The bravery of a Welsh woman who, legend has it, armed herself with a pitchfork to help thwart an attempted 18th-century invasion of Britain is being celebrated this weekend.
A plaque is being unveiled in honour of Jemima Nicholas in the seaside town of Fishguard, south-west Wales, close to where she faced down French troops in February 1797. There will be songs, poems and speeches to commemorate her courage.
According to the story, Nicholas, a cobbler, led a band of women on to Strumble Head to confront the invaders, capturing 12 of them and locking them up in a local church.
Tony Davies, a trustee of the Fishguard Invasion Centre Trust, which was formed to celebrate the bicentenary of the failed French invasion, said the invaders had not been well-organised but Nicholas’s bravery was in no doubt.
Four French vessels landed more than 1,000 soldiers and weapons on to the rocky shores of Carreg Wastad, a few miles north-west of Fishguard. Davies said: “They were not a well-disciplined fighting force and went around ransacking farms. Jemima marched up to the headland when there were more than a thousand troops in the area. She showed great leadership and great courage.’”
The invasion failed and the French surrender document was signed on Goodwick beach on 24 February. Nicholas, who was 47 at the time, was awarded a £5 annual pension. “The government must have been impressed with her to provide her with a pension for life,” said Davies. “I think she should be recognised now as one of the truly remarkable women of that century.”
Nicholas died aged 82. Her gravestone in St Mary’s churchyard, Fishguard, reads: “The Welsh heroine who boldly marched to meet the French invaders who landed on our shores in 1797.”
At the unveiling ceremony, the Pembrokeshire artist Gwenno Dafydd will perform a song she co-wrote about Nicholas’s deeds. She said: “Growing up here Jemima was a role model for me – she was obviously a fiery, feisty West Walian woman. I feel that women need to have recognition for their deeds and she is the epitome of a positive role model for us even so long after the event.”
Jane Hutt, the Welsh government minister for social justice, said: “Jemima Nicholas showed incredible bravery and courage when faced by an invasion of 1,200 French troops in Fishguard. She was a remarkable woman and should serve as an inspiration to us all. This purple plaque is a fitting tribute to her legacy and raising awareness of her story, so we never forget her heroic actions.”
Sue Essex, who chairs Purple Plaques Wales, said: “Jemima was a truly remarkable woman for her time and it is great that she is now being remembered with one of our special purple plaques. She had no public honour in her lifetime, as far as we know.”
Nicholas is the 15th Welsh woman to be awarded a purple plaque, a scheme devised by Hutt and fellow Senedd member Julie Morgan to mark the often-unsung achievements of women of Wales.
