Bu Gerald Yr Ysgwrn a minnau’n lwcus iawn o gael gwahoddiad i gymryd rhan yn lansiad arddangosfa’r ‘Weeping Window’ yng Nghastell Caernarfon wythnos diwethaf. Pan aethom i mewn roedd y castell dal i fod ar gau a’r staff yn paratoi am ddiwrnod prysur iawn yn croesawu ymwelwyr cyffredinol, cyfranwyr y prosiect a’r wasg.
Llwyddodd yr olygfa i’m distewi (sydd yn dipyn o gamp), a doedd dim allai dynnu fy sylw oddi ar yr olygfa yn ein hwynebu pan gerddom ni i mewn, dim ond distawrwydd llwyr i amsugno neges y llif o goch o dop y castell i mewn i’r ddaear. Tybiaf fod pawb yn dehongli’r darn o gelf gan Paul Cummins a Tom Piper yn wahanol; ond i mi, ag o bell, roedd yn rhy debyg i lif gwaed i beidio â meddwl am y miloedd a gollwyd yn y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf.
Yn debyg i’r pabi coch, gwyn, du neu biws, gwelwn Hedd Wyn hefyd fel symbol o genhedlaeth o Gymry a gollwyd yn y Rhyfel. Pan gyhoeddwyd enillydd y Gadair yn Eisteddfod Penbedw ym 1917 daeth hwnnw i gynrychioli pob un gadair wag ledled Cymru, Prydain a’r byd. Nid yw Ellis Humphrey Evans yn bwysicach na neb arall a gollwyd yn y rhyfel, ond trwy gofio’i stori gobeithio y gallwn gofio am yr oddeutu 40,000 a gollwyd o Gymru. Oherwydd hyn, cafodd Gerald y fraint o osod y pabi olaf yn y tir.
Nid cyfle i weld y pabïau yn unig a geir yng Nghastell Caernarfon ar hyn o bryd, ond cyfle i weld Llyfr y Cofio hefyd. Llyfr gyda llawysgrifen goeth, hyfryd, sy’n nodi enw pob un a oedd â chysylltiad â Chymru a gollwyd yn ystod y Rhyfel. Tybed enw pwy welwch chi ar y dudalen agored?
Am fwy o wybodaeth am y pabïau ewch i https://www.1418now.org.uk/commissions/poppies-weeping-window-caernarfon-castle/
Gan Jess Enston, Swyddog Datblygu Cynulleidfa’r Ysgwrn.
Last week, Gerald Yr Ysgwrn and I were invited to the launch of the ‘Weeping Window’ exhibition in Caernarfon Castle, and what a privilege that was. When we first arrived the castle hadn’t yet opened and staff were busy preparing to welcome general visitors, project partners and the press.
The view managed to silence me (which is quite an achievement), and there was nothing to distract from the site that greeted us as we walked in, only a chance to absorb the river of red flowing from the top of the castle into the earth and its silent message. I’m sure that everyone interprets the artwork by Paul Cummins and Tom Piper differently; but for me, and from far, its resemblance to flowing blood forces you to think of the thousands lost during the First World War.
Like the red, white, black and purple poppy Hedd Wyn is also seen as a symbol for a lost generation from Wales killed in the war. When the winner of the Eisteddfod chair was announced in Birkenhead in 1917 that chair came to represent every empty chair throughout Wales, Britain and the world. Ellis Humphrey Evans is no more important that anyone else lost in the war, but through telling his story we hope to remember the some 40,000 killed from Wales. Because of this, Gerald had the privilege of placing the last poppy in the ground.
Not only is there an opportunity to see the poppies in Caernarfon castle at the moment, but there is also a chance to see the Book of Remembrance. The book lists every name with a connection to Wales that was lost during the war, in beautiful, intricate hand writing. I wonder who’s name you will find on the open page?
For more information on the poppies go to https://www.1418now.org.uk/commissions/poppies-weeping-window-caernarfon-castle/
By Jess Enston, Yr Ysgwrn’s Audience Development Officer.