Welsh Voices
FREE VIRTUAL SEMINARS ON ZOOM
Presented by experts on Welsh and Welsh North American culture and history.
Sunday, January 25, 2026, 1 PM CT/2 PM ET
The Siege of Pembroke, 1648
Sponsored and hosted by the Welsh Society of Western New England
Historian Terry John will bring to life the gripping story of Pembroke's revolt against Parliamentary rule during the English Civil War, and Oliver Cromwell’s six-week siege of the Welsh town, as well as the fate of its leaders.
Terry John has worked as a teacher and as Education Officer for the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. A member of the English Civil War re-enactment society the Sealed Knot, John is the author of The Civil War in Wales: The Scouring of the Nation.
Please visit https://www.welshwne.org/events/2026-pembroke
to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
The Siege of Pembroke, 1648
Sponsored and hosted by the Welsh Society of Western New England
Historian Terry John will bring to life the gripping story of Pembroke's revolt against Parliamentary rule during the English Civil War, and Oliver Cromwell’s six-week siege of the Welsh town, as well as the fate of its leaders.
Terry John has worked as a teacher and as Education Officer for the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. A member of the English Civil War re-enactment society the Sealed Knot, John is the author of The Civil War in Wales: The Scouring of the Nation.
Please visit https://www.welshwne.org/events/2026-pembroke
to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
NEW DATE: Sunday, February 22, 2026, 1 PM CT/2 PM ET
The Cambrian Guards in the American Civil War
Presented by Dr. Jerry Hunter, Bangor University
Dr. Jerry Hunter has extensively researched the men who served in the Cambrian Guards, a division of the 22nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment comprised mainly of Welsh Americans from Racine. Motivated by patriotism and opposition to slavery, the Cambrian Guards enthusiastically answered the call to arms before marching south through Kentucky and Tennessee and taking part in the siege of Atlanta. Their experiences brought them face to face with the harrowing realities of slavery, war and imprisonment, which they documented in letters and diaries written in Welsh.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Jerry Hunter is an acclaimed scholar of Welsh literature, eisteddfod winner and novelist in the Welsh language. He teaches at Bangor University, and collaborates with Dr. Richard Wyn Jones on the award-winning literary podcast, Yr Hen Iaith.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/92174716924?pwd=lbfvImsGyHMama4XlnJXunxvEM5mJI.1
The Cambrian Guards in the American Civil War
Presented by Dr. Jerry Hunter, Bangor University
Dr. Jerry Hunter has extensively researched the men who served in the Cambrian Guards, a division of the 22nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment comprised mainly of Welsh Americans from Racine. Motivated by patriotism and opposition to slavery, the Cambrian Guards enthusiastically answered the call to arms before marching south through Kentucky and Tennessee and taking part in the siege of Atlanta. Their experiences brought them face to face with the harrowing realities of slavery, war and imprisonment, which they documented in letters and diaries written in Welsh.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dr. Jerry Hunter is an acclaimed scholar of Welsh literature, eisteddfod winner and novelist in the Welsh language. He teaches at Bangor University, and collaborates with Dr. Richard Wyn Jones on the award-winning literary podcast, Yr Hen Iaith.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/92174716924?pwd=lbfvImsGyHMama4XlnJXunxvEM5mJI.1
Sunday, March 15, 2026, 1 PM CT/2 PM ET
Madame Hannah Hughes-Thomas and Her Royal Welsh Ladies' Choir
Presented by Dr. Bill Jones, Emeritus Professor, Cardiff University
Between 1908 and 1913, Madame Hannah Hughes-Thomas led the world-famous Royal Welsh Ladies’ Choir, of which she was the second director, on several tours of the United States and Canada, which included performances in San Francisco, Winnipeg, Atlanta, and the coal towns of the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Dr. Bill Jones will discuss the choir’s North American tours during Madame Hughes-Thomas tenure and her life after she settled in Detroit in 1915.
Dr. Bill Jones, Emeritus Professor in Modern Welsh History at Cardiff University, has written extensively on Welsh emigration to the United States. His works include Wales in America: Scranton and the Welsh, 1860-1920.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/95207004108?pwd=9lTRUWMfbV7cfe1NQq6MuEvYe11RyB.1
Madame Hannah Hughes-Thomas and Her Royal Welsh Ladies' Choir
Presented by Dr. Bill Jones, Emeritus Professor, Cardiff University
Between 1908 and 1913, Madame Hannah Hughes-Thomas led the world-famous Royal Welsh Ladies’ Choir, of which she was the second director, on several tours of the United States and Canada, which included performances in San Francisco, Winnipeg, Atlanta, and the coal towns of the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Dr. Bill Jones will discuss the choir’s North American tours during Madame Hughes-Thomas tenure and her life after she settled in Detroit in 1915.
Dr. Bill Jones, Emeritus Professor in Modern Welsh History at Cardiff University, has written extensively on Welsh emigration to the United States. His works include Wales in America: Scranton and the Welsh, 1860-1920.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://zoom.us/j/95207004108?pwd=9lTRUWMfbV7cfe1NQq6MuEvYe11RyB.1
Sunday, April 26, 2026, 1 PM CT/2 PM ET
None Could Go Against the King of England: Crouchback and the History of Medieval Wales
Presented by author Sarah Woodbury
Sponsored and hosted by the Welsh Society of Western New England
After the assassination of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282, King Edward I of England set about eliminating the Welsh language, culture, and history to the best of his ability, even to the point of expunging any mention of the Welsh royal court from public documents and placing himself in the lineage of the great Welsh hero, Arthur. He took the crown, the piece of the true cross, and even the title, Prince of Wales, which from then on would be bestowed on the eldest son of the King of England.This talk by Sarah Woodbury—author of more than 50 novels all set in medieval Wales—places the ambush and murder of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd within the context of Welsh history, traces its origins and consequences, and then asks, “How do those who survive the end of their world keep on living?”
Please visit https://www.welshwne.org/events/2026/none-crouchback
to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
None Could Go Against the King of England: Crouchback and the History of Medieval Wales
Presented by author Sarah Woodbury
Sponsored and hosted by the Welsh Society of Western New England
After the assassination of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282, King Edward I of England set about eliminating the Welsh language, culture, and history to the best of his ability, even to the point of expunging any mention of the Welsh royal court from public documents and placing himself in the lineage of the great Welsh hero, Arthur. He took the crown, the piece of the true cross, and even the title, Prince of Wales, which from then on would be bestowed on the eldest son of the King of England.This talk by Sarah Woodbury—author of more than 50 novels all set in medieval Wales—places the ambush and murder of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd within the context of Welsh history, traces its origins and consequences, and then asks, “How do those who survive the end of their world keep on living?”
Please visit https://www.welshwne.org/events/2026/none-crouchback
to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.
