A Welsh library has put up a poster that appears to honor two terrorists who tried to kill Prince Charles in 1969, while library officials state that they’re simply reporting what happened, nothing more.
As the Express reports, the Abergele Library wants its patrons to be aware of its history. And back in the late ’60s, the site where the building now sits was the site of a terrorist attack meant to claim the life of Prince Charles.
It was June 30, 1969, and Prince Charles was scheduled to come into town by train. However, he was not welcome — at least, not according to the terrorist group Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (“Movement for the Defense of Wales”), a group which had carried out various terrorist attacks against English interests in Wales. Two of its members — Alwyn Jones, 22, and George Taylor, 37 — planned to blow up the railway line carrying the prince, hopefully killing him in the process.
Unfortunately for the terrorists, the bomb they were carrying exploded prematurely — at the site where the library now sits — and they both died. To this day, Welsh nationalists remember the men as the “Abergele Martyrs.”
A poster in the library, in both Welsh and English, commemorates the event.
“On June 30th, 1969, Alwyn Jones and George Taylor (the Abergele Martyrs) were accidentally killed when the explosive materials they were transporting exploded. They are remembered annually.”
Little ones formed a #caterpillar conga after a reading of the Hungry Caterpillar that was published the same year the #library opened! #Abergele ? ? https://t.co/EVAqO85HUH
— Rhyl Journal (@rjournal) January 16, 2019
The poster hasn’t sat well with some townsfolk, who say that the library is celebrating terrorists who tried to kill the future king. Just ask one 58-year-old, who asked not to be identified.
“It’s just the sheer flippancy of it all. It’s not as if they were just messing about with the explosives for the sake of it. These two tried to blow up the future king!”
He also points out that the poster is right at the check-out desk, so there’s no missing it. He claims that when he asked the librarian if it was appropriate, she just giggled. He took a photo of the sign and then left.
Library officials insist, however, that nothing nefarious is going on. A spokesperson from the library said that the terrorist attack was something that happened, and they want patrons to be aware of its connection to the library’s history.
“The library has put up a number of posters documenting events which happened in 1969 as that is when it opened. It is not the only poster we have on display. We have famous figures from the political world, famous films, posters on fashion and books.”
