History

A success story?

Like many minority languages, Welsh has had to struggle for survival. It was one of the first languages to be threatened by the spread of English across the globe. Only a fifth of the population of Wales is able to speak the language. Apart from some very young children, everyone who speaks Welsh in Wales can also speak English.

However, in terms of endangered languages Welsh is very much a success story. The 2001 census showed that, for the first time in over a century, the number and the percentage of Welsh speakers are actually increasing. In 1991 there were 508,000 speakers or 18.7% of the population. In 2001 that number had increased to 582,000 speakers, representing 20.8% of the total population.

Paradoxes

Map showing distribution of Welsh speakers, 2001 census.

There are some interesting paradoxes: the regions where there are high percentages of Welsh speakers aren’t necessarily the places where the greatest number of Welsh speakers live. For example, you’re more likely to hear Welsh spoken in the west of the country than in the east. In Gwynedd, 69% of the population are Welsh-speaking, while in Cardiff only 11% can speak the language. However, more Welsh speakers live in the cities and towns than in the countryside and there are more Welsh speakers in the south than in the north. The number of Welsh speakers in Gwynedd, for example, is around 78,000. This is actually less than Carmarthenshire, where only half of the population is Welsh-speaking, but the total number is 84,000. While there has been an increase in the percentage of Welsh speakers in anglicised areas such as Cardiff, there has been a decrease in the number of electoral divisions where over 80% of the inhabitants can speak Welsh.

The two main factors that have led to the encouraging upturn in the number of Welsh speakers have been the success of Welsh-medium schools and the growth in the number of adults who are learning the language. For the third time in succession, census results have shown an increase in the number of young people speaking Welsh. 26% of people under 35 can speak Welsh — an increase of 9% since 1991.

There are also Welsh speakers living outside Wales. Surveys commissioned by S4C, the Welsh television channel, estimate that there are more than 200,000 Welsh speakers living in England. There is a Welsh colony in the Chubut province of Argentina where some of the descendants of the original 19th-century settlers are bilingual in Welsh and Spanish.

Example: a Welsh speaker from Caernarfon

This is a video clip of Gwil Pritchard, a young Welsh speaker from Caernarfon, Gwynedd in north-west Wales speaking in his local dialect. Although he is bilingual in English and Welsh, Welsh is still very much the majority language of the community in which he lives.

In the next chapter you can hear him talk about his linguistic background and dialect differences between Caernarfon and nearby Bangor, with a translation provided in English. Known as ‘Cofi’ Welsh, the speech of Caernarfon town is a rare example of a Welsh-language urban dialect.

Caernarfon Welsh — an urban dialect

I grew up in Caernarfon. The language of the home was Welsh. That was true of the area around Caernarfon too. The people we knew in that area, friends and family, they all spoke Welsh. The same thing was true in the schools too — primary schools, secondary school, everything was in Welsh. Living in Caernarfon, you get the feeling that in a way it’s a language of its own. Just the accent and the little words you use are different to other places. Other people notice that too, when you talk to them.

The difference between Bangor and Caernarfon to start with. They’re only nine miles apart, but in Bangor they’re famous for their 'ayes', because they say 'aye' after everything. In Caernarfon it’s 'ia' after everything. And when I say after everything, I mean everything. This is the kind of thing people say — “You going out tonight?” – instead of replying 'ia', they’d have to say “'Ia, ia?'”

The tramp steamer Prince Rupert City, a typical Reardon Smith vessel of the inter-war years.

The sail training yacht Margherita, on which Reardon Smith apprentices gained experience of seafaring under sail.

Sir William Reardon Smith, Bart., 1856-1935.

The Reardon Smith lecture theatre at the National Museum Cardiff, inaugurated in 1932.

Most museums can acknowledge a great benefactor without whom their histories would have been very different; in the case of Amgueddfa Cymru, that person was Sir William Reardon Smith.

During his terms as the Museum's treasurer (1925-28) and president (1928-32), Sir William Reardon Smith utterly transformed the Museum's faltering finances and oversaw the completion of National Museum Cardiff's splendid east wing, which forms an integral part of Cardiff's unique civic centre.

Reardon Smith was not Welsh by birth; he was born to a seafaring family in the north Devon coastal village of Appledore on 7 August 1856.

Cabin boy

When Reardon Smith was 3 his father died when his schooner sank in a storm off Burry Port. Nevertheless, by the time he had reached his early teens he was a cabin boy on similar local vessels engaged in the coasting trades of the Bristol Channel. He later served on sailing ships carrying railway lines to the USA and copper ore Chile.

Captain Reardon Smith

Aged just 22, he served as captain of a number of sailing ships and steamers, mostly owned by the famous Scottish shipping company Hugh Hogarth of Glasgow, until he left the sea in 1900 and moved to Cardiff with his wife and family.

In 1905 he embarked on what would become his life's work when he promoted a company to acquire and operate a new steamship, the City of Cardiff. The venture prospered, and by the outbreak of the First World War he owned 9 tramp steamers, all working in the export of coal from south Wales.

Despite a number of losses to submarines during the war, Reardon Smith continued to expand his fleet, and by 1930 he controlled no fewer than 35 ships.

