Woman who thwarted 1797 French invasion on Welsh coast is honoured

The bravery of a Welsh woman who, legend has it, armed herself with a pitchfork to help thwart an 18th-century attempted invasion of Britain is being celebrated this weekend.

A plaque will be unveiled in honour of Jemima Nicholas in the seaside town of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, close to where she faced down French troops in February 1797, and 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 of the Fishguard Invasion Centre Trust, which was formed to celebrate the bicentenary of the event, said the French troops had not been well-organized, but Nicholas's bravery was in no doubt.

The four French vessels landed more than 1,000 soldiers and weapons on to the rocky shores of Carreg Wastad, a few miles northwest of Fishguard.