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Urdd to improve Eisteddfod’s accessibility ensuring ‘a festival for all’

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URDD Gobaith Cymru is committed to ensuring that the National Urdd Eisteddfod will be a more accessible festival for competitors and visitors in future.

As a result of a new partnership with Disability Arts Cymru and theatre company Taking Flight, the Urdd strives to improve the accessibility of its artistic events, including the Urdd Eisteddfod festival’s site, which attracts 76,000 competitors every year.

To help put improvements in place, the Urdd is searching for young members to join its new Accessibility Forum, with support from the Arts Council of Wales. The aim is to attract individuals between 16 and 25 who can share experiences or expertise in the field of disability and accessibility to the arts, to work with Urdd Eisteddfod Organisers, gain work experience in organising events, and ensure that the festival’s site and activities are accessible and inclusive, in line with the ‘Urdd for All’ strategy.

To kickstart the partnership, the Urdd Eisteddfod’s staff have received disability access and inclusion training by DAC and will receive BSL and inclusion training from Taking Flight. In collaboration with partners, the Urdd will create resources and information packs for blind and D/deaf visitors. The Urdd will also be working closely with ‘Attitude is Everything’, an organisation that helps improve disabled people’s access to live music events.

Llio Maddocks, the Urdd’s Director of the Arts says: “As a part of our partnership with Disability Arts Cymru and Taking Flight, we are committed to improving accessibility and access to our arts events, including the Urdd Eisteddfod site.

“The Urdd Eisteddfod is a cultural highlight of our Welsh calendar, and festivals deserve to be enjoyed by all. As well as developing and adapting the Eisteddfod Maes, we also want to ensure opportunities for disabled, D/deaf, and neurodiverse artists to perform and lead in our arts provision.

“We encourage everyone who wants to be part of the Accessibility Forum to join us and look forward to working together to ensure the Urdd’s arts experiences continue to evolve and grow.”

Owain Gwilym, Disability Arts Cymru’s Executive Director: “We are very proud to be part of this important partnership and look forward to seeing one of Wales’ most important cultural organisations and events work with young disabled and/or Deaf voices to develop accessibility and inclusion.”

Steph Bailey-Scott, Taking Flight’s Access, Inclusion and Participation Manager: “At Taking Flight access and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re very much looking forward to working with the Urdd to engrain access into its Eisteddfod. It’s vital for young people, whether Deaf, disabled, neurodivergent or non-disabled, to start expecting access as the norm, to be prioritised, and to have those equal opportunities without any barriers.”

Information about the new Accessibility Forum can be found on the Urdd Eisteddfod’s website, where there’s also a form for individuals aged 16-25 to fill to be a member of the Forum.

The 2024 Urdd National Eisteddfod will be held in Maldwyn (Montgomeryshire) between 27 May and 1 June. It will be the first time since 1988 that the Urdd Eisteddfod has visited the area, and it will be held on the fields of Mathrafal Farm by Meifod.

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Anzac Day commemoration service held in Milford Haven

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IN a service held on Sunday (Apr 28), the Milford Haven Branch of the Royal British Legion led a poignant commemoration service to mark Anzac Day, honouring the valor and sacrifices of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during the Gallipoli campaign in World War I.

The service, which took place at 11:00am, on Hamilton Terrace, Milford Haven, witnessed a significant turnout.

Attendees included members of the Australian Signals and Signal Company as well as representatives of Milford Haven Town Council and the Milford Haven Sea Cadets.

The service commenced with a welcome and introduction by Lt Col Warren Coetzer, followed by a rendition of the National Anthems of Australia, New Zealand, and Wales, embodying a spirit of unity and remembrance. The anthems were a moving tribute to the camaraderie and international bonds formed in times of conflict.

ANZAC service: Remembering soldiers who fought bravely (Pic: MHTC)

During the service, the Ode of Remembrance was recited, a profound moment that prompted reflection on the courage and fellowship of the ANZAC forces.

The emblematic Rising Sun Cap Badge and the Union Flag were prominently displayed on the event programme, symbolising the service and sacrifice of those who served under them.

Local dignitaries laid wreaths, and a two-minute silence was observed, offering a chance for personal reflection on the cost of war and the price of peace.

Sea Cadets and member of the public at the service (Pic: MH Sea Cadets)

The commemoration concluded with a prayer for peace, leaving the attendees with a message of hope and a renewed commitment to the values for which the ANZAC soldiers bravely fought.

The service was not just a remembrance of past sacrifices but also a reminder of the enduring spirit of the ANZACs, which continues to inspire and guide future generations.

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Survey of Picton Castle reveals groundbreaking medieval architecture

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THE first ever detailed architectural survey of Picton Castle, Pembrokeshire, has revealed a medieval castle ahead of its time in terms of design and high status living. Much altered in the Georgian period, the castle was surveyed by the author, Neil Ludlow, with Phil Poucher of Heneb – Dyfed Archaeology (formerly Dyfed Archaeological Trust) and funded by the Castle Studies Trust: it reveals a sophisticated building fit for royalty.

However, the building was actually built between 1315-20 by a senior royal government official called Sir John Wogan, who held office in Pembrokeshire, Northern England and Ireland and possibly fought on a military campaign in Gascony.

While outwardly it retains much of its medieval flavour, the interiors were extensively made over during the eighteenth century so that it now presents itself first and foremost as a Georgian country seat. But beneath this veneer, much medieval work still survives – though a lot of it is tucked away behind stud-walls, in cupboards, or is otherwise obscured.

Picton’s unique layout makes it a castle of great importance and architecturally ground-breaking for when it was built in the early fourteenth century. Most castles have at least some close parallels, but Picton is effectively one of a kind. Close study shows that it resolves as a central first-floor hall, flanked by services and a chamber-block to form a very early example of the three-unit ‘H-plan’ house.

The gatehouse – unusual in buildings of this kind – led onto an equally unusual ‘grand stairway’ to the hall; a second ground-floor entry probably led to an external kitchen and bakehouse.

The castle’s spatial disposition, access and circulation are meticulously planned, while the domestic appointments show a remarkable level of sophistication for the period, including what appear to be vertical serving-hatches between the ground floor and the service rooms above. At second-floor level, the east towers and gatehouse form two integrated suites of residential apartments either side of a chapel, in a manner firmly rooted within royal planning. The opposite pair of towers, at the west end, seem to have been united internally to form a residential chamber-block, for Wogan’s officials and guests, possibly served by latrines in the former west tower; the present partition walls are later.

Neil Ludlow told The Pembrokeshire Herald: “The enigmatic castle at Picton in Pembrokeshire is best-known for its magnificent Georgian interiors. But beneath this veneer is a medieval castle, from around 1315-20, with a unique layout. A towered hall-block with a pioneering ‘H-plan’, it reveals elements derived from royal planning, and sophisticated domestic arrangements including serving hatches between the floor levels. These innovations show it to have been a castle that was ahead of its time.”

Castle Studies Trust Chair of Trustees Jeremy Cunnington added: “The Castle Studies Trust is delighted to have funded the first ever detailed survey of Picton Castle and to have learned so much more about the medieval form of this unique building.”

Dr Rhiannon Talbot-English, Director at Picton Castle Trust told this newspaper: “Picton Castle has always been something of an enigmatic mystery: hidden gothic alcoves and arches, secret spiral staircases and untouched medieval Undercroft. Picton Castle Charitable Trust is extremely grateful to the Castle Studies Trust for its generous financial support which has enabled this research to be undertaken and we look forward to sharing this new knowledge with the public in a new exhibition about the early castle.”

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Solemn tributes at Freshwater West for WWII maritime tragedy

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IN an emotional gathering at Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire, the public and veterans convened on April 29, to honour the memory of the 85 souls lost in the tragic sinking of Landing Craft, Gun (LCG) 15 and LCG 16 during a brutal storm in April 1943.

The memorial service took place near the scenic, surf-popular beach, where the community assembled to reflect on the calamity that struck during a perilous wartime operation.

The service highlighted the sacrifices made by those aboard the LCGs, as well as six valiant crew members from the HMS Rosemary, who perished while attempting a daring rescue amidst the tempest.

Originally designed as Landing Craft, Tanks (LCTs), LCG 15 and LCG 16 were converted at Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard to support amphibious operations by equipping them with heavy artillery.

Their redesign included the installation of two 4.7 inch guns intended for use during D-Day, suggesting that, had they survived, these crafts and their crews could have played a pivotal role in the Normandy Landings.

The crafts were en route to Falmouth when they encountered severe weather off the coast of Freshwater West.

Compounded by their flat-bottomed design, which was ill-suited for rough seas, both vessels tragically succumbed to the stormy conditions.

Denied shelter at Fishguard, they were compelled to continue towards Milford Haven, a decision that ultimately led to their sinking.

Today, the wrecks of LCG 15 and LCG 16 lie as protected war graves, and a poignant memorial stands overlooking the beach, a testament to the bravery and enduring legacy of the men lost to the sea.

Visitors to the memorial site at Freshwater West, which also hosts another commemorative marker at Thornton Cemetery in Milford Haven, can reflect upon the harrowing experiences faced by wartime naval personnel and the profound impact of their service.

The event served not only as a remembrance but also as an educational experience, particularly for younger generations unaware of the perils faced by their forebears during such tumultuous times.

The memorial at Freshwater West remains open to the public, offering a place for contemplation and respect, against the backdrop of one of Wales’ most beloved surfing beaches, where the echoes of history resonate with the sounds of the waves.

Pictures by Martin Cavaney

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