Boxing legends, football memories, singer songwriters and hidden local histories will all feature in a new National Library of Wales tour helping communities discover, explore and share the stories that have shaped their towns, their people and their place in Wales.
Your Library will visit Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea, Wrexham and Conwy between 21 and 25 September, with each event shaped by local people, local history and local heritage. Through archive collections, creative activity and local partnerships, the tour will connect communities with the stories, memories and collections preserved by the National Library of Wales, inspiring new discoveries and fresh perspectives on Wales’s past and present.
Boxing and Merthyr Tydfil
The tour opens in Merthyr Tydfil on 21 September, where the town’s remarkable boxing heritage will take centre stage.
The Golden Era of Merthyr Boxing will bring together archive footage of local legends, personal memories and a boxing exhibition, with Geraint Thomas and Wynford Jones – two local Boxing historians – discussing Merthyr’s contribution to the boxing world.
Visitors will also enjoy a performance by local community choir Merthyr Aloud, and Rob Phillips of the National Library of Wales will lead Myth vs Reality, exploring the history of Merthyr Tydfil through historical objects, images and broadcast archive material.
Bonnie Tyler and local theatre at Swansea
In Swansea on 23 September, broadcaster and musician Mal Pope will be joined by Roger Bell to explore how Swansea helped shape global star Bonnie Tyler, using archive film and audio material to chart her formative years and remarkable career.
The event will also showcase new performances inspired by Swansea’s mining and industrial heritage, created by local young people and adults through the Snippets of Swansea project using material from the Wales Broadcast Archive and South Wales Miners’ Library.
Football and the mining disaster at Wrexham
Football and the Gresford mining disaster will take centre stage in Wrexham on 24 September.
Wrexham AFC commentator Mark Griffiths will host a discussion exploring the town’s place in the story of Welsh football, drawing on archive footage of players, supporters and life around the club. To commemorate the 92nd anniversary of the Gresford disaster, there will be a showing of The Terrible Price documentary alongside poetry readings from the Wrexham Year of Wonder 1876.
Maxine Hughes and the history of Conwy
The tour concludes in Conwy on 25 September, where local history, creativity and digital technology come together to celebrate the area’s heritage.
Journalist Maxine Hughes will join Dafydd Tudur, Head of Engagement at the National Library of Wales, to explore some of the people, places and memories captured within the collection. The People’s Collection Wales team will showcase more than 1,500 items relating to Conwy and demonstrate how local knowledge, personal collections and public archives can come together to tell the story of a community.
The event will also feature a performance by Maelgwn Male Voice Choir and contributions from creative partners, including TAPE Community Music and Film, who will showcase Below the Waves, a stop-motion feature inspired by archive collections and local stories.
Each Your Library event will run from 1pm to 7pm and will bring together schools, community groups, local partners and performers. Free drop-in activities will take place throughout the day, including opportunities to explore Watch and Listen, the Wales Broadcast Archive, meet the People’s Collection Wales team, search the Women’s Peace Petition and experience Ôl | Haunts. National Library staff and partners will be on hand throughout the day to answer questions and help visitors discover the collections, digital resources and services available through the Library.
The tour is part of the Library’s Engagement Strategy’s commitment to engage with every town in Wales. It is also part of a wider programme encouraging people to explore the National Library’s collections through local Clip Corners, the Wales Broadcast Archive and the Library’s digital resources, giving communities opportunities to uncover, share and celebrate their own histories both locally and online.
Tour dates:
Merthyr Tydfil Library – 21 September
South Wales Miners’ Library, Swansea – 23 September
Wrexham Library – 24 September
Conwy Culture Centre – 25 September
All events run from 1pm to 7pm. Entry is free and everyone is welcome.
