Modern History

HEDD WYN

Ellis Humphrey Evans (Hedd Wyn) was born at Penlan, Trawsfynydd in 1887 the eldest of eleven children born to Evan and Mary Evans. The family moved to his father’s old home, "Yr Ysgwrn", a small hill farm about a mile to the east of the village of Trawsfynydd, and it was here that Hedd Wyn lived most of his life until he was called up by the army.

Pen Lan - Hedd Wyn’s birthplace

Yr Ysgwrn - Hedd Wyn’s Home

"Yr Ysgwrn" remains in the hands of the family to this day with Gerald, Hedd Wyn’s nephew, continuing the farming tradition.

Hedd Wyn began writing poetry at an early age winning his first chair at Bala in 1907 followed by chairs at Llanuwchllyn (1913), Pwllheli (1913), Llanuwchllyn (1915) and Pontardawe (1915). Hedd Wyn was called up by the army in 1917 and after a brief training period at a camp near Liverpool he went to Flanders. By the end of July Hedd Wyn and his regiment were stationed near Pilkem Ridge in preparation for the battle of Passchendaele. At that battle Hedd Wyn, amongst many others, died. He was buried on the battlefield before his body was moved after the end of the war to Artillery Wood cemetery.

The Black Chair on display at Yr Ysgwrn

During the same year, the National Eisteddfod of Wales was held in Birkenhead and the subject for the chair was "Yr Arwr" (The Hero). Hedd Wyn decided to compete for the chair whilst in Belgium and he worked hard on the poem and finally completing it by mid July 1917. At the Eisteddfod pavilion on the 6 September the adjudicator announced that the winning poet with the nom-de-plume of "Fleur-de-lis" fully deserved to win. The audience were informed that the winner was Private E. H. Evans - Hedd Wyn - and had been killed in action a month earlier in the war and sadly the chair was covered with a black cloth.

In 1991 a feature film was made about him, which received an Oscar nomination.

Statue of Hedd Wyn in the centre of the village