Teleri bevan biography definition

A passionate conservationist and campaigner whose life was immortalised in an international best-selling book nearly 75 years ago has been recognised by the literary world once again.

Written by her first husband Thomas Firbank in , I Bought A Mountain told the story of Esmé Kirby, who took on a Snowdonia sheep farm in Capel Curig without any experience of keeping the hefted flock which had lived there for centuries.

Now former Radio Wales Editor Teleri Bevan has penned a memoir launched this week to mark the 15th anniversary of her death at the age of

During World War II, Firbank and Kirby’s marriage was dissolved and Esmé: The Guardian of Snowdonia (Y Lolfa) takes up the story as she struggled to cope on the 3,acre Dyffryn Mymbyr sheep farm, supported only by two shepherds and two sheepdogs.

Teleri Bevan said: “Towards the end of the war she married Major Peter Kirby – who was in command of Sandhurst’s battle camp at Capel Curig at the time – and they managed the farm together until , when a manager was hired.

“Such was her fondness for Snowdonia, and concern for its future, that Esmé founded the Snowdonia National Park Society in , following a successful campaign to stop a youth hostel being built on the slopes of the Glyder mountains.

“The society became her passion, and she inspired over 3, people to join the organisation.

“She also formed the Esmé Kirby Snowdonia Trust in , when the Snowdonia Society no longer needed her leadership, and saved the red squirrel from extinction on Anglesey.

“Esmé and Peter bequeathed Dyffryn to the National Trust, and since , the farmhouse and cottage have welcomed visitors on vacation to experience a special place in one of the most dramatic landscapes.”

Esmé was born in Surrey.

Her family moved to Llandudno when she was a girl and she had acting ambitions – spending time with the Sir Frank Benson Shakespeare Company.

But, passionate about horses, she was running her own riding school when she met Thomas Firbank in , shortly after he had bought Dyffryn.

In his book, Firbank described his bride as “having the face of an elf. As dainty as a Dresden shepherdess.”

But it was her physical strength and determination that impressed him most.

Other campaigns she was involved with included the fight against the Cwm Dyli hydroelectric pipeline on Snowdon and for the preservation of the famous Cromlech Boulders in Llanberis Pass, which the county council planned to blow up to widen a road.

The story that Esmé and others had sat on the boulders while workman drilled the explosive placements around them may be apocryphal, but drilling had started when she drove past one day, and she headed straight for the council offices to protest. The boulders are still there.

Esmé lived at the farm for the rest of her life.

Teleri Bevan added: “She was determined to make Dyffryn one of the best mountain farms in Wales, and she became a skilled hands-on farmer.”

:: Esmé: The Guardian of Snowdonia is published by Y Lolfa, priced £

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