Helen Thomas (activist)

Helen Wyn Thomas was born at Newcastle Emlyn in Carmarthenshire. Her parents were John and Janet Thomas; they ran an electrical business in the town. She earned a history degree at St David's University College.Rachael Misstear, [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/woman-who-paid-ultimate-price-1808843 "The Woman Who Paid the Ultimate Price for Peace"] Wales Online (4 September 2011).

After college Helen Thomas lived in CardiffSteve Tucker, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160504221407/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-77935354.html "Common's Garden Will Be a Memorial to Helen; South Wales Campaigner was 'Vibrant and Aware'"] South Wales Echo (30 August 2001). and worked for Cardiff Women's Aid,Ceri Jones, [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Memorial+to+anti-missile+camp+victim%3B+PEACE%3A+Greenham+Common.-a090298003 "Memorial to Anti-Missile Camp Victim"] Western Mail (August 9, 2002). before becoming interested in the protest at Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. She had been at the camp only two months when she died in August 1989, from head injuries sustained when she was struck by a West Midlands Police vehicle, while waiting to cross a road near the airbase's main "Yellow Gate". She was 22 years old. The death was ruled an accident at inquest, though her family and some fellow campaigners disputed that ruling. The family's request to reopen the investigation was denied.Lyn Smith, [https://books.google.com/books?id=OFmvwSIUb0oC&dq=Helen%20Thomas%20Greenham%20Common&pg=PT59 Voices Against War: A Century of Protest] (Random House 2011): 59, esp. quote from Katrina Howse. {{ISBN|9781845969820}}

In 2010, a memorial was held at Greenham Common, led by her mother.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-10837250 "Service for Greenham Campaigner"] BBC News (2 August 2010). In 2011 a memorial bench was dedicated to Helen Thomas in her hometown, Newcastle Emlyn. At both memorial events, politician and musician Dafydd Iwan attended, and performed his song "Cân i Helen" (which is about Helen Thomas) in tribute.[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-15598177 "Greenham Common Campaigner Helen Thomas is Honoured"] BBC News (6 November 2011). She was the only individual participant named in the Greenham Common Peace Garden memorial,[http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/d625b55a-e807-4729-9d8c-087c918dbaff Records of Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp (Yellow Gate)], National Archives, Kew. with standing stones, an eternal flame feature, and a fountain at the centre of an inscribed spiral.[http://www.bepj.org.uk/remember-helen-at-greenham-common "Remembering Helen at Greenham Common"] BEPJ: Cyfiawnder a Heddwch – Bro Emlyn – for Peace and Justice (10 July 2010).David Lowe and Tony Joel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8ausAgAAQBAJ&dq=Helen%20Thomas%20Greenham%20Common&pg=PA48 Remembering the Cold War: Global Contest and National Stories] (Routledge 2014): 48. {{ISBN|9781317912590}}Veronica Fiorato, [https://books.google.com/books?id=0sfuNtTkTCIC&dq=%22Helen%20Wyn%20Thomas%22&pg=PA142 "Greenham Common: the Conservation and Management of a Cold War Archetype"] in John Schofield and Wayne Cocroft, eds., A Fearsome Heritage: Diverse Legacies of the Cold War (Left Coast Press 2009): 142-143. {{ISBN|9781598742596}}

• List of peace activists

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• [http://www.peoplescollection.wales/items/11756 A handmade booklet] (1989), in the collection of the Women's Archive of Wales, dedicated to the memory of Helen Thomas

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Category:1966 births

Category:1989 deaths

Category:Welsh activists

Category:Welsh women activists

Category:People from Carmarthenshire

Category:Road incident deaths in England

Category:Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter