Fonds GB 0210 CLIERE - Cliff Bere Papers,

Cliff Bere (Clifford Ifan Bere) was born of Welsh parents in Burnley, Lancashire 1915. He studied law at University College, Swansea, but his education was disrupted by the War; he served in the army in North Africa. During his military service, he became politically active as a Welsh nationalist and republican. After the War, he worked as a graphic artist for the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. Bere was one of the founders of the Welsh Republican Movement, a small group of left-wing militants, including Harri Web (1920-1988), mostly ex-servicemen and intellectuals, who enlivened the political scene in Wales during the 1950s, following a more radical agenda than Plaid Cymru at the time. Bere was one of the most single-minded of the Republicans, writing a pamphlet, The Welsh Republican (1947) and the Welsh Republican Movement's Manifesto (1950), and taking part in flag-burning protests. The main activity of the Movement after 1954 was the publication and distribution of a bi-monthly newspaper, The Welsh Republican, of which Bere was editor, covering Welsh current affairs, focusing on the economy of South Wales, especially the future of the coal and steel industries and the plight of Cardiff Docks. After the demise of the Movement in 1957, Bere became one of Plaid Cymru's most committed members. He married Eluned Rhys Evans in 1949. He was arrested during the second homes arson campaign in the early 1980s. Bere died in Barry, Glamorgan on 16th September 1997.