Trust lacking
Public outrage has been further fuelled by the fact that Snelgrove was on duty and in uniform at the time, so there was an imbalance of power between him and the young woman who had asked him for a ride home, even though he was not charged with breach of trust.
To all of Welsh descent, March 1st is a very special day marking the feast day of St. David, the Patron Saint of Wales.
Those of Welsh descent the world over celebrate St. David’s Day to renew their ties to their homeland with family and fraternal gatherings featuring old time food and song. Newfoundland is home to many of Welsh descent, sometimes through family lines that spent a number of generations in England or Ireland before making the voyage across the Atlantic.
Indeed, many of the earliest European settlers in Newfoundland dating back to the early 1600s were from Wales — for instance, Edward Wynne, Lord Baltimore’s first governor of his Colony of Avalon at Ferryland; a flip through any Newfoundland telephone book will turn up many names of Welsh origin such as Powell, Morgan, Williams, Lewis, Jones, Roberts, Evans, Davies and Davis.
Research is showing that Sir William Vaughan, a Welshman who purchased most of the Avalon peninsula from the Guy Colony in 1616, played a large role in bringing Welsh settlers over. Through his Cambriol Plantation based at Trepassey, and through his writings, Sir William and his settlers are now rightly seen as true Newfoundland pioneers.
Indeed, Sir William’s efforts in that respect were recently recognized in a special ceremony at Government House.
So St. David’s Day is really a special day in Newfoundland as it is in Wales and many other parts of the world.
And you don’t have to be Welsh to enjoy a good time.
Why not join the Sir William Vaughan Trust, a not-for-profit group devoted to researching the early Welsh presence in Newfoundland, at O’reilly’s Pub on George Street on Sunday, March 5, from 4 to 6 p.m. for its 4th Annual General Meeting followed by a time of food, song and fellowship.
Come learn more about the fascinating Welsh thread in our wonderful Newfoundland tapestry
Cabot Martin, chair Sir William Vaughan Trust