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Bicentenary of the Last Invasion of Great Britain No comment on North Pembrokeshire is complete without reflecting upon the Last Invasion of Great Britain which took place 200 years ago on the 22nd February, 1797 when some 1,500 French troops known as the Black Legion, landed at Carreg Wastad point, three miles west of Fishguard. Viewed from today's perspective, to many this invasion was little more than a farce which lasted only a couple of days with a colourful local cobbler, Jemima Nicholas, emerging as the heroine of the day. 
At the time, however, the event was by no means insignificant.
Following the French
Revolution in 1789, war had broken out between Great Britain and France in 1793 with
France having the most powerful army in the world of around 1 million armed and
trained troops. Under the overall command of General Hoche, a three pronged attack to
liberate Ireland from the clutches of Britain was conceived. One of these prongs,
under the command of an Irish American called William Tate, set sail from Brest on
18th February 1797. Tate was under specific orders that if he could not capture
Bristol he was to land in West Wales and cause as much devastation and pillage as
possible as a diversionary tactic away from the main assault on Ireland.News of the landing near Fishguard therefore sent such reverberations throughout the country that panic spread rapidly, resulting in widespread withdrawals of gold coins and a rush on the gold reserves of the Bank of England. As a consequence, just over a week later the Bank issued the very first pound note as paper currency in the form that we know it today. Many local stories still surround the events following the landing, with considerable variations as to what led to the French surrender a couple of days later. There is little doubt that a shipwrecked cargo of port wine that had come ashore only two days prior to the landing was an influencing factor! It is also believed that although there were only some three hundred British redcoats in the area, at a distance local women dressed in their traditional red cloaked Welsh costume misled the French into thinking that they were facing an overwhelming force of troops. 
Then, of course, there was Jemima Nicholas, a formidable
character who is reported to
have captured a dozen French soldiers single-handed and rounded them up with a
pitchfork. Whatever were her actual deeds, it is widely believed that as a reward for
her heroism she received £50 a year from the Government until her death at the age of
82. As for the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry, they received the only battle honours ever
awarded for active service on British soil, with barely a shot being fired.To mark the Bicentenary many celebrations and events took place throughout the year but undoubtedly the most remarkable was the unveiling to the public on 22nd February, 1997, of the Last Invasion Tapestry. Born out of a chance conversation some four years earlier, it was suggested that Fishguard should produce its own equivalent to the famous Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events of the 1066 Norman Conquest commonly thought by many as the last invasion. As a consequence, Elizabeth Cramp R.W.S., a local artist renowned for her detailed narrative style, was commissioned to design a 100 foot long tapestry in full colour. Local ingenuity marshalled together a group well in excess of seventy local embroiderers, three of whom having been lecturers in the Embroidery Department at Goldsmiths College at the University of London before moving to Pembrokeshire were willing to act as advisors and co-ordinators. After some three and a half years of quite extraordinary commitment by this group, Fishguard presented the facts of the real Last Invasion to the world. Within the first six months of the unveiling 50,000 people had thronged to see this masterpiece of art and craftsmanship. By contrast, Tregynon's contribution to the celebrations was minuscule. Given my previous connections with the Bank of England, our role focused on the commemorations of the issue of the first low denomination pound note as paper currency, the oldest such note held by the Bank being dated 6th March 1797. Having not only persuaded the Bank to present a facsimile copy of their oldest note to the town of Fishguard but also persuaded Elizabeth Cramp to design a further fine piece of needlework depicting the note, an exchange of gifts in Fishguard Town Hall with the then Chief Cashier, Graham Kentfield, was organised to coincide with the note's bicentenary on 6th March 1997. Following this ceremony Tregynon acted as host to a celebration dinner. Peter Heard Items of note and interest.
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