City’s shrine to lasting peace holds family’s tragic history
As the Temple of Peace in Cardiff marks its 80th anniversary, Thomas Deacon discovers that it was officially opened by a mother who lost three of her sons in the First World War
IN A small drawer in her neat little home on the hillside in Dowlais, a woman dubbed “Wales’ most tragic mother” kept mementos of her sons who were killed in the First World War.
Minnie James lost three of her sons during the war, with photographs of her boys occupying prominent spots in the house.
Inside the drawer she kept their school certificates, childhood treasures, faded letters from the Western Front and war medals.
It was her own private, personal shrine to them.
But through tragedy Mrs James would go on to play her part in the creation of a memorial on a far grander scale.
Opened on November 23, 1938, the Temple of Peace in Cardiff was designed as a place of pilgrimage and a “shrine to peace”.
It was founded by Lord David Davies, a wealthy Welsh MP and philanthropist, who dedicated his life to peace-making after serving in the trenches during the First World War.
Mrs James officially opened the temple with a small golden key presented to her, and news footage from the opening captured her making a speech alongside dignitaries.
The then 72-year-old said: “In the name of the women in Wales it is my privilege to open the building.
“I dedicate to the memorial of those gunned men from all nations who gave their lives in the war, that was to end war.
“I pray that it may come to be regarded by the people of my country both of our generation and those that are to follow as a constant reminder of the debt we owe to the millions who sacrificed their all for a great cause, and as a symbol of our determination to strive for justice and peace in the future.”
Another 23 mothers from across the world who lost husbands and sons during the Great War also attended the opening of the temple.
The temple initially had two roles – the first to provide a home for the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association, a voluntary organisation dedicated to the prevention, treatment and eradication of TB, founded by Lord Davies in 1910.
Lord Davies was also the founding president of the Welsh National Council of the League of Nations Union, and in 1934 he pledged £58,000 towards the erection of a building to house the two organisations.
Now almost 80 years after it opened the significant yet littleknown landmark, now managed by the Welsh Centre for International Affairs in the centre of the city, is opening its doors to share its history.
As you walk along King Edward VII Avenue past many of Cardiff’s grandest buildings, the Temple of Peace still manages to stand out.
The art deco style is unique to the city, and houses a vast hall complete with grand pillars.
A message from American President Roosevelt congratulated the city on the opening of the £72,000 temple.
He described it as “this monument to the ideal of international peace based upon law and order in contrast to force”.
Newspapers described the “deeply impressive” ceremony despite the “inclement weather”.
One said: “The City Hall clock chimed 11.45, and Mrs James was handed a golden key by Mr Percy Thomas the architect.
“With head held erect she walked to the massive doors and inserted the key in a silence disturbed only by the howling of the gale in the nearby tree-tops.”
Speaking to the Daily Express after the ceremony, Mrs James described it as “the most proud and most sad moment of my life. I thought of my sons, and knew they were with me in spirit”.
Despite the optimistic tone as what was to be the first of a string of international peace temples around the world was opened, the Second World War broke out months later.
Born out of the First World War and surviving the Second World War, the temple has continued to be a home for organisations and groups striving for peace.
One of the most poignant parts of the temple is the crypt, which houses the Welsh Book of Remembrance.
At the heart of the temple, the crypt was specifically and purposely
designed to house the book.
It features at least 35,000 names of those killed during the First World War – including David, Mrs James’ son who died in 1916.
When the temple opened, every day at 11am the page would be turned and those names would be printed in the local newspapers.
Over the past four years the Heritage Lottery-funded Wales for Peace project has been based at the Temple of Peace and has revealed a number of stories.
The histories include how in 1923, 390,026 women from across Wales (about 30% of the female population) signed a petition calling for America to join the League of Nations. The original petition is now on display at the Temple of Peace.
The Wales for Peace exhibition, exploring how Welsh people have contributed to the search for peace since the First World War, runs until next Friday at the temple.
Welsh Centre for International Affairs chief executive Susie VentrisField said: “We are proud of Wales’ heritage as an outward-looking nation and the role of dedicated people across Wales in creating a fairer and more peaceful world.
“As we remember the end of World War One, and as divisions over Brexit and migration dominate the news, now more than ever there is a need for us to reflect on the importance of the international efforts in Wales.”