Elizabeth May Watkin Mrowiec (née Jones; 10 May 1907 – 21 June 1965) was a Welsh teacher and campaigner. She was a leading figure in the protests over the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley.

Life

Jones was born in Capel Celyn where her family lived in the local post office. Her mother was Annie (born Thomas), who was a teacher. Her father, Watkin Jones (Watcyn o Feirion) was a postmaster and singer who sang accompanied by a harp. It was a home filled with culture—her father won prizes for his poetry at Eisteddfods.^[1]

In 1960, a private member's bill was proposed by Liverpool City Council to create a huge reservoir in the Tryweryn Valley at the end of 1965. The development would include the flooding of Capel Celyn. As an Act of Parliament, the proposal did not need local support.^[1]

Her home village returns to the surface during a drought in 2022

The residents were initially reserved and shy, but they were encouraged by Jones, who was a local teacher. They became angry and protested, and Dafydd Roberts was chosen as the executive of the Capel Celyn Defense Committee with Jones as the secretary. Jones coordinated the many letters they received with support, and with her harp, she appeared in television interviews.^[1]

Jones went with Roberts and Welsh politician Gwynfor Evans to London and Liverpool to protest against the closure of the village. The fate of Capel Celyn was widely reported.^[2] In time, the cause was lost, and construction began on the dam, but the event was a significant event in Welsh politics.^[3]

On 24 May 1958 she married a Polish soldier who had fled the Nazis and served in the British Army. She went to visit Poland with him in 1960 and 1962 and based on these visits she won the local eisteddfod category with her travel journal.^[1]

Jones died in Wrexham in 1965. In that year her book, Teithio Pwyl, was published.^[4]

References