The forced eviction of 200 Welsh-speaking residents from Mynydd Epynt in 1940 to create a military training area became a symbol of displacement in Welsh cultural memory.
Key Facts
- People evicted
- 200 people
- Farms cleared
- 54 farms
- Other properties
- 1 pub
- Military use
- Sennybridge Training Area
- Welsh phrase
- Cofiwch Epynt ('remember Epynt')
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During World War II, the British War Office determined that the upland area of Mynydd Epynt in Powys was strategically suitable for establishing a military training ground, prompting authorities to requisition the land from its existing residents.
In 1939–1940, the War Office issued eviction notices to residents of 54 farms and a pub on Mynydd Epynt, compelling approximately 200 people—largely Welsh-speaking farming families—to vacate their homes and properties to make way for military use.
The War Office established the Sennybridge Training Area on the cleared land. The eviction entered Welsh cultural consciousness as a grievance, commemorated by the phrase 'Cofiwch Epynt,' used in a manner comparable to 'Cofiwch Dryweryn,' which marks another episode of Welsh community displacement.