Enter the Dragon – Wales’ Most Important Documentary
“One thing I am sure of. Some kind of human society, though God knows what kind, will no doubt go on occupying these two western peninsulas of Britain, but that people, who are my people and no mean people, who have for a millennium and a half lived in them as Welsh people, are now nothing but a naked people under an acid rain.”
-Gwyn A Williams
When Was Wales (1985)
There is a lucid, informative and valuable documentary about Wales and the Welsh that is only available online via the website of an obscure Marxist group. Before this was illicitly uploaded those wishing to view The Dragon Has Two Tongues would have needed to journey to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth where the series gathers dust within Wales’ national archives because any attempts to make it widely available online have been met with legal threats for copyright infringement. This is a sad reflection of how little respect, attention and seriousness we give to our own history in Wales.
Spread over ten episodes originally broadcast on ITV, TDHTT maps the history of Wales spanning over two thousand years beginning with the first Celtic tribes that populated the land through to the era when the series was first broadcast in the 1980s. It posed several important questions concerning who the Welsh are, where we came from and where we are heading as a nation, questions which until then had been neglected, forgotten and unanswered. Regrettably these are questions that remain underexplored to this day thirty seven years after TDHTT was aired.
Each episode provides a commentary and analysis of an important period in Welsh history: the Roman and Norman occupations and the effect this had on the population and its culture; the division of Wales into separate kingdoms followed by their eventual unification and annexation by England; the onset of religious non-conformism and Methodism; the Enlightenment; the Industrial Revolution and the accompanying widespread political and social unrest this caused. THDTT culminates by exploring the rise in Welsh Nationalism and the events which led to the election of Plaid Cymru’s first member of Parliament in 1966, the decisive rejection of devolution following the first referendum in 1979 and the subsequent identity crisis these events brought about.
THHTT provides a thoughtful and detailed explanation of how the country of Wales came about. The many stories that helped to shape the fabric of our nation and the individuals and events that played the key roles are debated by two presenters with such erudition and clarity that watching the series in its entirety feels like absorbing the whole of Welsh history in one sitting. And the series makes clear that it is a history far more dramatic and intriguing than people have been led to believe. Tension fizzles between the two presenters who are both Welsh but come from radically different political traditions that in some respects represent the two versions of Wales that the documentary attempts to deconstruct which makes the series even more compelling.
Gwyn Alf Williams is a fiery Marxist that sees Welsh history as a long series of agonies and betrayals which continue to bedevil the Welsh as a people who seem largely oblivious and whose indifference will ultimately lead to their own destruction. He speaks about history with a passion and energy unsurpassed by any other historian; for Williams the only way for Wales to break free from its chains is to embrace independence and become a wholly self-sufficient nation with its working class in a dominant position in the spirit of Marxist doctrine.
His co presenter, Wynford Vaughn Thomas is his opposite. An establishment figure with associations to the British Royal Family, Thomas takes a view of Welsh history grounded in small “c” conservatism and opposition to the country's radical tendencies. Thomas views Williams’ Marxist views with distaste and has a far more optimistic outlook of Wales’ past and its future which Thomas sees as being inextricably linked with a greater union with the other countries of the UK from which it has largely benefited.
They even disagree from the very beginning at which point in history Wales should be considered a nation, with Thomas taking the view that the early Celtic tribes were the beginning of our history whilst Williams believes our story started much later with the invasion of the Romans and their assimilation into the native culture. The two argue about this, together with their respective views on politics and how to interpret key events in the country’s history, like the Welsh equivalents of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine. It would be possible to listen to the pair discuss and argue the most mundane elements of history or any other topic and still be entertained by their passion and wit.
