Dennis Coslett

Dennis Coslett (12 September 1939 – 20 May 2004) was a Welsh nationalist political activist, best known as being a member and self-styled commandant of the paramilitary Free Wales Army (FWA), who became notorious in Wales throughout the 1960s.

Biography Early life Born in Carmarthen, Coslett was conscripted at the age of 18. He served in the British Army as an infantryman with the Royal Welch Fusiliers and later became a seaman in the Merchant Navy. On his return to Wales, Coslett worked as a shot-firer in many of the small private coal mines in west Wales. He went on to lose the use of his left eye in an accident underground, Frost's remark irritated Coslett, and an argument ensued during the broadcast, which was interrupted when a drunken man walked across the stage. Both Coslett and Cayo-Evans were adept at courting the media and publicising their gatherings, which were essentially harmless. The Free Wales Army was also quite happy to take the credit for acts of protest committed by other organisations, such as explosions, damage to holiday cottages owned by English people and the defacing or destruction of English-language road signs. Most notably, this included the actions of Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (; MAC), from whom Coslett had once received explosives that were used in a failed FWA bombing of a water pipeline near Llandrindod Wells connecting the Elan Valley Reservoirs to Birmingham in 1967.

Coslett claimed that police officers assigned to monitor the FWA "loved it", suggesting that there was a degree of "prestige" associated with the assignment. However, he regarded Detective Chief Inspector John Owen Evans as a nemesis and narrowly avoided arrest following an incident in which he punched the officer at his family home. According to Coslett, he discovered Evans searching Avril Webb's handbag in the living room after the officer had arrived at the house to arrest him on a firearms offence. Coslett had left Evans unattended while he went to put on his FWA uniform. On another occasion on 9 May 1968, Coslett was arrested for assaulting a police officer during an incident involving Rhobert ap Steffan. The pair were alleged to have been caught pouring sand into the petrol tank of a police car in Aberystwyth and were subsequently apprehended by police. Ap Steffan denied the offence, but claimed he was severely beaten by police while in custody. Coslett later conceded to Wyn Thomas that, although he was also beaten in custody, he "probably asked for it." Coslett was later fined £25 for the assault, although a charge of wilfully damaging a police station window was dropped. Coslett's claims typically centred around his beloved Alsatian, Gelert, named in homage to the Gelert of Welsh legend. His published poetic collection comprises a wide range of subject matters, but typically share the theme of armed struggle against improbable odds. Notably, one such poem in Rebel Heart was inspired by the experiences of Coslett's father-in-law while fighting against the forces of Francisco Franco as a volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. Another poem is dedicated to the struggle of the Chechen insurgency against the Russian Federation during the Chechen Wars, in which Coslett's admiration for the rebels is made clear.

After suffering with cancer, Coslett died at Ty Bryngwyn Hospice in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire on 20 May 2004, aged 64. The funeral was held local to Coslett's home in Llangennech, and attracted a crowd of hundreds of mourners. His coffin was draped with the Welsh flag, and a guard of honour wearing black berets led the funeral cortege to a cemetery on the outskirts of Llanelli. There was a recital of the Welsh national anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", and flags were held above the graveside, notably the standard of Owain Glyndŵr and the "White Eagle of Snowdonia", often referred to by its Welsh name, Yr Eryr Wen , the adopted symbol of the FWA.