Belgian refugees in Wales

This page provides a look into the history of the Belgian refugees in Wales Wales. Who were they? How did they get to stay in the many Welsh localities they did? Did many of them stay? Was there a lasting legacy of interaction or even a proper feeding into Welsh heritage? Why are Belgian Refugees memories of Wales so much richer than those of other Belgian refugees in other parts of the UK?
Perhaps by uncovering this very history, which resonates so clearly today, we might understand a bit more the current situation, or at least gauge its the scope of its true drama better. "To know what direction we are going, we have to know where we're coming from."
The impacts of the First World War led to the creation of peace movements that have shaped Wales' national psyche to this day. WCIA have worked with the National Library of Wales to develop the 'Remembering for Peace' exhibition (the National Library of Wales, 16 Jan-16 April 2016).
WCIA's Wales for Peace project in partnership with the David Davies Memorial Institute at Aberystwyth University explores the impact of the war on Wales. A first public lecture concerned the Belgian refugees in Wales and was the key point of a Wales for Peace tour, in which places were visited such as communities and schools in Bangor, Menai Bridge, Trawsfynydd, Barmouth and Aberystwyth, to deepen the Welsh #BelgianRefugees story.
This page was created after these visits, talks and meetings, organised by Wales for Peace and Amsab-ISG Institute for Social History (University of Ghent, Belgium) [http://www.belgianrefugees14-18.be/index.php/oproep/call#english%20version].
Peace
Hedd Wyn was a Welsh language poet, from Trawsfynydd, who was killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in the First World War. Hedd Wyn, one of Wales’ most celebrated and influential poets, was awarded the for his poem Yr Arwr at the 1917 National Eisteddfod in Birkenhead. Evans, who had been awarded several chairs for his poetry, was inspired to take the bardic.
In 2015, Hedd Wyn's Eisteddfod chair that came to symbolise the devastating impact of the First World War was recreated using a 3D printer at Cardiff University.. The original chair was carved out of wood by a Belgian refugee, Eugène Vanfleteren (from Mechelen).

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