Criccieth – Winston Churchill Visits.

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CRICCIETH – Winston Churchill Visits.
Winston Churchill was a lifelong friend of David Lloyd George and visited Brynawelon several times. The visits would always involve games of golf and walks around the countryside. They would be followed by journalists with an eye out for a story which were published in the national press. These were often light hearted and trivial such as the incident with the dam on the river Dwyfor in 1911. This story was published in the North Wales Weekly News under the headline “Cabinet Ministers at Play” – (see article in image above). The most memorable visit was during September 1913 when Churchill arrived in grand style in the Admiralty Yacht “Enchantress” (He was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time). Translated from the Welsh weekly newspaper “Yr Udgorn” 10th September 1913. – MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL IN CRICCIETH. The Enchantress arrived, with Mr and Mrs Winston Churchill on board. at Criccieth last Friday, and anchored below the castle, about a hundred yards from the shore. Mr and Mrs Winston Churchill went ashore and were met on the beach by Mr and Mrs Lloyd George, Miss Olwen Lloyd George, Miss Megan Lloyd George, Miss Dilys Roberts, Mr Llewelyn WilliamsM.P, and Mrs Williams. Hundreds of residents and visitors crowded the beach and gave a warm welcome to Mr Churchill. Mr Churchill and the Chancellor played golf together in the afternoon, after which they watched Criccieth football club play against the Enhantress crew. Criccieth prevailed. Mr Churchill addressed the boys and congratulated the Criccieth club on their
victory, and said the captain - Mr Bob Ellis would receive a silver cup to remember the circumstance. In her autobiography Lady Megan Lloyd George, who was eleven at the time, recounts the following amusing incident :-. “It was decided at the last moment that a cup must be got, and so the local jeweller was sent off post haste to Portmadoc. He came back triumphantly, but alas, so excited was he that he fell out of the car on to the precious cup which finally had to be presented to the winning team in a crushed and elongated form”.