Huw Llywelyn Rees


 

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2nd November

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By: Huw Llywelyn Rees
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The Battle of Tuthill 1401

The Battle of Tuthill took place near Caernarfon on 2 November 1401 during the revolt of Owain Glyndŵr. Glyndŵr's victory at the Battle of Mynydd Hyddgen inJune 1400 had inspired the revolt with fresh confidence, and Glyndŵr clearly did not want the enthusiasm for battle to wane in the north-west. The battle is most famous as the first occasion when Glyndŵr flew his banner bearing a golden dragon on a white field, echoing the symbols of Uthr Pendragon. This could be construed as drawing overt correlations between his revolt and the image of the 'mab darogan' or the 'chosen son', who would free Wales from English tyranny.

Few details are recorded about the battle itself, although we know that the battle ended inconclusively, with 300 Welsh soldiers reported dead, but the isolation of Caernarfon and Glyndŵr's ability to attack English positions in Wales was clearly demonstrated.  


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On 2 November 1925, the failure of two dams caused a flood that swamped the village of Dolgarrog, killing 16 people.

The cause of the disaster was the collapse of the Eigiau Dam, which was a gravity dam owned by the Aluminium Corporation. The floodwater breached the Coedty Dam further downstream, an embankment dam which failed to hold back the weight of water, releasing a huge volume of water that flooded Dolgarrog.  Many more villagers would have been killed had they not been in the local theatre watching a film that night.

The disaster at Dolgarrog led parliament to pass the Reservoirs (Safety Provisions) Act in 1930 that introduced laws on the safety of reservoirs, an Act which has since been revised and updated by the Reservoirs Act, 1975.  In 2004, a £60,000 memorial trail was created, outlining the tragic story to walkers. The trail takes visitors to the spot where the boulders from the damaged dam came to rest. The memorial was opened by the last survivor of the dam disaster, Fred Brown, who on that night lost his mother and his younger sister.   


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Carwyn James, born on 2nd November 1929, was a Welsh rugby union international, but is more well known as a coach for both Llanelli and the British and Irish Lions. 

Carwyn was the son of a coal miner from Cefneithin in the Gwendraeth Valley. He became a teacher and was later a lecturer at Trinity College, Carmarthen. He played for Llanelli as outside-half, playing his first game while still at Gwendraeth Grammar School. He played for Wales twice in 1958, and would probably have gained more caps had he not been in competition with Cliff Morgan for his place as outside-half.

He gained renown as a coach with Llanelli and was coach when they won their famous victory over the All Blacks at Stradey Park in 1972. In 1971, he coached the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, which remains the only Lions side to win a series against the All Blacks. 

James held strong political views and stood as Plaid Cymru candidate in Llanelli in the 1970 General Election. He was vehemently opposed to apartheid and during the 1969/70 Springbok tour, he coached the Llanelli team but refused to attend the game, remaining in the dressing room as a protest. Until his untimely death, he became a prominent and articulate broadcaster, notably as a rugby pundit. The sports building of Aberystwyth University is named in his honour, as is the playing field at Cefneithin RFC.  


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Cymdeithas Cymreigyddion y Fenni, the Abergavenny Welsh Society, was founded in the Sun Inn on 2nd November 1833. The group was largely responsible for the continued use of the Welsh language in Monmouthshire, and for raising awareness of Welsh intellectual activity.

Its motto is "Oes y byd i'r iaith Gymraeg", or "long live the Welsh language", or more literally "the age of the world to the Welsh language".  The society was initially founded to provide members with a chance to socialise in Welsh, and to promote the use of the language more widely in the town. 
The society continues to meet regularly, and is now one of several Welsh language groups locally, including Cymdeithas Gwenynen Gwent and Merched y Wawr.  


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Thomas "Tommy" Bamford (2 November 1905 – 12 December 1967) – former Wales soccer international.

Bamford was born in Port Talbot  and started his footballing career with Wrexham in 1928. He remains the club's record league scorer, with 175 goals between 1928–34. In the 1933–1934 season, he scored another club record of 44 league goals (and 50 in total for the season), which still stands today.

He transferred to Manchester United in 1934, playing a total of 109 games for the club. He returned to Wales to play for Swansea Town in 1938, but a year later the Second World War interrupted his career, and by the end of the war he was too old to resume his career as a player.

Tommy died in December 1967 at the age of 62.