Plinth unveiling in Treuddyn to mark Urdd milestone

A plinth will be unveiled in Treuddyn to celebrate the centenary of the youth movement and its first ever branch, formed in the village in 1922.

Archdruid of Wales, Myrddin ap Dafydd will be the special guest at the event on Friday, October 21, when he will unveil the commemorative stone plinth which illustrates the story of how 16-year-old Marian Williams, of Fferm y Llan, Treuddyn, inspired local youngsters to join the first Adran or branch of the Urdd 100 years ago.

How the story unfolded, and the timeline of subsequent milestone celebrations in the village are described and illustrated on the plinth, situated in the Village Hall car park in Queen Street.

Treuddyn was, from the outset, at the forefront of the new movement Urdd Gobaith Cymru established by Syr Ifan ab Owen Edwards in 1922. His aim was to protect the Welsh language in a world where the English language dominated every aspect of life outside the home and chapel.

Marian Williams was a talented musician and writer who loved to write penillion and dramas for children. She regularly had items published in the Urdd magazine Cymru'r Plant and was one of the first to join the new Urdd.

Marian Williams, who inspired local youngsters to join the first branch of the Urdd in Treuddyn 100 years ago.

She was passionate about the movement and cycled round all her friends' houses recruiting members. By 1923 more than 50 youngsters from the village had joined the first Adran.

Marian's involvement has been celebrated in the village over the years, culminating with the centenary plinth which honours the role she played.

Funding for the project was secured by the Treuddyn Eisteddfod Committee from Tourism and Leisure, Flintshire County Council, Flintshire Local Voluntary Council and Treuddyn Community Council. The plinth has been built by local stonemason Ian Davies and designed by Bill Smuts and Lorna Jenner.

Children from the two village schools, Ysgol Terrig and Ysgol Parc Y Llan will take part in the event, which will be followed by an exhibition, in the nearby Village Hall, of photographs and memorabilia from Treuddyn Eisteddfodau

Ceinwen Parry, secretary of the Treuddyn Eisteddfod Committee said: "Treuddyn stages the only Eisteddfod in Flintshire, but we were unable to hold the event in 2020 and 2021, and no Eisteddfod is planned for 2022 either because of the uncertainty earlier in the year due to Covid.

"Despite this, members of the Eisteddfod committee have been glad of the opportunity to get together over the last few months to arrange this event to celebrate the Urdd Centenary and the first Adran here in Treuddyn.

"One photo, in the collection of hundreds which will be on display, shows 24 of the children in the first Adran. We have all of their names and most of their addresses, but we would love to complete our detective work by being able to discover how many families of those 24 youngsters still live in Treuddyn.

"We hope people will come along to see the display in the Village Hall following the ceremony to see who they can recognise in the photographs, and let us know any details they may have.

"It's been a privilege to work on such a project and we're proud of what we've achieved so far. Our thanks go to everyone who has helped us in any way including Village Bakery who have kindly donated Welsh cakes for refreshments after the event."

The event starts at 1pm on Friday, October 21, in the Village Hall Car Park, Queen Street, Treuddyn.