Willy Jones holds his photo, age 6, with his wooden fish
The Archive behind the Story…
WCIA alongside Academi Heddwch recently had the privilege to meet and interview Willy Jones from Newcastle Emlyn – on his 95th birthday – who was able to share as an oral history, his memories of attending a remarkable ‘Peace Pageant’ in 1935, that attracted “the greatest crowds ever to have gathered on Aberystwyth Castle,” according to the Cambrian News of the time.
During the fragile interwar era, this peace pageant was organised by Cardiganshire’s ‘League of Nations Union District Committee’ (all volunteers) as their own activism for ‘cultivating a culture of peace‘, involving every school and community across the county – each of which learned about and represented a nation of the world, culminating in the broadcast of 1935’s Welsh Youth Message of Peace & Goodwill.
As a 6 year old boy recently started in Aberayron Primary School, Willy remembers vividly the excitement of his first ever ‘school trip’ – catching a bus to Aberystwyth, wearing his costume (home-made by his mother) representing a Breton fisherboy, and proudly holding a wooden fish made for him by his headmaster “nearly the size of me!”
Willy’s lovely story came to light after his son David Jones searched the People’s Collection Wales site for photos or records from his father’s childhood, and stumbled across a scrapbook digitised in 2023 by WCIA / Wales for Peace, which records the 1935 Pageant. Among the portraits of participating schools, he spotted his father, aged 6 – tightly holding his fish! They got in touch with WCIA to ask if we would be interested in hearing and sharing Willy’s story – and here it is.
…and the Story behind the Archive: Willy Jones and the Peace Pageant
Many thanks to Willy and David Jones (and family), to Sioned Cox and Tracy Pallant who interviewed Willy and David in Ceredigion this June. Film created by Tracy Pallant and Amy Peckham with historical research / storytelling input from Craig Owen at WCIA.
Global Citizenship in Action: Voices for Peace
In 1920s-30s – the height of empire – pageants were seen by educationalists as the ultimate ‘participatory’ means for spreading learning and understanding ‘to the masses’ about history and global citizenship. The Welsh League of Nations Union (WLNU), predecessor to today’s WCIA, was especially pro-active in supporting schools Wales-wide, developing curricula and learning materials, organising conferences and teacher networks; and the passion for peace was so strong in Wales that over 1,000 WLNU local branches were active in this period.
The LNU first commissioned ‘a pageant of war and peace’ as early as 1918 (marking the end of WW1), the script for which which was offered to schools Wales (and world) wide as a curriculum resource they could adapt for local context; in 1925 a further pageant script was offered. 1930 saw a ‘peak’ for Interwar Peace Pageatry, as the 10th anniversary of the League of Nations was marked Wales-wide by ‘Reclaiming the Castles for Peace’: a series of pageants staged on the ancient fortresses of Edward II at Harlech, Beaumaris, Gwydir, Conwy, Rhuddlan and Caernarfon. Culminating with a performance by the Welsh bard Cynan in the ruins of Caernarfon Castle – the 1930 “Pageant of War and Peace” in Caernarfon Castle.
The Aberystwyth peace pageant itself was composed by the Welsh poet Cynan, in 3 parts: a historical narrative on causes of war and peacemakers past; a ‘ballet of war & peace’; and a procession of ‘the children of the world’. 800 children from 21 schools across Cardiganshire had learned about and dressed in homemade costumes representing nations of the world. The (14th) Youth Message of Peace & Goodwill was read out by each group of children, in the languages of nations they represented, before the whole audience closed with the Eisteddfod chant of ‘A Oes Heddwch!‘.
“Science has made us neighbours… let Goodwill, keep us friends.”
Closing words of the 1935 Peace & Goodwil Message / Aberystwyth Peace Pageant
The digitised scrapbook, though not a WCIA archive in itself, is a memento presented by the Mayor of Aberystwyth to the Rev Gwilym Davies of WLNU, showing photographs and clippings from the ‘Cardiganshire Peace Pageant‘ – snipped we suspect from the Cambrian News and other sources of the era. The album records much of Cynan’s creative content including the narrator’s script, as well as photographs of the historical characters portrayed, the children / schools of Cardiganshire and nations they represented. The original archive can be viewed in Gwilym Davies’ Papers at the National Library in Aberystwyth, though digitised for viewing on People’s Collection Wales (above)
Modern-day viewers should be aware that some of the images / representations (such as usage of colouring / makeup on children’s faces, and cultural appropriation of national costumes) would be consideredinappropriate today, and readers wishing to use / reference material from this archive are asked to please use with sensitivity and context, respecting the tremendous social changes over 90 years since that have marked human progress and understanding. The document reflects the times: during the 1930s, the British Empire was at its peak, internationalism was viewed through imperial (not to mention, racial, anti-semitic, gender and class-based) lenses, and the clouds of World War 2 were gathering on the near horizon.
But the aims of the Peace Pageant – which was local community led and organised – were far from imperial; to spread human understanding and peace among the people’s of the world. As Willy remembers…
“Everybody was talking “war, war, war…” but we didn’t want any more war, we all wanted peace – it was all about the peace.”
Willy Jones
The schools / children involved, and pictured in the album gifted to Gwilym Davies by the Mayor, were:
13. Aberayron CofE School –Brittany 14. Aberayron Council School –Belgium Clarach CofE School – Finland 15. Cwmpadarn Council School –Turkey Aberystwyth Council School (boys) – Iraq Aberystwyth Council School (girls) – Norway Aberystwyth National School -Siam Borth National School – Holland 16. Mynach Council School –Palestine Commins Coch Council School –Poland Aberarth Council School –Scotland 17. Penparcau CofE School –Spain Llanddewi Brefi Council School –Russia and Australia Swyddfynnon Council School -Hungary Ponterwyd Cl School – Southern China 18. Pontrhydfendigaid Council School – Switzerland Tregaron Council School – India Rhydypennau Council School -Greece 19. Tregaron CofE School – Italy Ciliau Parc Council School –France Ystumtuen Council School -Romania
WCIA wishes to express our thanks to Willy and David Jones and family; Sioned Cox, Tracy Pallant and Amy Peckham for creating the short film, and Academi Heddwch for financial support. This ‘Hidden History’ feature has been drawn together by Craig Owen, WCIA, for World #PeaceDay 2024.
Peace Train: children arrive at Aberystwyth on a GWR special train laid on for the pageant (note the locomotive headboard). Temple fo Peace and WLNU Founder / Chair David Davies (moustache) stands 2nd on the footplate.Global Citizenship, 1930s-style: the Aberystwyth Peace Pageant of 1935 attracted thousands to Aberystwytth Castle
