Symbolic fourth bell returns from Wales to Chile's 14th Fire Brigade, 150 years later

Thursday, November 7th 2013 - 06:58 UTC

Full article 5 comments

In another demonstration of the close links of Chile and Britain, members of the 14th Fire Brigade from the city of Santiago de Chile officially received the fourth bell of the old Compañía de Jesús Church which was completely destroyed by a devastating fire that also killed over 2.500 people in 1863, almost 150 years ago. Read full article

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Anti-Muppet
A lot of respect to the Chileans, steadfast and robust allies.
Nov 07th, 2013 - 12:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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Condorito
Very nice gesture Wales.
The existence of Wales is unknown to many Chileans, but there has been some interaction over the years. In the Coquimbo region there are a surprising number of people with the surnames Llewellyn and Davies (is that English or Welsh?). Merchant sailors spreading the wild oats.
Nov 07th, 2013 - 12:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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redp0ll
@2 No Welsh miners is more likely I think
Nov 07th, 2013 - 01:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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rupertbrooks0
2 Condorito

Davies, or Davis is in fact an English, or British surname. The largest concentration of Davies's in in Wales, almost certainly due to the fact St David in the Patron St of Wales. The christian name David is often shortened to Dai in Wales although rarely in England. If you hear of a Dai Davies ; they're Welsh, whilst the English would be Dave Davies.

The Welsh do, of course have their own language (Welsh) which is one of Europes oldest and far older than English. Roughly 25% of the population of Wales speak it, mostly concentrated in the rural central, western and north western areas, where it is the first language for many.
Nov 07th, 2013 - 11:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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reality check
You can not get more a more Welsh name than Llewelyn, it was the name of the last Welsh Prince of Wales, killed in Battle against the English.
Nov 08th, 2013 - 03:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
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