IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Trawsfynydd, BLAENAU FFESTINIOG, LL41 4UD

Llys Ednowain - Hostel a Chanolfan Treftadaeth / Llys Ednowain - Hostel and Heritage Centre.

Hedd Wyn was the bardic name of Ellis Humphrey Evans who was born in Trawsfynydd. He was awarded the Bardic Chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod, Birkenhead, for his poem "Yr Arwr" but at the time of the Eisteddfod he had already been killed in action in Belgium and so the Eisteddfod Chair was draped in black cloth during the award ceremony. His chair, preserved in the family home at Yr Ysgwrn, is known as Y Gadair Ddu - the Black Chair. He was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele in July 1917.

Hedd Wyn Chief Bard of the National Eisteddfod 1917 He was born in the parish of Trawsfynydd and fell on Pilkem Ridge in Flanders July 31 1917 at the age of 30 "His sacrifice will never fade - his beloved countenance will not be forgotten though Germany stained her steel fist in his blood."

Hedd Wyn was the bardic pen-name of Trawsfynydd-born shepherd-poet Ellis Humphrey Evans, who was born on the 13th January 1887. He was the eldest of eleven children and from an early age showed a natural gift for writing poetry. He took part in eisteddfodau from the age of 19 and won his first chair at Bala in 1907. He later went on to win the chair again in the 1913 and 1915 eisteddfodau. He is best remembered as a Welsh language war-poet, with his poem , Rhyfel ("War"), being one of his best remembered works. In June 1917 he was sent to France as part of the 15th Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers. On the 31st July 1917, Hedd Wyn was killed in the battle of Passchendaele at Pilckem Ridge. In the time between his arrival at the front and his death Hedd Wyn had written his eisteddfod entry, Yr Arwr ("The Hero"), and had sent it to the judges. At the eisteddfod on the 6th September 1917 Hedd Wyn's Yr Arwr won the chair, but as the author had been killed the chair was draped in a black sheet as a sign of mourning. In 1992 the life of the poet became the subject of an award winning biopic called 'Hedd Wyn'.

Ellis Humphrey Evans (bardic name Hedd Wyn) was born in Trawsfynydd. He worked at Yr Ysgwrn (see picture on link). He was awarded the bardic chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod held in Birkenhead. He was killed at Pilkem Ridge shortly before the Eisteddfod and his chair, preserved in the family home at Yr Ysgwrn, has henceforth been known as Y Gadair Ddu - the Black Chair. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/halloffame/arts/heddwyn.shtml

Hedd Wyn was the bardic name of Ellis Humphrey Evans who was born in Trawsfynydd. He was awarded the Bardic Chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod, Birkenhead, for his poem "Yr Arwr" but at the time of the Eisteddfod he had already been killed in action in Belgium and so the Eisteddfod Chair was draped in black cloth during the award ceremony. His chair, preserved in the family home at Yr Ysgwrn, is known as Y Gadair Ddu - the Black Chair. He was killed on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele in July 1917.