each day in the hope of finding employment.

Blodwen married my Great Uncle Theopholis Beddoe in December, 1930. Both remembered the night of the Tonypandy Riots. Blod told me how Tom Stephens braved the crowded streets for her familys sake."

An excerpt:-

"The shouts and screams of men and women hit my ears. I began to walk more quickly. I was approaching the Empire when a small group of women and children raced towards me.

Dont go that way! they shrieked. Youll be killed! They disappeared into the gloom and I saw more women and children approaching. Their screams and cries mingled with the far off shouts of men, and I moved closer to the shop walls to avoid being knocked over. The womens breaths were laboured; the effort of running on empty bellies was proving too much, and one woman seemed about to collapse. With her sisters help, I put her into the shelter of a doorway, then had to leave them I needed to get home.

I travelled towards Tonypandy Square, and as I drew nearer I could see a host of people; their numbers seemed to have increased a hundredfold in just a few hours.

Outside the Bridgend Hotel, the crowd was almost impenetrable. I could barely make any headway as I forced myself along the wall, hoping to avoid an injury. The silhouettes of the Mounted Police loomed high above the heads of the miners; truncheons were raised up and smashed down like pistons. There was no escape we were too tightly packed. I could hear the agonised cries all around, and battled hard to keep my feet on the ground in my attempt to cross Gilfach Road.

The Lord only knows how I managed to move through the solid mass of bodies. I eventually reached the other side of the roadway, and flattened myself against the wall of the corner building. I could hear the sounds of breaking glass and the screams of battle."

From Tom Stephens Riot by Sheila Lewis

Eto is a new bi-annual magazine featuring original works by Welsh fiction writers and poets. We will be releasing a full list of contributors and contents shortly. If you wish to be considered for publication please email the editors using the contact form on this page .

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A brief note for anyone experiencing difficulties contacting the Welsh American Bookstore. This is a temporary problem. The contact form will work perfectly once we have finished sending out our monthly newsletter. Unfortunately the server only allows us to send out 150 emails per hour. Since we send out in batches of 150 hourly we hit the maximum figure consistently for about 48 hours while this is in progress. We will be done with the mailing some time today. Meanwhile it is easily possible to contact us on AmeriCymru or here or via americymru@gmail.com. We apologise for any inconvenience.

As for the 'suggestions' button....it is still available but only for logged in members. It became necessary to remove it from public availability after it was picked up by spammers and the inbox filled up with the usual torrent of viagra links etc.

On 30th June 1986, Maerdy Colliery in the Rhondda Valley produced its last truck of coal. 

On 30th June 1937,  Wales welcomed its first Basque refugee children from the Spanish Civil War.  In total, of the 4000 children who were evacuated to the U.K, over 200 were to find homes at sites in  Swansea, Old Colwyn, Caerleon and Brechfa in Carmarthenshire.

Edward Lhuyd  (1660 – 30 June 1709) - naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary.

Born in Shropshire, the illegitimate son of Welsh parents, Lhuyd studied at Jesus College Oxford, before being appointed assistant Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, becoming Keeper himself  in 1690, a post he held until his death in 1709.

Whilst employed by the Ashmolean he travelled extensively around all parts of Britain and Ireland.  On a visit to Snowdonia in 1688, he constructed a list of flora local to that region (The Snowdon lily Lloydia serotina bears his name).  Then in 1699, with financial aid from his friend Issac Newton, he published  a catalogue of fossils collected from places around England,

On his travels through Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man, he became interested in language, noting the similarity between the two Celtic language families: Brythonic or P - Celtic (Breton, Cornish and Welsh); and Goidelic or Q–Celtic (Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic) and he was instrumental in these peoples, becoming increasingly known from the 18th century onwards as Celts.  

Lhuyd is responsible for the first scientific description and naming of what we would now recognize as a dinosaur: the sauropod tooth Rutellum implicatum and the National Naturalists' Society of Wales, Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd is named after him.  

Born this day 1951 in Swansea

Geoff Wheel - former Wales rugby international.

Wheel was a tough uncompromising second-row forward who was a cornerstone of the successful 1970's Welsh team.  In 1977, he and Willie Duggan of Ireland were sent off following an altercation.  In so doing, they became the first players sent off during a Five Nations international.

 Wheel is now the organist at All Saint's Church, Kilvey in Swansea. 

Thomas Phillips (1760 - 30 June 1851) - a founder of St David's College, Lampeter (pictured) and the founder of Llandovery College

Born in London to parents from Radnorshire and educated in Wales, Phillps became apprenticed to an apothecary at Hay on Wye and qualified as a surgeon in London in 1780.  He then joined the East India Company and moved to India where as well as working as a surgeon, he became involved in business and the setting up of libraries, for the education of soldiers.  He returned to London in 1817 a rich man and spent the rest of his life benevolently.

