William Edward Julian Cayo-Evans (22 April 1937 – 28 March 1995) was a Welsh political activist and one time leader of the radical political group

Free Wales Army The Free Wales Army (FWA; cy, Byddin Rhyddid Cymru) was a paramilitary Welsh nationalist organisation, formed at Lampeter in Ceredigion by Julian Cayo-Evans in 1963. Its objective was to establish an independent Welsh republic. History Ove ...

Life

Born at 'Glandenys',

Silian Silian, originally Sulien, is a village in the valley of the River Teifi, Ceredigion, Wales. It is located approximately two miles north-west of Lampeter, on a minor road connecting Pont Creuddun on the A482, and Glan Denys on the A485. In Ja ...

, near

Lampeter Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' ( colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion ...

, where he also died, Cayo-Evans was educated at the independent, co-educational

Millfield School Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding s ...

in the village of Street in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. His father was John Cayo Evans, a professor of mathematics at St David's College, Lampeter and

High Sheriff of Cardiganshire The office of High Sheriff of Cardiganshire was established in 1541, since when a high sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Dyfed as part of the creation of Dyfed from the amalgama ...

in the year 1941–42. In 1955, he was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

for

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, serving with the

South Wales Borderers The South Wales Borderers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for 280 years. It came into existence in England in 1689, as Sir Edward Dering's Regiment of Foot, and afterwards had a variety of names and headquarters. I ...

and saw active service, fighting Communist guerrillas in Malaya during the bitter Malayan emergency. On his return, he attended the

Royal Agricultural College ;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts" , established = 2013 - University status – College , type = Public , president = King Charles , vice_chancellor = Peter McCaffery , students ...

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

, and after a period as

colonial administrator Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

returned to Lampeter to breed palomino and

appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...

horses on his stud farm. He married Gillianne Mary Davies in 1965. They had three children and divorced in 1975.

Political activism

Best known as a leader of the

, Cayo-Evans appears to have become inspired during the early 1960s, especially during the building of the

Tryweryn The Tryweryn is a river in the north of Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. One of the main tributaries of the Dee, it was dammed in 1965 to form Llyn Celyn, drowning th ...

reservoir. He was 'active' in the FWA during the 1960s and along with two other members of the FWA,

Dennis Coslett Dennis Coslett (12 September 1939 – 20 May 2004) was a Welsh political activist, best known as a member of the Free Wales Army, who became notorious in 1969. Born in Carmarthen, Coslett was conscripted at the age of 18. He served as an infantr ...

and Gethyn Ap Iestyn (aka Gethin ap Gruffydd), was convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions and other public order offences following a 53-day trial in 1969. He was sentenced to fifteen months imprisonment, though some sources suggest thirteen months. Security services' files from the UK National Archives described Cayo-Evans having "a mental age of 12", and Coslett, his second-in-command, as "unbalanced". The documents said that authorities did not regard the Free Wales Army as a serious threat at the time.

In popular culture

In 2000, the brewery Tomos Watkin renamed the Apollo Hotel,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

to "The Cayo Arms". In March 2008,

Anhrefn Records Recordiau Anhrefn (Welsh for Anhrefn Records) was a record label established in 1983 by Rhys Mwyn. Based in the small mid-Wales village of Llanfair Caereinion, before Rhys and his brother Sion Sebon moved to Bangor, North Wales, the record lab ...

released (on Anrhefn 018) a recording of Cayo-Evans playing his accordion and talking between songs, mainly introducing them. The album is titled ''Marching songs of the Free Wales Army''.

References

External links

Julian Cayo-Evans
at The Dictionary of Welsh Biography (published 2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cayo-Evans, Julian 1937 births 1995 deaths People from Ceredigion People educated at Millfield Welsh rebels Welsh republicans Welsh nationalists Welsh activists Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University South Wales Borderers soldiers British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency Welsh prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Welsh-speaking politicians