Sir William

Sir William was created a baronet in 1920, and became increasingly involved in philanthropic activities. In 1921 he established the Reardon Smith Nautical School; four years later he acquired a large yacht, the Margherita, to serve both as training vessel and family yacht.

He gave generously to the Cardiff Royal Infirmary and towards the cost of a new hospital at Bideford, and also endowed the chair of geography at Exeter University, which still bears his name.

However, the object of his greatest generosity was the National Museum of Wales. Between 1915 and 1935 he and his wife Lady Ellen donated something in the region of £150,000.

In addition to his personal donations, he also worked tirelessly to raise funds from elsewhere. In recognition, the new lecture theatre built as part of the Museum's east wing in 1932 was named the Reardon Smith Lecture Theatre.

Sir William died on 23 December 1935 after a brief illness. His success as a shipowner was equalled only by his exceptional generosity. By preferring to spend his fortune on improving the lives of others rather than indulging himself, he ensured that many present-day inhabitants of both south Wales and the West Country still owe him a debt of gratitude.

Article by: David Jenkins, Senior Curator of Industry

Artists' impression of Edwards' mining exploits. From Deeds that Thrill the Empire, by courtesy of Dix Noonan Webb.

Military Cross (1915), 1914 Star, British War Medal and Allied Victory Medal awarded to Captain (later Major) Arthur Edwards.

Many recipients of the Military Cross arranged to have details of the award engraved on its back.

The trenches of World War 1

Captain Arthur Edwards from Blaenafon in south Wales oversaw the explosion of the first British mine on the Western Front in March 1915.

The First World War (1914-18) is famous for the trench warfare of the Western Front in France and Flanders. Huge armies faced each other in horrible conditions, preparing for the next big battle intended to break the stalemate.

Tunnelling and mining on both sides formed a significant part of this trench warfare, as each side tried to gain an advantage. Tunnels were dug underneath "no man's land" and under the enemy's trenches. They were then packed with explosives and detonated.

The dry chalk of the Somme was especially suited to mining, but it was also possible to mine in the sodden clay of Flanders. The experience and skills of Welsh miners played an important part in the construction of these mines.

Fighting the war underground

It was all started by Captain Arthur Edwards, a mining engineer who served in the 2nd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment. In December 1914 the 4th Divisional Mining Party was formed, under Edwards' command.

In March 1915, after two months of tunnelling under enemy lines, the tunnels were evacuated, packed with explosives and detonated. The huge explosion caused buildings above ground to be destroyed — the tunnels were under buildings that were being used by enemy snipers.

On another occasion, German miners, tunnelling in one direction, broke into allied tunnels being dug in the opposite direction, resulting in fierce hand-to-hand fighting underground.

A Badge of Honour

In June 1915 Captain Arthur Edwards was awarded the Military Cross, a newly introduced decoration for captains and junior officers. He was also twice mentioned in despatches for gallant and distinguished service. He served through the War, including the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916) before being badly wounded by a gas shell in June 1918.

His medals were acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru in 2006.

The trenches of World War 1

Military Cross (1915), 1914 Star, British War Medal and Allied Victory Medal awarded to Captain (later Major) Arthur Edwards.

Artists' impression of Edwards' mining exploits. From Deeds that Thrill the Empire, by courtesy of Dix Noonan Webb.

Many recipients of the Military Cross arranged to have details of the award engraved on its back.

Captain Arthur Edwards from Blaenafon in south Wales oversaw the explosion of the first British mine on the Western Front in March 1915.

The First World War (1914-18) is famous for the trench warfare of the Western Front in France and Flanders. Huge armies faced each other in horrible conditions, preparing for the next big battle intended to break the stalemate.

Tunnelling and mining on both sides formed a significant part of this trench warfare, as each side tried to gain an advantage. Tunnels were dug underneath "no man's land" and under the enemy's trenches. They were then packed with explosives and detonated.

The dry chalk of the Somme was especially suited to mining, but it was also possible to mine in the sodden clay of Flanders. The experience and skills of Welsh miners played an important part in the construction of these mines.

Fighting the war underground

It was all started by Captain Arthur Edwards, a mining engineer who served in the 2nd Battalion of the Monmouthshire Regiment. In December 1914 the 4th Divisional Mining Party was formed, under Edwards' command.

In March 1915, after two months of tunnelling under enemy lines, the tunnels were evacuated, packed with explosives and detonated. The huge explosion caused buildings above ground to be destroyed — the tunnels were under buildings that were being used by enemy snipers.

On another occasion, German miners, tunnelling in one direction, broke into allied tunnels being dug in the opposite direction, resulting in fierce hand-to-hand fighting underground.

A Badge of Honour

In June 1915 Captain Arthur Edwards was awarded the Military Cross, a newly introduced decoration for captains and junior officers. He was also twice mentioned in despatches for gallant and distinguished service. He served through the War, including the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916) before being badly wounded by a gas shell in June 1918.

His medals were acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru in 2006. 

Article by: Edward Besly, Numismatist, Department of Archaeology & Numismatics. Amgueddfa Cymru.