Free Wales Army

The Free Wales Army (Welsh: Byddin Rhyddid Cymru) was a paramilitary Welsh nationalist organisation, formed at Lampeter in Cardiganshire by William Julian Cayo-Evans in 1963. Its objective was to establish an independent Welsh republic.

The FWA first appeared in public at a 1965 protest against the construction of the Llyn Celyn reservoir. In 1966 they took part in Irish celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, marching in Dublin. A 1967 interview with David Frost brought the group to the attention of a wider audience. The group courted publicity, and its leaders attracted a great deal of media attention with extravagant claims of financial support from millionaires, "links with the IRA and Basque separatists," dogs trained to carry explosives, etc. Members wore home-made uniforms and marched in historic sites like Machynlleth, as well as carrying out manoeuvres with small arms and explosives in the Welsh countryside and claiming responsibility for many of Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru's bombings. They also advocated for families of victims of the Aberfan disaster whose compensation claims were being blocked, "marching on their behalf and working behind the scenes for them."

The group was generally not taken seriously by the media, and one government memo warned against "taking the organisation's activities too seriously" saying this "would give to it an unmerited importance and publicity which its leaders are plainly seeking". However, against a backdrop of Welsh nationalist bombings and protests against the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales the FWA presented an appealing target to the government, and in 1969 nine members were arrested and charged with public order offences. The trial, in Swansea, lasted 53 days, ending on the day of the investiture. On the first day of the trial the defendants were "greeted with an impromptu recital of Land of My Fathers from the public gallery." Almost all of the prosecution's evidence came from journalists who had reported the group's claims. Evans, his second-in-command, Dennis Coslett (who refused to speak English throughout the trial), and four other members were convicted; Evans and Coslett spent 15 months in jail.

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