Dennis Coslett

Who was Dennis Coslett?

Dennis Coslett was a Welsh political activist, best known as a member of the Free Wales Army, who became notorious in 1969.

Born in Carmarthen, Coslett was conscripted at the age of 18. He served as an infantryman with the Royal Welch Fusiliers and later became a merchant seaman. On his return to Wales, Coslett worked as a shot-firer in many of the small private coal mines in west Wales. Coslett lost the use of his left eye in an accident underground, and subsequently lost his job.

The flooding of the Tryweryn valley and destruction of Welsh language communities had sparked controversy. Many Welsh nationalists became frustrated by the refusal by Plaid Cymru to take a tougher stance on such issues at the time. Coslett had initially set up his own militant group, the Welsh Republican Army but in 1965, he joined forced with Cayo Evans' as part of the Free Wales Army.

The pair were interviewed on television by David Frost in 1967. The presenter made a number of facetious comments and referred to Coslett as Dai Dayan, because of his resemblance to Moshe Dayan, the Israeli general who also wore a patch on his left eye. Both were adept at courting the media, publicising their gatherings which were essentially harmless. The Free Wales Army was also quite happy to have acts of protest committed by other organisations credited to them, such as explosions, damage to second homes owned by English people and the defacing or destruction of English language road signs.