Just months before standing down as 24-year-long Member of Parliament for Arfon, Hywel Williams MP has been awarded ‘the greatest honour’ of his career.
Along with two other recipients of the 800-year-old tradition of gifting ‘outstanding service’ awards Mr Williams has been made Freeman of the City of Bangor.
At a packed ceremony of city and county dignitaries at Bangor’s Penrhyn Hall, after being presented with his official citation of Freemanship, Mr Williams said: “The uniqueness of the award from a city with a 1,500 year history ‘and of course that I follow in the footsteps of David Lloyd-George who like me was also MP for Caernarfon and also honoured with the Bangor Freemanship which he too was justly proud of.”
Also honoured with the City Freemanship were 77-year-old Brian Williams who since the 1980’s has run the Maesgerchan based youth boxing club, which with little funding has nurtured scores of young teenagers into the sport and helped develop their careers.
Former head-teacher Gwyn Mowll was also made freeman for his 40-year dedication to advancing Karate to generations of Bangor’s youth through formation and running of the Red Dragon Mountain or ‘Sek Ryu Zan’ club which is also entirely run by volunteers and who also created the Welsh Traditional Karate Foundation which now has many thousand members and tutors.
The honour of Freeman is so unique that that are only three other living recipients although the honour is also held by The Welsh Guards, RAF Valley and the Royal Welsh Regiment who retain the ancient right to march through the City of Bangor with ‘bayonets fixed and drums beating’.
Freemen such as MP Hywel Williams, Brian Williams and Gwyn Mowll have the rights to ‘drive their sheep’ down Bangor’s High Street and to insist that if they are to be hanged the noose be silk-lined and not commoner’s rough hessian rope. ‘That’s very comforting to know,’ laughed Hywel Williams. ‘but now that I am quitting politics I hope that dread might not come to pass’.
Freedoms were presented by Bangor Mayor Cllr Dr. Elin Walker-Jones on behalf of the city council.
