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By Arwel Lloyd Jones of Côr Godre’r Aran, based in Llanuwchllyn in Gwynedd

I remember just as it if were yesterday my father, David, coming home from Côr Godre’r Aran choir practice and announcing that Tom Jones, the choir conductor, had asked him to tell me that I had to join the choir.

This was indeed an honour, not even being asked but told to join. No persuasion was needed.

Côr Godre’r Aran with harp accompanists in Welsh costumes perform the in Royal Albert Hall London in the 1950s. Arwel’s father David is 3rd in from the left

It was towards the end of March 1963 and the choir was practicing to compete at the Llandudno National Eisteddfod, and this is the reason for me to be able to celebrate being a member of the best choir in the world for the last fifty years.

I’m sure I could write a book about my experiences during my time as a member of the choir. Obviously over such a long period the experiences have being sweet and thrilling when winning Eisteddfod competitions or climaxing in an exceptional concert performance, but also there was seriousness and sadness when experiencing the loss of friends and young choir members.

I’ve decided to upload old pictures of the choir from the 1950s to the present day, which you can see by searching ‘Côr Godre’r Aran’ on People’s Collection Wales.

In looking back I realise how lucky I’ve been to be involved and to have had the opportunity to travel to many parts of the world as a member of the choir… Australia, Bali, New Zealand (twelve times), Hong Kong, Singapore, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Patagonia, USA and Canada, to name but a few. And then there’s touring Ireland, England, Scotland, and of course home here in Wales.

Côr Godre’r Aran about to board a Caledonian flight to the USA for first trip abroad in the mid-1970s. Arwel is far right & his Dad David is far left 

A visit to the ice field during Côr Godre’r Aran’s three-week tour of Canada in September 2010

It was an exceptional experience for me as a new member to perform with the choir at the National Eisteddfod Llandudno in 1963, and to top it all we came first with both the memorable songs – Awdl o Foliant i Gymru, and the wonderful words written by Ehedydd Ial, Er Nad Yw Nghnawd Ond Gwellt – attaining 95 marks out of 100.

Another interesting and thrilling experience was to be invited to sing at the Investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle in 1969.  This was quite a difficult time in the choir’s history, but eventually it was agreed that we would take part, for the sake of the choir more than anything else. This helped raise our profile even more and it’s been gathering momentum ever since.

In 1975, the conductor, Tom Jones, decided to retire, and handed the choir over to Eirian Owen, and he said “I have no compunction that I can retire happily knowing that the choir’s future is in the safe hands of a young woman who is both capable and talented, and also is one of us. Thank you Eirian, and good luck to you with them.”

From then we went from strength to strength, and as I said previously I could write a book about all the exciting and unbelievable experiences I’ve had with the choir.  With this young talented woman having got a very strong hold on the choir, we changed from singing ‘Cerdd Dant’ to songs more traditional to male voice choir music..

Another honour came in 1995 when I was to be chosen to act as secretary to the choir, and I’m still enjoying undertaking this work today.

Several pinnacles have been reached over the years: winning at the National Eisteddfod on more than one occasion; winning at Llangollen; winning the BBC Radio Cymru’s Wales Choir competition at Bangor. But one of the pinnacles that we have yet to win is the World Choir title at Llangollen, we have been close on several occasions, but who knows in the future maybe…

Côr Godre’r Aran after their winning performance in the male voice category at the Llangollen Eisteddfod in 2006

I thank the late founder Tom Jones, and our current conductor, Eirian, for the opportunity and the honour of being a member of Côr Godre’r Aran over the last fifty years – a member of the best choir in the world.

Do you have letters, photographs, postcards or other memorabilia from those who experienced the war either at home or at the Front? You are invited to bring them along to a series of events during March which will aim to capture the personal experiences of the Welsh involved in the War.

The war affected everyone; those who fought, and those who stayed behind. If you have items relating to any aspect of life during the war years, please bring them along to an event to have them preserved and shared digitally.

A national project led by the National Library of Wales in partnership with the libraries, special collections and archives of Wales is aiming to reveal the hidden history of World War One as it affected all aspects of Welsh life, language and culture. The digital collection will be available online and People’s Collection Wales, a project partner, is inviting the public to become a part of the project by bringing their materials along to one of a series of events where staff will be on hand to scan letters, photographs, certificates, postcards, diaries and any other documents or memorabilia.

Project Manager Robert Phillips said:

‘Inviting the public to share their material will enable the project to get a much wider and more personal view of the Welsh experience of the War; gaining access to items that aren’t found in archives and libraries,’

A number of Welsh University Special Collections are involved in the project and Gethin Matthews of Swansea University said:

‘We’re hoping to find some gems that will be of real interest to the public and also will aid academic research and understanding of what it was like to live in Wales during the Great War. In terms of appreciating what the people of Wales experienced and thought during the War years, nothing beats the testimony written by the people at the time. As well as material from family collections I am interested in the records of institutions such as chapels. These had a central role in many Welsh communities, and their annual reports can provide an insight into what the attitudes of these organisations and their leaders were to the war.’

The material will be available on the People’s Collection Wales website and Project Officer Carys Morgan said:

‘Collecting and sharing these very personal and often poignant items contributes greatly to our understanding of the War and is an important way of commemorating its 100th anniversary. People will be able to contribute by coming to the roadshow events and having their items scanned by our staff. Or, they can also upload items and memories to the People’s Collection Wales website themselves at any time if they can’t make it to one of the events.’

To get involved in the project, bring along your First World War letters, diaries, photographs and other memorabilia to one of the following events between 10am and 4pm.
5 March: Galeri, Caernarfon
12 March: Pontardawe Arts Centre
14 March: Brecon Library
18 March: Ruthin Library
20 March: Picton Community Centre, Haverfordwest

More information can be found by contacting info@culturenetcymru.com