A century after the Tonypandy Riots and one mystery surrounding the massive upheaval in the Rhondda remains unsolved to this day.
Was the chemist shop of Welsh rugby hero Willie Llewellyn left unscathed by the rioting mob who attacked the Llwynypia Powerhouse before venting their anger on shop windows and homes throughout Tonypandy?
For a century local folklore remains unwavering that the miners wouldn’t touch Llewellyn’s property on Dunraven Street became he was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks.
But historians and family members admit that they can find no evidence to prove the story is true.
The question has re-emerged as Rhondda Cynon Taf Council puts the finishing touches to a full-scale commemoration day to mark the centenary of the Riots on Sunday November 7th in Tonypandy itself.
For David Maddox, the leading authority on the Tonypandy Riots, the question over whether the shop was smashed cannot be accurately determined.
“I have a photograph showing Willie Llewellyn’s shop was boarded up and the gas lamp outside was damaged. But this could have been taken on the second day of rioting, which makes me think that maybe the property wasn’t damaged on the first night and realising there was more rioting to come, Willie boarded up the shop himself to protect it before the second night of violence,” he explained.
“On the other hand you have to consider the locality of the shop itself. If a mob of several thousand was marching through Dunraven Street then Willie’s shop was actually slightly tucked to the left. They would have to almost turn back on themselves to deliberately damage it.”
But Mr Maddox explained that In a contemporary newspaper report which lists the shop keepers who were awarded damages, Willie Llewellyn’s shop is not mentioned.
The property is currently Devonalds Solicitors on the lower end of Dunraven Street.
Willie Llewellyn was certainly a well-respected member of the community, both as a chemist and as a Welsh rugby celebrity. Born in 1879 at the former Bridgend Inn, Tonypandy, he began his rugby career in Ystrad Rhondda before moving to Llwynypia.
In 1900 he moved to London to study at the Pharmaceutical College in Bloomsbury and joined a failing London Welsh team. He was made captain and turned the team in to a force to be reckoned with. On his return to Wales, Llewellyn joined first class club, Newport, who he would stay with through four seasons. On his retirement from international rugby Llewellyn returned to second class club rugby and the Rhondda when he joined Penygraig.
He captained Wales in 1905 and London Welsh in 1902. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks, toured with the British Isles to Australia in 1904 and won three Triple Crown trophies.
His grandson, retired Llantrisant GP Dr Michael Jones, remembers him as a quiet, modest and unassuming man who never spoke of his rugby career, let alone his time in Tonypandy during the Riots.
Dr Jones, aged 77, who lives in Pontyclun, explained: “I know that my grandfather was admired and well-known in Tonypandy during his years in the chemist. The premises actually belonged to the family and much to his surprise, when my grandmother died just a few years after the Riots, he didn’t inherit it. So he left the Rhondda and moved to Bridgend.
“When he died in Pontyclun in 1973, he was 95-years of age and was the last of the 1905 Welsh team which beat the original All Blacks and is still remembered as one of the most triumphant wing players in Welsh rugby history. But he would never talk about it, it simply wasn’t his way.”
Willie Llewellyn was also a founder of Rhondda Golf Club, remained devoted to following rugby both at local and national level and received the Freedom of the Rhondda. He continued dispensing medicines in a local pharmacy until the age of 88.
“It was really only in later years that as a family we realised how successful a player he had been. He had a small room upstairs in the house where all of his trophies and memorabilia were kept, but they were never on show. In his belongings I even found telegrams from the prime minister of New Zealand and many of his items are on display in the rugby museum at Palmeston North there.”
As for the mystery of the Tonypandy Riots, then Dr Jones remains at a loss.
“We were always led to believe that the shop wasn’t damaged because of my grandfather’s celebrity. It would be nice to think that’s true. But we could never prove it. He was a very quiet, unassuming and polite gentleman who simply didn’t discuss it. I can’t vouch for its accuracy because he never talked about it.”
A series of events – organised by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council – are taking place on Sunday November 7th from 3pm to 8pm to commemorate the centenary of the Tonypandy Riots in the town itself. For further details visit www.tonypandy2010.com
