The Memorial from Wales to the Women of the United States of America

On 5 April 2023, thanks to grants from Welsh Government and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History transferred on loan to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth an oak chest containing a hundred year old Peace Petition signed by almost 400,000 Welsh women.

The project is supported, amongst a range of other partners, by Archif Menywod Cymru: Women’s Archive Wales, who are seeking volunteers to transcribe and index the digitised petition. By kind permission of its author Catrin Stevens, the following article is reproduced from the latest AMC:WAW newsletter.

A seven-mile long petition, collected in eight months by 412 organisers with 390,296 signatures, that is 60% of the women ofWales in 1923. It is an amazing story, about a petition which was completely forgotten untilabout eight years ago but which fires the imaginations of allthose who hear about it today. Thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of the group called Heddwch

Nain/Mam-gu (Grandma’s Peace), the story is being rediscovered and the Peace Petition Partnership has been established to remember and celebrate the Memorial and the huge achievement of the women who organised it.

Some background

Following the tragic slaughter of the FirstWorld War there was a strong desire to try to ensure that such a tragedy would never occur again. Thus, the League of Nations Union was established to try to bring nations around the world together to talk before resorting to the use of arms again. Wales was part of this movement, because 40,000Welsh men and women had been killed during the war. But the USA had not agreed to join and this weakened the League significantly. The Memorial from theWomen ofWales to theWomen of the United States of America in 1923-24 was an attempt to persuade the women of America to pressurise their government and their President to change their minds and join theUnion.

The Memorial

They prepared a memorandum to explain the petitioners’ message. It ends with these words: “ We appeal to you Women of the United States of America ... to aid in the effort to hand down to the generations which come after us the proud heritage of a warless world.” Then, following an important meeting of the Union’s female members in Aberystwyth in May 1923, the committee meetings, the public meetings and the canvassing from door to door began in earnest. 412 local organisers were enrolled to carryout the task. Some walked miles in wind and rain to knock on doors. It was signed by rich and poor, by university graduates and women with little formal education, women of every political, religious, social and cultural background. Nothing like this had ever been attempted or achieved inWales before.

Taking the Memorial to America

By the end of January 1924 the petition was ready to be taken by ship to America. Three prominent women, who were passionatefor peace were chosen: Annie Hughes Griffiths,Mary Ellis and Elined Prys for the deputation. Following Mary Ellis’ carefulpreparations they received an incredible welcome in a magnificent dinner in NewYork in the company of 400 American women who represented about 16 million of their fellow-Americans. The Memorial was presented to them formally and they particularly wanted to know whether any women from theirown homeareas inWales had signed it. Three days later the deputation was received by the President, Calvin Coolidge, in theWhite House, and eventuallyit was arranged that the petition would be kept safely ‘for all time’ in the Smithsonian Institute inWashington.

2023-24

But that is not the end of the story. Thereare firm plans afoot to get the petition back toWales this year - to celebrate its centenary. Once this happens it will be digitised professionally. Then it will need to be transcribed so that everyone can see and read it on the web - to see whether her/his grandmother signed it for peace and to celebrate this. A whole army of volunteer tanscribers will be required to fulfilthis enormous task. But if 412 local organisers without the aid of emails, WhatsApp, texting and all today’s modern technology succeeded in collecting the signatures in the first place, surely we can find 400 volunteers today to undertake the transcription of 1,000 signatures each?

Wedo hope membersof Women’s ArchiveWales will be ready and willing to help with this taskin their own homes on their own computers. That would be an amazing contribution to the history of women, toWelsh history and to the history of campaigning for world peace. So, contact Women’s ArchiveWales for more information about this remarkable project - the members of the Peace Petition Parthership will truly appreciate your help.

Catrin Stevens Archif Menywod Cymru: Women’s Archive Wales

You can contact AMC:WAW through the email address info@womensarchivewales.org