Culmination of a lifetime's research of the Liverpool Welsh
The Welsh in Liverpool: A Remarkable Story by D. Ben Rees (Y Lolfa) is the culmination of decades worth of research into the unique history of the contribution made by the Welsh in Liverpool and Merseyside.
D. Ben Rees said:
“I’m glad to be able to give the Welsh of Liverpool the attention that they deserve. The book profiles people from the time the city was just a fishing village up to the present day.”
It is a treasure trove of information about Welsh people and events in one of the most fascinating cities in Britain. Included is the history of the thousands of people who flocked from Wales to Liverpool and the surrounding area to look for work and to improve their living conditions. There are stories about the builders, the chapel ministers, the doctors, the shopkeepers, those who played football for Liverpool and Everton – indeed the thousands of Welsh who have made a substantial contribution to the development of the city. There are also over 100 photographs.
D. Ben Rees said: “As a result of the emigration from Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and Ireland during the nineteenth and twentieth, Liverpool became an unique city. But in general the tendency with historians is to only emphasise the contribution of the Irish. The Welsh are ignored to a large extent as they apparently centred their efforts on chapel life and the family. Only a few ventured to the political bustle of the city, whereas the Irish were ever present. There are some Welsh who get attention, but what about the poor, the nameless, those who had to rely on charity?”
Ellis Roberts states that The Welsh of Liverpool is a notable contribution, he said:
“The knowledge that Dr D. Ben Rees possesses about the Welsh in Liverpool is undeniably incomparable. In this volume he has combined his talent for historical research with his experience of leading the Welsh Society of Liverpool for decades. It is a work that is worthy testimony to the contribution of the Welsh in Merseyside and a volume that takes pride in this contribution, without exaggerating.”