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Revision as of 02:06, 30 December 2024 by Chris the speller (talk | contribs) (→Peace campaigner: replaced: President → president (2); fix abbr; punct)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Welsh woman peace campaigner| Annie Jane Hughes Griffiths | |
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.jpg) Annie Jane Hughes Griffiths around 1920 | |
| Born | Annie Jane Davies (1873-04-05)April 5, 1873 Llangeitho |
| Died | October 7, 1942(1942-10-07) (aged 69) Aberystwyth |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Annie Jane Ellis; Annie Jane Davies; Annie Jane Hughes-Griffiths; Mrs Peter Hughes-Griffiths; Annie Cwrt Mawr |
| Known for | Peace campaigner |
Annie Jane Hughes Griffiths (April 5, 1873 – October 7, 1942) was one of the ten children of Frances (née Humphreys) and Robert Joseph Davies, born in 1873. Members of the family, including her parents and several siblings, were well-connected and leading figures in both local political and religious life. They lived in Cwrt Mawr, a large Georgian mansion near Llangeitho village in Wales. She was sent to schools in Aberystwyth, London and Chester.
She spent most of her life in either Aberystwyth or London. She was at the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth for three years but did not undertake degree studies. She became a public figure due to association with the University College of Wales and the campaign for a Welsh National Library. She also worked to help young Welsh women in London as part of her membership of the Welsh chapel in Charing Cross, London.
Griffiths was also involved in Welsh culture. She joined the Welsh Folksong Society (Cymdeithas Alawon Gwerin Cymru) in 1908, soon after it was founded. She played the harp and sponsored prizes for folksongs at a student's eisteddfod in Aberystwyth in 1911.
Peace campaigner
Davies was active in the League of Nations and became the president of the Welsh National Council of the League of Nations Union by 1923. She also acted as treasurer for a peace petition from the women of Wales to the women of the US to encourage their country to join the League and thereby promote world peace following the First World War. After 390,296 signatures had been collected, Griffiths led the group that took it to America, arriving in February 1924. It was presented at formal event in a New York hotel and Griffiths subsequently toured delivering several further speeches. She met the president, Calvin Coolidge, at an informal event in the White House. Although the US did not join the League of nations, she continued her activity and support for peace and humanitarian causes. The petition is now in the National Library in Aberystwyth.
Her diary of the visit to America, press cuttings, some correspondence and other papers are in the National Library in Aberystwyth.
Legacy
In November 2023 a Purple Plaque was installed in Aberystwyth to mark her work for peace and as a political campaigner.
A play about her life and work by the theatre company In Character (Mewn Cymeriad) toured Wales in 2023–2024.
Personal life
While she was in London from 1895, housekeeping for two of her brothers, she met Thomas (Tom) Edward Ellis, the Liberal MP for Meirionethshire. They married in June 1898. His health declined, and they went to Cannes in France for him to recover. However, he died in April 1899. She gave birth to their child, Thomas Iorweth in December 1899. In 1916 she married again, to Reverend Peter Hughes Griffiths, the minister at the Welsh chapel in Charing Cross, London.
Annie Jane Hughes Griffiths died at Neuadd Wen, Llanbadarn Road, Aberystwyth on 7 October 1942. She was buried at Gwynfil chapel, Llangeitho.
References
- ^ Elis, Meg. "Annie Jane Hughes Griffiths (1873 - 1942)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography/Y Bwygraffiadur Cymreig. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- "Cwrt Mawr, Llangeithio". Coflein. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- "Cymdeithas Alawon Gwerin Cymry - Welsh Folksong Society". Cymdeithas Alawon Gwerin Cymry - Welsh Folksong Society. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "Annie Hughes Griffiths (1873-1942)". Purple Plaques. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- "Ellis, Annie J. (Annie Jane), 1873-1942". The National Library of Wales. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- "Plac porffor i ymgyrchydd heddwch o Geredigion". BBC Cymru Fyw. 3 November 2023.
- "Annie Cwrt Mawr". In Character - Mewn Cymeriad. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- Bowen, Alex. "Story of a 100 year old Welsh peace petition turned into play". Cambrian News. Retrieved 27 December 2024.