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Signs are appearing promoting an extremist Welsh nationalist group with the logo of a 1960s paramilitary organisation, apparently painting over the fact that the body had rumoured links to the IRA, and was led by a man with the mental age of a child.
“Mudiad Eryr Wen” (MEW) (‘Movement of the White Eagle’) opposes the influx of non-Welsh speakers and the growth of holiday homes, with its posters bearing the symbol of the revolutionary Free Wales Army (FWA).
The FWA’s declared aim was to start a rebellion which would lead to independence for Wales.
But files from the National Archives show that leader Julian Cayo Evans was described by the authorities as having “a mental age of about 12 years”.
The papers also show that the police investigated their activities very closely after a magazine article in 1967, which showed a series of pictures of the FWA “on exercise” with dramatic straplines including “the weapons are real” and “IRA tactics turn up in Wales”.
In the background information, Mr Evans was described as having “an undeveloped personality…”.
His second-in-command Dennis Coslett, who died in 2004, had “an unbalanced personality” who “can be violent”.
There were a number of explosions in the late 1960s, and although they were never officially linked to the FWA, former soldier Mr Evans regularly appeared with a gang of uniformed men, boasting of hundreds of troops at his disposal, but in reality the total was not more than about 20.
During this time squads of armed and uniformed men paraded in public accompanied by a white eagle banner.
It’s been posted on Reddit: “The Free Wales Army- A Welsh Nationalist Paramilitary group, marched in the 50th anniversary of Easter Week, was connected to the Official IRA and had a leader with the mental age of Twelve”.
Unlike the Official IRA (who were rumoured to be supplying the FWA with weapons, though this was never proven), the organisation was not taken too seriously and lasted just six years, between 1963 and 1969.
According to Nation Cymru (NC) (the Welsh Government [WG]-funded website), MEW proclaims: ‘This creeping cancer (the influx of English speakers) is stripping our communities of their character, weakening the bonds that hold us together, and turning our nation into a vast holiday resort for the wealthy few. Therefore, we remind them: “Cenedl nid Gwesty. – A Nation, not a hotel”‘.
The movement has strongly criticised the decision of Llanpumsaint Community Council in Carmarthenshire (once a predominantly-Welsh-speaking area) to hold meetings only in English.
MEW may prove an embarrassment for the mainstream Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru (Plaid).
But there could be more red faces if further facts emerge about the group’s apparent guiding light (the FWA), that it had rumoured links with the IRA, and was led by a man with “a mental age of about 12 years”.
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Next week – how a warning from a leading politician in Wales that a controversial force will take action against law breakers, as well as a key revelation the police solve hardly any crimes, highlights disturbing details exposed by The Eye about the biggest one in the small country.