Although the pair disagree on fundamental subjects they do so in a way that is civil and polite, with neither resorting to underhand tactics to try and further their own points of view. It’s clear that despite coming from radically different political traditions both Thomas and Williams have respect for each other and the arguments they make. Both debate persuasively without making personal attacks or bringing into question their opponent's integrity or good intentions and each recognises that, despite their opposing views, both are trying to further the interests of Wales and its people despite radically different perspectives on how those interests should be furthered. It was said that whenever discussions would become too heated and veer from healthy debate into something more quarrelsome, sometimes after drinks in a local pub once filming had stopped for the day, the pair would apologise the next day and move on to a new discussion. Never do the interactions become personal or insensitive and the viewer is left more informed and educated by hearing the points of view of both and deciding for themselves which interpretation of history is most accurate.
Both Thomas and Williams served in the Second World War, the former as a war correspondent that delivered a radio broadcast from the cockpit of a Lancaster Bomber as it undertook a bombing run over central Berlin, the latter as a soldier who helped to liberate Europe on D-Day. During the final episode which covers Wales at the beginning of the twentieth century and the role played by its people in both World Wars, footage of Williams delivering a rousing speech describing his experiences landing on the Normandy beaches gives a further insight into his beliefs. Despite being a Welsh nationalist this was a moment where Williams saw the British working classes unify and strike a blow against its fascist enemy:
“I looked behind me and I saw a sight I’d never seen before on this earth and which nobody will ever see again. The sea was black with our ships. The sky was black with our planes. The beaches were black with our men. And our machines were punching into Hitler’s bloody Europe. And I felt that was vengeance after twenty years of defeat since [the general strike]. That was our vengeance because whatever our leaders thought it was, it was the people’s army of the British. We won that war. We lost the peace.”
I use the italics to purposefully highlight the choice of the plural, our, which refers collectively to the working classes not just of Wales but of Britian as whole which is confirmed by Williams’ use of the word “British” at the end his speech. There is a recognition that despite a belief that Wales should be an independent nation to reverse the injustices of previous centuries, Williams still acknowledges this decisive moment in history was an example of when its people needed to unify with others to survive and defend civilisation from Hitler’s barbarism. This came at a time when some nationalists were ambivalent towards the threat from fascism and were reluctant to engage in any fight against it that would strengthen the unity of the British state.
This revealing clip demonstrates the nuance of Williams’ thinking that despite remaining firmly committed to the idea of Wales as an independent nation he is not so dogmatic as to think this should have been seen as a greater priority than fighting fascism, instead he acknowledges the benefit of the nations within the UK temporarily coming together for the greater good. His comment about “losing the peace,” despite the election of a radical socialist government once the war had ended which greatly improved the lives of working people after the struggles and deprivations of the conflict, is perhaps referring to the fact that once the war was over the Welsh were once again reduced to the status of lesser partners and a forgotten about people lacking a voice and power of their own, which Williams sees was a situation temporarily reversed during the years in which Wales played its part in securing a righteous victory for the allies.
If such a revealing and watchable documentary were to be made more publicly available as an educational resource instead of languishing within Wales’ national archives or existing clandestinely on the website of an underground Marxist group, it could symbol the beginning of a renewed interest in the history of Wales and its people. The fact that TDHTT approaches the subject in a manner that gives equal credence to both presenter’s points of view and allows them a forum to respectfully argue with civility and good nature, without mudslinging or ad hominem, and gives the viewer the opportunity to learn Welsh history from two radically different perspectives, makes it invaluable. This is especially true in these difficult times when Wales is continuing to struggle to define itself as a nation which is in large part down to a lack of awareness of its own history.
The issue with copyright that is preventing TDHTT from being widely accessed could potentially be resolved if funds were generated, perhaps via public donations or crowdfunding, to enable the copyright to be bought outright and placed under the stewardship of the Welsh Government, who could ensure the documentary’s legacy and enable its distribution as an educational resource. TDHTT could also be used as a blueprint for the creation of a more updated version with new presenters that explores the issues Wales has faced since the documentary’s airing, including how the narrow victory for the pro-devolution side after the second referendum of 1997 led to the introduction of the country’s first national assembly. This could give children in Wales that leave school with only a basic knowledge of their own history new insight and facilitate discussions on key events that are vastly under explored within Wales’ national curriculum. Only when we learn to embrace history and the lessons to be learnt from it will the naked people under acid rain find shelter.