Phillips was a major benefactor of  St David's College, Lampeter, donating over 22,000 volumes to the College and the founder of Llandovery College in 1847, to which he donated £4,666 and a library of 7,000 books.  He had a major concern for the survival of the Welsh language and specified that it be taught regularly and systematically at the college, and also "for some portion of the day" to be the sole medium of communication and instruction.

T he television film  Richard II was r eleased on 30th June 2012.  It was filmed predominantly at  Saint David's Cathedral  and  Pembroke Castle,

Today is the feast day of Saint Gelert

Saint Gelert c.650 -  It is believed that Gelert was a missionary, evangelizing in Llangeler (Carmarthenshire) and Beddgelert (Snowdonia), and the surrounding Gelert Valley.  At some stage, Gelert lived as a hermit in a cave near what is now known as the Holy Well of St Celer near Llandysul, to where pilgrims would travel for healing by Gelert. Eventually the chapel, Capel Mair was erected over the well, of which the ruins still remain.  His feast day is 29th June.

However local Welsh legend more often identifies Gelert as the favourite hunting wolfhound of Llywelyn the Great.  

Gelert was always ready for the hunt, but one on occasion, he was not there to greet Llywelyn for a morning hunt, so reluctantly Llywelyn left without him.  On his return, Llywelyn was delighted to be greeted exitedly by his faithful hound but immediately noticed that the dog was covered in blood.  Llywelyn hurried in to look for his baby son and was horrified to see blood all over the room and baby's cradle overturned and empty.  Llywelyn frantically searched for his son and immediately assumed that Gelert had killed his son. 

 Llywelyn drew his sword and struck Gelert a fearsome blow, causing the dog to let out a long-drawn out howl, before dying at his masters feet.  Immediately after a babies cry was heard from under a pile of bedding that had been dispersed from the overturned cradle and when Llywelyn investigated he saw his son alive and lying next to the body of a large wolf that Gelert had slain.  Llywelyn was devastated that he had killed his loyal friend and it is said that he never smiled again.

This story, however, was a fabricated in the 18th century, by David Pritchard, the owner of the Goat Pub in Beddgelert, who also made an inscribed burial mound for Gelert, in an attempt to attract tourists to the village. 

So sadly, the village of Beddgelert is not named after Gelert the Wolfhound, its name derives from the early Christian saint, but tourists still come in their droves to see the last resting place of Gelert.

Born this day 1980 in Neath

Katherine Jenkins  - award-winning Welsh mezzo-soprano and official mascot of the Welsh rugby team.

Her first album Premiere made her the fastest-selling mezzo-soprano to date and she later became the first British classical artist to have two number-one albums in the same year. She is also the first female to win two consecutive Classical BRIT Awards.  Katherine first came to wide public attention in 2003 when she sang at Westminster Cathedral in honour of Pope John PaulII's silver jubilee and has since performed in a large number of concerts worldwide.  Katherine is the only artist in music history to simultaneously hold the number 1, 2 3 & 4 position on the classical albums charts.  In 2008, she signed the biggest classical recording deal in history, for US$10 million (£5.8 million), with Warner Music.

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A total eclipse of the sun took place over many parts of Wales, just after dawn on 29th June 1927.  It first hit Pen Llyn, before moving over Pwllheli, Snowdon and Conwy.  Thousands of people came to Caernarfon to view the eclipse with many of them climbing local mountains such as Cader Idris and Snowdon to get an uninterrupted view.

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Born this day 1940 in Chapel of Ease, Abercarn, near Newbridge.

John Dawes OBE  - former Wales and Lions rugby captain and coach.

After gaining a degree in chemistry from the  University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dawes concentrated on rugby  captaining the Grand Slam winning side of 1971.  Later that year he captained the British and Irish Lions on their tour of New Zealand, who became the first and so far the only Lions team to win a series against the All Blacks.  After retiring as a player, Dawes became coach of the Welsh national side in 1974, a post he held until 1979. This was one of the most successful periods in the history of Welsh rugby, with Wales winning four, Five Nations Championships and two Grand Slams. Dawes also coached the 1997 Lions tour to New Zealand. 

http://anturiaethauglyndwr.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/arddangosfa-newydd-sbon-ar-gyfer-cefn.html

The "Riot Act" was read at Mochdre in the Vale of Clwyd on 28th June 1887, during the "Tithe War". 

