The Story of Heroine Jemima Nicholas

Now, why should I tell you all about this lady, when I have yet to reach Samuel Gilbert ? She almost changed the history of England, and many people have never been told about her. But she must have a place in your Gilbert story.

I had never heard of her until I was on a tour of Great Britain with my wife in 1986. We were about to cross the Irish Sea from Fishguard in Wales to Rosslare in Ireland, and it being school holidays, the ferry was late. So we were all taken back to the town of Fishguard, where we looked for lunch. We settled in having a good old Welsh pie, and we seated ourselves on the grave stones in the Church of St Mary, just across the road from the shops. And there, on the wall of the Church, we read a tablet set into the wall, as follows:

"In Memory of Jemima Nicholas of this Town who boldly marched to meet the French Invaders who landed on our shores in February, 1797. She died in Main Street July 1832. Aged 82 years. At the date of the Invasion she was 47 years old, and lived 35 years after the event. Erected by subscription collected at the Centenary Banquet July 6, 1897."

So of course, I went into the newspaper shop to find all about this lady. "Oh, she was the lady who helped to defeat the French at the last time Britain was invaded.", I was told.

Shortly, the story was that a French Fleet, carrying 1,000 soldiers, intended to land in Ireland, where they were to help the rebel United Irishmen, and it was blown off course, and they landed at Fishguard in Wales, on 22nd February, 1797, just over 200 years ago. The local soldiers, the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry, were away, doing some training, so a mounted messenger was sent to them to hurry back.

So Jemima called all the local women and girls together. They were told to dress up in their Welsh dress, with big black hats , red shawls, and black skirts, and, after arming themselves with pitchforks, axes, hoes, and other farm tools, they were to line the cliffs in the fading daylight to help the small British force there until Lord Cawdor could get back to Fishguard with his soldiers to oppose the invaders. The French troops had already landed, and they were stealing everything that they could find. Their General intended to go up to attack the City of Bristol, and to then go on to attack London. The French thought that the Welsh women were British soldiers and, when the Yeomanry Battalion arrived in force, the French surrendered as prisoners of war. Armed with her pitchfork, Jemima captured 14 French soldiers herself and she put them into the Fishguard jail.

I found that this story had been written as a school book which I could buy for myself at the book shop, up the street. So I rushed there and bought a copy for £1.50, which was $3.00 in our money. And, on returning to the street to wait for the ferry, I opened my book, and found that it was all in Welsh. The only part that I could read was the price £1.50.

When we came back to Melbourne, I took my Welsh school book to the Minister of the Welsh Church in Latrobe Street, Melbourne, and he was good enough to translate for me the little story on each page, and I am now giving you three of these pages, as they are read by the girls and boys at the school in Fishguard. They all knew everything about Jemima Nicholas, and I hope that, after you have read this book, you will know all about Samuel Gilbert and his wonderful wife, Mary. (Click on the small image below to view the full size page.)

Chapter 4