Organising the 1925 Churches Peace Appeal Campaign
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This page will bring together more in depth information about the organising, ideas and ‘movers and shakers’ behind the campaign for the 1925 Welsh Churches Peace Appeal.
The idea of presenting a Memorial from the Churches of Wales to the Churches of America, was the brainchild of Aberyswtyth University Professor Charles Webster, who had visited Washington and the United States earlier in 1925.
Bishop of St David’s the Rev John Owen played a key role in persuading faith leaders from across Wales’ religious spectrum to sign the Peace Appeal, in his role as President of the WLNU for 1925-26. Through writing to them directly, he was also instrumental in encouraging American faith leaders to accept the appeal, and to offer a platform for its presentation as part of their annual gathering.
The organising force behind this and many of the WLNU’s other public campaigns was the Rev Gwilym Davies, Honrary Director of the WLNU, who managed negotiations and correspondence between 25 religious bodies to reach agreement on the Appeal’s content, and ultimately conveyed the Memorial across the Atlantic to present to American Church leaders at their annual congress in Detroit in December 1925.
“Wales is small, and Wales can venture in a way in which the big countries might not be able to.”
Archbishop of St Asaph, quote from correspondence Nov 7 1925
Exploring the WLNU Archives and Gwilym Davies’ papers (held today in the National Library of Wales) reveals a fascinating insight into the levels of correspondence and negotiations involved in brokering an agreed text between 22 religious leaders who, until this point, had not signed any form of joint statement on any topic. In the aftermath of Welsh Disestablishment of the Church in 1920, many had actively avoided proactiove collaboration as divisions ran deep between congregations – from simple ‘ways of working’ (whether policy decisions were taken centrally or locally), to more fundamental attitudes towards militarism and pacifism.
Key documents in the ‘archive trail’ include:
- Sep 14 1925 Charles Webster to Rev Gwilym Davies – written confirmation of idea / proposal
- Oct 22 1925 – Confirmation for inclusion in US Federal Congress of Churches for Dec 10
- Oct 23 / Nov 7 1925 Gwilym Davies correspondence with Archbishop of St Asaph re Bishops
- Nov 17 – Gwilym Davies letter to all leaders formally finalising the Appeal
- Nov 17 – Press Coverage in the Manchester Guardian
- Draft of Appeal text with handwritten amendments
- Correspondence between WLNU and Welsh church leaders’ Signatories 1-22
- Final Appeal text in illumination – leaflet (English and Welsh versions)
- Dec 19 1925 – Response from Churches of America (Gulick & MacFarland)