Last Friday, the women of Talgarreg presented Ben Lake MP and Elin Jones MS with a petition calling for peace in Gaza, in honour of the women of the village who did similar work, a hundred years ago.
In 1923, 81 women from Talgarreg added their names to the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition, that was signed by a total of 390,296 women from Wales. The petition was part of the Welsh League of Nations campaign to ensure that women in America heard the voices of Welsh women, in a shared effort to seek a world without war. The petition, which is said to be over 7 miles long, was taken to America in an oak chest by Annie Hughes-Griffiths, Mary Ellis, Elined Prys, and Gladys Thomas, where in February 1924 it was presented to the President of the United States in Washington. In April 2023, the petition returned to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, and it can be viewed online.
Inspired by the efforts of the women of Talgarreg in 1923, and having seen the suffering of the women and children in Gaza recently, Sian Wyn Siencyn and Enfys Llwyd started a new petition in 2023. Over 80 signatures were collected by the women of Talgarreg, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Ben Lake MP said: “It’s a pleasure to receive this petition calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. We are all affected by the suffering there, and I’ll be presenting this petition to Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister.”
Elin Jones MS said: “Thank you to Sian and Enfys for ensuring that the voices of the women of Talgarreg are heard. We all long for a world without war. It was incredibly interesting to hear of Sian and Enfys’s family connections with some of the women who signed the petition in 1923, it is a very fitting tribute for them.”
