Britain Yearly Meeting 2016: Welsh pacifists celebrated
The Friends Historical Society's presidential address focused on two Welsh pacifists
The inspiring work of two nineteenth century Welsh pacifists was highlighted in a well-received public lecture at Yearly Meeting.
Richard C Allen, reader in early modern history at the University of South Wales, delivered the Friends Historical Society Presidential Address of 2016 on the subject of Providing a moral compass for British People: The work of Joseph Tregelles Price, Evan Rees and the ‘Herald of Peace’.
The lecturer described the situation in Britain at the time of the Napoleonic wars, in the early nineteenth century, and explained how a small group of pacifists established a Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace in 1817.
Joseph Tregelles Price was a prominent industrialist in South Wales at the time. Richard C Allen described his background, the influence of his Quaker faith and how he campaigned for peace, both in Wales and further afield. Price was a highly committed, visionary, Christian who was forthright in his opposition to war and who campaigned throughout his life for peaceful means of resolving conflict.
Evans Rees was a Quaker who became editor of the journal of the Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace, Herald of Peace. Richard C Allen talked about his life and work.
