Theosophy in Wales
Ancient & Modern
History of the Theosophical
Society in Wales
Theosophists against the Death Penalty 1928
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In 1928 some members of the Theosophical Society in Wales joined
a campaign to secure signatures for the reprieve of Doris Williams who was sentenced
to death after being convicted of killing her illegitimate child after a second
trial.. the reprieve was
eventually granted.
Members then participated in a further campaign obtaining 30,000
signatures for the reprieve of three Cardiff men
sentenced to death for the murder of local boxer Dai Lewis in
1927. The appeal was turned down but one man was found to be mentally ill and
placed in a secure hospital. The other two men were hanged.
Later in 1928 a Society was formed in Cardiff to
work for the abolition of the Death Penalty. A number of Theosophical Society
members were active participants in this new group with the Penarth Lodge
affiliated to it.
The 1929 Annual Report carried this account:-
ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY
A most successful delegate conference in support of this demand was
held at the Friends Meeting House, Cardiff, on November 24th 1928. Over
50 Social, Religious and Political organisations from
all parts of South Wales were represented. Mr Roy
Calvert, Secretary, National Council for the A.D.P. was the chief speaker and the Rev J Penry Thomas presided. The Cardiff Society for the A.D.P.
was responsible for the conference and for arranging an 8 day lecture tour in South
Wales for Mr Roy Calvert at the time. Over 3000 petition
forms have been circulated throughout Wales
including a copy to each F.T.S.
(F.T.S
denotes Fellow of the Theosophical Society. It appears that even female members
were referred to as Fellows and Brothers up to 1950s)
General Secretary, Peter Freeman was a staunch opponent of the
Death Penalty and later as an MP spoke out against it in Parliament.
The Death Penalty in the UK was
abolished in 1965
Theosophy and Capital Punishment By
William Q Judge
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Theosophical Society, Cardiff Lodge,
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 – 1DL.