Reviews

The Welsh book trade seems to have a love affair with celebrity-based autobiographies, and over the past decade we have been somewhat bombarded with them. Some critics have even had the temerity to question the value of these publications, to the annoyance of the publishing houses and ruling bodies who point to the high sales figures the genre attracts. Owain Williams, one of the three 'Tryweryn bombers', is the latest in a long list of Welshmen (and Welshwomen) to add his personal offering, although I am sure he would be the very last person to want to be described as a 'celebrity'. However, as is evident from Dr Wyn Thomas's masterly standard work, Hands Off Wales (2013), the established work on the Tryweryn and anti-investiture campaigns, Williams emerges as a very major player in the story. In contrast, maybe, to some recent autobiographies, Williams has an important tale to tell, and it makes for riveting reading. Williams first details his family background, noting ironically that his mother's home was submerged to provide water for the Llyn peninsula, although this does not appear to have influenced his political path in any way. We then follow him to Canada, where he took his wife and young family for two years in jobs various, and where he also learned to handle explosives. Whilst abroad, he was much affected by the news of the imminent drowning of Cwm Tryweryn, and felt the need to return home to act with like-minded radicals in a symbolic gesture for which he subsequently served a sentence of 12 months imprisonment. After his release, and four years later in 1968, he was charged with responsibility for placing a bomb at a country club in Penisa'r-waun, near Caernarfon, from which he jumped bail in order to provide a lengthier period for his solicitor to prepare his defence. Thereafter followed an extraordinary series of events which involved his lengthy exile as a fugitive in London and mid-Wales, and two interludes in Ireland, where during his first visit he lived secretly for a month at the home of Sen Mac Stofin (19282001), who later gained notoriety as the commander of the Provisional IRA. Eventually Williams's cover was blown, but after a trial by jury at Caernarfon, he was acquitted of this charge. Owain Williams's personal and political life has been colourful to say the least, and his marital breakdowns, relationships, and family tragedies are all documented very honestly in this eminently readable volume. Like so many so-called 'freedom fighters', Williams has latterly focused his efforts on constitutional politics. A severe critic of Plaid Cymru and its pacifist and nonconformist traditions, he is now leader of Llais Gwynedd, a more radical group of nationalist councillors which forms a sizeable opposition group on Gwynedd County Council. I believe the author has missed an opportunity to dwell at greater length on this aspect of his career; it would certainly have been interesting to hear more of his vision of how this alternative nationalist party brand might appeal beyond its Gwynedd heartland. Maybe there is room here for a sequel. This is a well-written book which, in parts, resembles a fictional thriller in its excitement, and which also sheds some significant new light on a turbulent and exciting period in Welsh history, and on one of its most enigmatic figures. Richard E. Huws It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council