Tithe payments entitled the Church to a tenth of people's annual income and was usually paid in the form of produce, such as crops, wool and milk.  Then in 1836, the  payment became required in cash with Tithe Maps being drawn up of the Welsh landscape to show how much landowners should pay.  These measures caused much contention, as most farmers at the time were Nonconformists and also contributed to the upkeep of their own churches. Being required to contribute to Anglican Churches as well, provoked bitterness and anger.

These tensions were further aggravated by the agricultural depression which began in the 1870's and resulted in many people refusing to pay the tithe.  The authorities responded in the 1880's by enforcing the sale of land and property to collect the money and this led to confrontations between the farmers and the authorities, particularly in Denbighshire, where, the Welsh National Land League was established, based on the model of the Irish Land League.  Also in Denbighshire, Thomas Gee, the owner of the Welsh-language newspaper ‘Baner ac Amserau Cymru’  very active in the anti-Tithe campaign. 

There were violent protests in Llangwm, Llanefydd and Mochdred, where 84 people were injured including 35 police officers and the following year troops were deployed to maintain order.  However the ‘Tithe War’ only came to an end, when in 1891 the Tithe Bill was introduced that made the responsibility for paying the tithe, that of the landlord and not the tenant. 

The Treaty of Versailles and its Welsh connections

The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty at the end of World War I, which was signed on 28 June 1919. The final conditions were determined by the leaders of the "Big Three" nations: British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and American President Woodrow Wilson and included

-  A League of Nations was to be created to prevent further world conflict.

-  Germany had to accept the responsibility for causing all the loss and damage during the war -  the War Guilt clause.

-  Germany had to pay reparations to the value of 132 billion Marks ( UK £284 billion in 2013). 

-  German armed forces were reduced to 100,000 troops, with no tanks.  Its navy was to have six battleships and no submarines -  Germany was banned from having an Air Force  -  All German and Turkish Colonies were taken away and put under Allied control.

-  Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Czechoslovakia all became independent countries

-  Austria-Hungary was split up and Yugoslavia was created. 

Welsh connections;

*  Lloyd George

*  The reparations imposed on Germany by the treaty, in which they were able to pay some of their debts in coal production, were to have  a dramatic impact on the  South Wales coalfield. In 1913, 57 million tons of coal were being produced in South Wales and 250, 000 men were employed.  However when many foreign markets were lost to German mines and the effects of the post-war depression came into to play, coal production in South Wales fell from being a third of world output in 1916, to just 3% in 1929. 

*  Leader of the Australian delegation, Prime Minister Billy Hughes ( a Welsh speaker from Holyhead)  and Lloyd George were known, when agitated, to argue in Welsh.

On 28th June 1960, at approximately 10.45, an explosion took place in the West District of the Old Coal Seam at Six Bells Colliery at Aberbeeg, near Abertillery, which killed 45 men and boys.   A public enquiry into the disaster concluded that the probable cause of the explosion was firedamp ignited by a spark from a stone falling onto a steel girder.

On the 50th anniversary of the disaster in 2010, a 20m high steel sculpture of a miner, named "Guardian of the Valleys"  was unveiled in tribute those who lost their lives.

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A Welsh-born Osprey, leg ringed and named "Black 80" on the 28th June 2006, was to become the first Welsh-born osprey known to have returned to Britain to breed.   During the middle ages, ospreys would have been widespread throughout Wales and the rest of the U.K.  Due to a heavy reliance on fish in the human diet, most big houses and monastic sites would have had a fishpond.  These, in turn, would have attracted birds of prey such as the osprey, who were themselves hunted and killed.  This led to decreasing numbers, which combined with the activities of  egg collectors, and trophy hunters, resulted in the osprey becoming totally extinct by 1916.

*  The Mabinogion tells the tale of “The Eagle of Gwernabwy”, described as being “the one who has wandered most”, attempting to catch a salmon from Llyn (lake) Lliw, so large that it is almost drowned. This eagle is likely to be an osprey. 

*  The Coat of Arms of the city of Swansea, granted in 1316, features an osprey suggesting that they once bred in the area.

*  A Flemish engineer working on drainage systems in the Dyfi estuary in 1604 mentioned several “fishey hawkes” breeding close together along the River Dyfi. This is almost certainly a reference to ospreys and the earliest date that can be given to them breeding in Wales, 

Ospreys had been reported as migrating over Wales for many years. Llandudno in 1828 and Caernarfon in  1937, but it wasn't until  May 2004, that a pair of ospreys were found nesting near Croesor in the Glaslyn Valley, becoming the first to be officially recorded as breeding in Wales.  On 26th May 2008 Black 80 a male from the 2006 Glaslyn nest became the first Welsh-born osprey known to have returned to Britain to breed. 

Hopefully either the Echo or the Western Mail will post this in full: