Weekend festival to celebrate Wrexham miner who fought for freedom

A weekend of activities has been organised to celebrate the life and times of one of Wrexham’s unsung heroes.

In 1937 Tom Jones, a miner from Rhosllanerchrugog, told his family he was going to Colwyn Bay for the weekend.

In reality he was heading on a journey across Europe to fight fascists in the Spanish Civil War, where he was shot, captured and was imprisoned in the notorious Burgos prison. There he was tried and sentenced to death.

Now a festival in Wrexham town centre next month will celebrate the life of the local hero – who became known as Twm Sbaen – with a weekend of music, poetry and debates.

Among those attending the festival will be ex-Wales and Everton football legend Neville Southall as well as relatives of other International Brigaders. Local author Graeme Davies, of Coedpoeth, will be giving a talk about his latest book about the Spanish Civil War and the role of Welsh people in the fighting.

Born in 1908, Tom worked as a miner in the Wrexham village, but alongside hundreds of other Welsh people, he felt compelled to defend the Spanish Republic against Generalissimo Francisco Franco’s military coup.

He made his way to Spain through France and while fighting for the democratic republic as part of the International Brigades, was injured and imprisoned by Franco’s forces.

He spent two years in Burgos prison. He was sentenced to death but was finally released in 1940 after the UK Government paid Franco a £2m ransom.

After that, he returned to Wales and worked as a trade union organiser and for greater self-government for Wales.

He was also the founder of the Wales TUC (Trade Union Congress) and died in 1990.

The festival starts with a free bilingual acoustic evening of music with Joe Solo, Gwilym Bowen Rhys, Nick Ellis, Paint your Guru and Vulpes Urbana at Saith Seren on Friday, March 27th.

On Saturday, March 28th will start at 11.30am with a march behind the Cambria Band from Queen Square around Wrexham town centre to Ty Pawb.

It is being supported by trade unionists and community activists in the area.

There will be an afternoon of talks and discussions in Ty Pawb in the town centre and then at Central Live Music Venue, international rap artist Lowkey with support from Welsh rappers Bardd will be performing. Tickets for that evening event are available on Eventbrite for just £10.

The festival’s organisers said: “This is the second festival to celebrate Twm Sbaen after a successful start last year. It’s our way to remember the contribution of Wales generally and Twm Sbaen specifically in the fight against fascism and to remind ourselves of the similar battles that continue.

“The village of Rhosllanerchrugog has a great tradition for nicknames, so it was no surprise that Tom soon became known to everybody as ‘Twm Sbaen’ following his exploits in Spain. We’re delighted his family are supporting the event along with local trade unionists and activists.

“The weekend will feature a wide variety of music, poetry, talks about the history of the International Brigades and Welsh volunteers as well as other more contemporary challenges we face.

“There has been wide support for the event and we’re delighted that we can commemorate the life and times of this local hero with support from Unite the Union and the Wales TUC.

“Any group wishing to have stalls on the day should contact us 07747 792441 or via the Facebook page.”