A portable pump organ used by Tom Nefyn during his preaching meetings in the 1950s. It is a one keyboard, three octave organ operated by a pedal. Mae’n organ un allweddell, tri octif yn cael ei weithredu hefo pedal. It was possibly used during his time in Bethesda.
Tom Nefyn was born 23 January at Boduan and brought up at Bodeilias, a family farm near Pistyll, Llŷn. He was the son of John Thomas, a well-known local poet, and wife Ann. As a young man Tom worked on the farm and in the Eifl granite quarry, and like many others joined the army when the First World War broke out.
On his return from the war, after very bad experiences in the trenches where he served in the Dardanelles, France, Egypt and Palestine, Tom Nefyn was an ardent pacifist. He wrote poetry, essays and articles to Y Goleuad. He was well known as an evangelical preacher.
He was ordained in 1925 and became a minister with the Presbyterian Church at Tumble near Llanelli. His sermons contained his own comments on social matters – wages and living conditions of the coalminers, and as such the Presbyterian Church questioned his conformity to their doctrines and brought a case against him. This made Tom Nefyn-Williams a well-known figure in Wales. In 1932 he was called to be pastor at Rhosesmor, Flint and eventually moved back to the Caernarfonshire area. From 1946 he was in charge of the churches at Llŷn.
He had his own particular style of evangelising and over the years he preached and sang in chapels, village halls, fairs and open air meetings drawing large crowds. He died in 1958 and is buried at Edern.
The organ is on display in Gallery 4 ‘Life and Work’ at Storiel.