First World War: Then and Now
The Merseyside Welsh Heritage Society was set up in 2000 with the aim of promoting the culture, language and heritage of Welsh people in Merseyside.
The project focuses on The National Eisteddfod festival, which is an annual event celebrating poetry, music and Welsh culture.
On 6 September 1917, the Welsh National Eisteddfod was held, not in Wales, but in Birkenhead Park on Wirral. The winning poet was presented with a specially designed bardic chair. In 1917 the prize went to Hedd Wyn, for a traditional Welsh poem entitled 'Yr Arwr' (The Hero). When his name was announced, no one stepped forward – Hedd Wyn had been killed in battle a few weeks earlier. The empty chair was draped with a black sheet and taken back to his family home in Snowdonia, where it remains today – a potent symbol for all the empty chairs in millions of homes after the First World War.
The project will explore themes of war and peace. There will be a number of activities to engage people with the heritage including workshops, visits to archives and libraries, storytelling, a poetry competition and an exhibition to share the heritage.