In Gwynedd, Wales - Blanenau Ffestiniog these links might be useful...
Hedd Wyn
Ellis Evans enrolled at Trawsfynydd School in 1892 and is thought to have left around 1899 to work as a shepherd on the family farm. Ellis recieved a rich cultural education through the local Ebenezer Chapel and Sunday school. His father was a 'bardd gwlad' (literally 'a country poet', this Welsh term refers to a poet who celebrates his community) and taught him to compose poetry. Ellis won his first prize for poetry at the age of 11.
In 1910, Ellis received the bardic name Hedd Wyn ('Blessed Peace') at a ceremony in Blanenau Ffestiniog. He competed in many local Eisteddfodau (which are competitive festivals of music and poetry held throughout Wales). The tone of Ellis's work, which had originally been influenced by nature and religion, changed after 1914 as he began to write about the horrow of the war and his friends who had died on the battlefields.
When the government introduced conscription in 1916 Ellis enlisted with the 15th Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and trained at Litherland. He set sail for France in June 1917 and was killed on the first day of the 3rd battle of Ypres, 31 July 1917. In September of the same year, Ellis was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The chair was draped in black cloth and has been known ever since as 'Y Gadair Ddu' ('The Black Chair').
Ellis Evans enrolled at Trawsfynydd School in 1892 and is thought to have left around 1899 to work as a shepherd on the family farm. Ellis recieved a rich cultural education through the local Ebenezer Chapel and Sunday school. His father was a 'bardd gwlad' (literally 'a country poet', this Welsh term refers to a poet who celebrates his community) and taught him to compose poetry. Ellis won his first prize for poetry at the age of 11.
In 1910, Ellis received the bardic name Hedd Wyn ('Blessed Peace') at a ceremony in Blanenau Ffestiniog. He competed in many local Eisteddfodau (which are competitive festivals of music and poetry held throughout Wales). The tone of Ellis's work, which had originally been influenced by nature and religion, changed after 1914 as he began to write about the horrow of the war and his friends who had died on the battlefields.
When the government introduced conscription in 1916 Ellis enlisted with the 15th Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and trained at Litherland. He set sail for France in June 1917 and was killed on the first day of the 3rd battle of Ypres, 31 July 1917. In September of the same year, Ellis was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The chair was draped in black cloth and has been known ever since as 'Y Gadair Ddu' ('The Black Chair').
BBC Wales History
Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/
Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/
