A Nation on Trial

On 8 September 1936, in what is recognised as one of the defining moments in modern Welsh history, a Baptist minister, a University lecturer and a schoolteacher set fire to the partly built RAF aerodrome at Penyberth, then calmly reported their actions to the police at nearby Pwllheli. The 'Fire' represented the final act in an unsuccessful eighteen-month battle to prevent the building of an RAF bombing school on the Llyn Peninsular. On the proposed site stood an old stone house that had been, in the Middle Ages, a resting place for pilgrims on their way to Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island - The Isle of Saints) traditionally believed to be the burial ground of 20,000 saints such as Padarn, Dyfrig and Bueno. A Nation on Trial is the first comprehensive account of the 'Fire' to be published in English and includes an updated Introduction from the author, sixty years after the publication of the original Welsh language edition.