A COMMEMORATION event in honour of the first well-recorded black person of North Wales, John Ystumllyn, was held in Criccieth on August 16.

The gathering was welcomed by Cllr Sian Williams, chair of Criccieth Town Council and addressed by Liz Saville Roberts, Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP, Zehra Zaidi, the founder of “We Too Built Britain”, and Peregrine Armstrong-Jones, owner of the John Ystumllyn portrait.

They were entertained by bards and performers Twm Morys and Gwyneth Glyn who had composed a song for John Ystumllyn’s Rose which included a verse from his gravestone, and Cllr Lowri-Ann Richards, who performed a Welsh rap written by Aneirin Karadog.

Dr Catrin Jones, clerk of Criccieth Town Council, said: “John Ystyumllyn came to the area from West Africa in the 18th century after being abducted as an eight-year-old child in the wake of the Atlantic slave trade.

“The campaign to commemorate John’s life began with Zehra Zahidi, the founder of We Too Built Britain, an organisation established to tell the stories of under represented groups in Britain.

“She felt it was fitting that what she believed might be the first ever rose to be named after an ethnic minority person in the United Kingdom would be named after one of the first black gardeners in Britain.

“The community in Criccieth has received 25 out of the 5,000 roses which have been delivered to communities across Britain.”

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Zehra Zaidi added: “We live in divisive times, and difficult times with the pandemic.

“We wanted a rose that brings people together, that uses gardening to support community connections and mental health.

“We've done it out of friendship, which is why the colour is yellow. It stands for love, it stands for community.

“Anyone who knows John's story knows those are the values he embodied. It’s been magical to be in Criccieth amongst the community that he loved and loved him.”

Cllr Williams said: “It is appropriate to have this commemoration for John Ystumllyn at Cae Crwn our wonderful community allotments, developed recently thanks to a grant from the National Lottery and the Welsh Government – the result a partnership project between the Town Council, Friends of the Nature Garden, Ysgol Treferthyr and Gwynedd Council.

“In addition to the five roses planted at Cae Crwn, we have a rose garden dedicated to John Ystumllyn in the gardens of the library which has an information board and also a friendship bench painted by Sophie Williams and Elin Williams, students from Coleg Meirion Dwyfor.

“We are delighted that we have been able to welcome our MP, Liz Saville Roberts, Zehra Zaidi and Peregrine and Caroline Armstrong-Jones who kindly brought the original painting of John Ystumllyn with them.”

Liz Saville Roberts has campaigned and raised awareness about John Ystumllyn for several years.

She said: "This way of commemorating John Ystumllyn through roses, as he was a gardener, is so appropriate.

“I am personally so proud to have been part of this history, and applaud everyone who has worked on it.

“History is not something dry between the covers of books, it is something very alive for people, and every time they come here they will be proud of this history."