Cymru is a long-time home of the labour movement and socialism in the UK with a number of well renowned figures from Aneurin Bevan, founder of the NHS, to Sam Mainwaring, the father of the term “anarcho-syndicalism”. Industrially exploited as with northern England, Wales would become a hotbed of socialist thought over time. However, Wales may also be the home of the first red flag flown in revolutionary intent during the Merthyr Rising, and so let’s commemorate its anniversary with a short account of the events of the revolutionary uprising of June 1831.
Cymru, important to the British Empire for its coal mines and metalworks, was affected greatly by a depression in the ironworks industry, leading Ironmasters and business owners to commit to large redundancies and wage reductions. This led many working families into debt to survive. At the time, the solution to this problem was the Court of Requests, a publicly loathed institution which enabled bailiffs to seize property and belongings of debtors to repay debts. Alongside this economic depression are the Corn Laws, a protectionist policy for corn and grain driving food prices up, and the Truck System, a form of alternative payment which kept many in debt bondage and functional serfdom.
A growing radical reform movement in Merthyr had by November 1830 begun organising protests against these issues and by the end of the year they’d branched out to broader parliamentary reforms as part of their demands. At this time, only landed men could vote in elections, leaving working people without a voice electorally. Support for parliamentary reform led to a bill in Parliament, however the bill’s defeat led to a new election in May 1831 and left the radical reformers angry, and with further cuts to wages in March, the talk shifted from protest to strike at the suggestion of a trade unionist present.
On 31st of May, bailiffs attempted to seize belongings from Lewsyn yr Heliwr in Penderyn near Merthyr. Lewsyn’s neighbours helped him prevent bailiffs from accessing his home before a magistrate would negotiate a compromise, leading to bailiffs removing a trunk from Lewsyn. The next day, June 1st, marked the beginning of the Merthyr Rising as a series of marches began, one from Merthyr to the Aberdare ironworks demanding cheese and bread, another led by Lewsyn in Hirwaun to the shop which held his trunk which he and the crowd reclaimed before setting sights on Merthyr, going house to house to reclaim property taken from them by bailiffs on the way. This was now a widespread revolt against the Court of Requests. In response, around 70 Special Constables assembled from the tradespeople were organised to keep the peace by the magistrate who also requested assistance from the military stationed in Brecon. Finally, a reading of the riot act in English and Welsh was given to no avail.
By the evening of June 2nd, the masses had gathered outside the house of the President of the Court of Requests, demanded the books of the court and logs of the debt which they promptly burned in the street, an act of emancipation, along with his furniture for fuel. Shouts from the crowd included “caws a bara” (cheese and bread) and “i lawr â’r Brenin” (down with the King). At this point, military detachments from Cardiff and Brecon were on summoned to quell the revolt, which was growing steadily with popular support. The crowd had grown 10,000 strong with a list of demands for the suppression of the Court of Requests, higher wages from the Ironmasters, work equipment cost reductions, and immediate reforms. The demands were refused. According to accounts, Lewsyn was lifted above the crowd, shouting to surround and disarm the soldiers. The front of the crowd threw projectiles and charged forward, a direct confrontation with the soldiers which would lead to the deaths of up to 24 rioters and the injury of 16 soldiers. The first confrontation was bloody and awful, but more was to come as this full on protest turned rebellion and revolution would continue.
From June 3rd to June 5th, a number of confrontations would commence, including an ambush of the Swansea Yeomanry Cavalry at Hirwaun, leading their weapons to be seized and distributed to the rebels. Another ambush at Cefn Coed y Cymmer siezed ammunition on its way to Merthyr from Brecon. At this point, the insurrection had taken control of the town, with Penydarren House being the only refuge of the old authority. The rebels self organised guerrilla detachments, hoisted banners dyed red and topped with a symbolic loaf of bread, and engaged in successful combat against detachments of the British army. The rebels would send delegations to other iron towns on June 5th to gather more support for a popular revolt and on June 6th a crowd of 12,000 marched from the Monmouthshire valleys to join with the Merthyr crowd. However, all this would come to an end when the full weight of the British military was in action, forcing the crowds to disperse after a week of bloody fighting.
The aftermath saw a few trials, namely of Lewsyn yr Heliwr and Dic Penderyn, the latter of which would be executed to make an example of the rebellion, and the former would be sent to a penal colony in Australia. Their legacies live on, Dic Penderyn as a martyr of the trade union revolt of Merthyr Tydfil, and Lewsyn yr Heliwr as the match that lit the fire of rebellion. The red flag waves for the blood of all workers that lived and died as well as for the blood that courses through us all, and that flag waved here in Cymru.
IWW Cymru commemorates the Merthyr Rising and the brave workers who fought against oppression and for justice because the challenges we face today are not so different from the ones of the past. The UK and other liberal democracies have coasted on the successes of the revolutionary socialist, anarchist, communist, and labour movements. The rising cost of living, soaring rents, drastic wealth inequality, and a political system which increasingly does not represent the people have pushed a strained status quo to its limits.
Once more we see that fascism is capitalism in decay and its up to a truly organised workforce, a truly mobilised working class of common people to take direct action to prevent a backslide into authoritarianism and fascism and to foster real lasting change. Change is built on hope, and to quote Cornel West, “Hope and optimism are different. Hope is not the belief that things will turn out well, but the conviction that the struggle is worth it no matter how they turn out”.
Olivia Ceridwen (She/Her)
This article was written for IWW Cymru and originally published on June 1st, 2025