Drowned – The Flooding of a Village

<p>February 2023 marks sixty years since activists bombed arguably the most controversial construction project in modern Welsh history – the Llyn Celyn reservoir in North Wales.</p><p>Residents in the Meirionnydd village of Capel Celyn were forced to leave their homes; and in 1965, Capel Celyn disappeared beneath the new lake - built to provide drinking water for Liverpool.</p><p>We will take you back to the beginning, in February 1963, when three young men travelled through blizzard conditions to plant a bomb at an electricity transformer on the Tryweryn construction site. One of those jailed tell us his version of what happened that night. </p><p>These shocking events were one of the sparks that ignited the Welsh language campaigns of the 1960s, and the devolution campaign to follow. But it wasn’t the first time a Welsh community had been displaced to provide water for English cities.</p><p>And when the homes, the school and chapel have been demolished; when the bodies in the cemetery have been exhumed; and when the gates have been opened to flood the village of Capel Celyn - what happens next?</p><p>Journalist Betsan Powys has grown up with this story and thought she knew all the facts, but what she discovered in making this podcast has shocked her.</p><p>And there’s one question she says that she doesn't think we’ve ever quite answered but feels we should:</p><p>What happens when the story we tell ourselves about the drowning and the decades of protest it sparked start to become a myth, and uncomfortable truths are drowned out?</p><p>Writer and Presenter: Betsan Powys Producers: Maria David, Huw Meredydd Sound Design: Cathy Robinson Executive Producer: Karen Voisey Production Manager: Andrea Deere Associate Producer: Dinah Jones Development: Catrin Sion and Sam Ferguson Archive Research: Dafydd O’Connor Historical Consultant: Dr Wyn Thomas Original Music: 9Bach</p>