Cewri cryfion / Giants of strength

His troop of strongmen, acrobats and balancers, performed all over Pembrokeshire. For more pictures and details of Tommie please press here.

The troop was joined by Yorrie Evans and his brother Lyn in the late 1930’s. Lyn was the top balancer and Yorrie, also a good gymnast, went on to specialise in Olympic weightlifting. He bought his first set of weights from London, and they were delivered by train to Letterston station. Yorrie carried them to his home in Blaenllyn, some 5 miles away, in several trips, on his pushbike.

Training in the cowshed of the family smallholding, he developed his craft picking up tips from Health and Strength magazine. His first competition was a British Championships held in Shrewsbury in 1947. Yorrie travelled there by train with his brother Lyn and Yorrie won, wearing a pair of black daps and a pair of shorts which his mother had made out of blackout curtains (WW2 had finished only 2 years previously).

Yorrie went on to become British Olympic Weightlifting champion four times, was twice all-round weightlifting champion (an event which comprised 40 different lifts), and he held the British record for the one hand dumbbell swing with a lift of 165lbs.

He competed in the 1952 Olympic Games and was team manager and coach of the Welsh weightlifting team at the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974.

In those days the British Weightlifting Championships was a very different affair from today. As well as the weightlifting competition, the Mr Britain and Mr Universe bodybuilding competition was held and there would be acrobatic and balancing acts and a band. The event provided a variety of top class entertainment and competitive excitement and would pull in a big audience in a top London venue. Many competitors entered both the bodybuilding and weightlifting events and some also performed the acrobatics and balancing acts.

Yorrie moved to Haverfordwest in 1952 and became caretaker of the Secondary Modern School (Sir Thomas Picton School), where he had his weights and trained in the boiler house and ran weight training evening classes on the stage in the main hall.  He started a gym behind Tom’s Sports shop in Market Street and also developed a weightlifting group at the Boxing Club in Merlins Bridge.

In the early 1960’s Yorrie started a weightlifting club at Milford and in the 70’s a centre for weightlifting near Tower Hill Youth Club (formerly Taskers School for Girls) which he continued to run until he was 75 years old.

Perfformiodd y criw ledled Sir Benfro. Am fwy o luniau a manylion o Tommie pwyswch yma.

Ymunodd Yorrie Evans a’i frawd Lyn â’r grŵp ar ddiwedd y 1930au. Lyn oedd yn arbenigo mewn gymnasteg, a Yorrie, yn arbenigo mewn codi pwysau Olympaidd. Prynodd ei set gyntaf o bwysau o Lundain, a chludwyd hwy ar y trên i orsaf Treletert. Cariodd Yorrie nhw i’w gartref ym Mlaenllyn, rhyw 5 milltir i ffwrdd, ar sawl taith, ar gefn ei feic.

Yn y glowty ar y fferm y byddai Yorrie yn hyfforddi, a datblygodd ei grefft gan gasglu awgrymiadau o gylchgrawn ‘Health and Strength’. Ei gystadleuaeth gyntaf oedd y Bencampwriaeth Prydeinig a gynhaliwyd yn Amwythig yn 1947. Teithiodd Yorrie yno ar y trên gyda’i frawd Lyn ac enillodd Yorrie, yn gwisgo pâr o daps du a phâr o siorts yr oedd ei fam wedi’u gwneud allan o lenni blacowt (roedd yr Ail Ryfel Byd wedi gorffen ond dwy flynedd ynghynt).

Aeth Yorrie ymlaen i ddod yn bencampwr Codi Pwysau Olympaidd Prydain bedair gwaith, roedd yn bencampwr codi pwysau ‘all-round’ ddwywaith (cystadleuaeth a oedd yn cynnwys 40 o wahanol lifftiau), a daliodd record Prydain ar gyfer y swing dumbbell un llaw gyda lifft o 165 pwys.

Cystadlodd yng Ngemau Olympaidd 1952 a bu’n rheolwr tîm a hyfforddwr tîm codi pwysau Cymru yng Ngemau’r Gymanwlad yn Christchurch, Seland Newydd ym 1974.

Yn y dyddiau hynny roedd Pencampwriaethau Codi Pwysau Prydain yn fater gwahanol iawn i heddiw. Yn ogystal â’r gystadleuaeth codi pwysau, cynhaliwyd cystadleuaeth adeiladu corff Mr Britain a Mr Universe a byddai yna gampau acrobatig a chydbwyso a band. Darparodd y digwyddiad amrywiaeth o adloniant o’r radd flaenaf a chyffro cystadleuol a fyddai’n denu cynulleidfa fawr mewn lleoliad crand yn Llundain. Cymerai nifer o gystadleuwyr ran yn y digwyddiadau adeiladu corff a chodi pwysau a pherfformiau rhai hefyd yr actau acrobatig a chydbwyso.

Symudodd Yorrie i Hwlffordd ym 1952 a daeth yn ofalwr yr Ysgol Uwchradd Fodern (Ysgol Syr Thomas Picton), lle cadwai offer codi pwysau yn y tŷ boeler a chynnal dosbarthiadau nos yn hyfforddi ar lwyfan y brif neuadd. Dechreuodd gampfa y tu ôl i siop Tom Sports yn Stryd y Farchnad, ac hefyd datblygodd grŵp codi pwysau yn y Clwb Bocsio ym Mhont Myrddin.

Yn gynnar yn y 1960au cychwynnodd Yorrie glwb codi pwysau yn Aberdaugleddau ac yn y 70au, canolfan codi pwysau ger Clwb Ieuenctid Tower Hill (Ysgol i Ferched Taskers gynt). Parhaodd i’w redeg nes ei fod yn 75 oed.