Harlech Historical Society held its first meeting of 2026 on 13 January with a talk by Linda Tomos, a former National Librarian and Chief Executive of the National Library of Wales, on ‘The National Broadcast Archive and Memories of Harlech’.

Managed by the National Library of Wales, the National Broadcast Archive is unique in the UK context and one of very few worldwide. It includes the BBC, ITV and S4C archives relating to Wales.

Linda’s presentation included intriguing insights into the events leading to the setting up of the archive and fascinating examples of early film material on Harlech preserved in the archive.

At their next meeting, on 10 February, Richard Walwyn will talk about the history of Borth y Gest, ‘A Village by the Sea’. The talk will give an overview history of Borth y Gest from ancient times to about 1900. The village in its modern form hardly existed before 1830, so much of the talk will be on its historic antecedents. Richard has lived in the village for many years and is the author of A Little History of Borth-y-Gest (Delfryn Publications, 2019).

The talk will take place at the Memorial Hall, Twtil, Harlech on Tuesday, 10 February at 7.30pm. All welcome. No charge for members; non-members £3, including refreshments.

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