Tributes paid to man who gave seven decades of support to Llangollen Eisteddfod
The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has paid tribute to Les Potts, a man who attended and volunteered at every single Eisteddfod since its inception in 1947.
Les died aged at Wrexham Maelor Hospital on January 26.
Chairman of the festival Chris Adams said: "Les was central to our festival and the fact that he attended and volunteered at every single Llangollen Eisteddfod is remarkable achievement. He welcomed tens of thousands of visitors to Llangollen every year and remained a valuable member of the tickets team right up until July 2023.
"He was an amazing man who passed his love for our remarkable peace festival on to his children Keith, Allan and Rosemarie, and their family."
Speaking about his volunteering in 2020, Mr Potts recalled: "At that first Eisteddfod I was with my father, Robert, who was also one of the first volunteers. I was acting as a sort of gopher, carrying messages around the field.
“I also worked on the outer gate. We were using a rubber stamp to mark the arms of people who were coming in and out. That was until some of the ladies complained that the ink was coming off on their dresses and we had to start issuing them with cloakroom tickets instead.”
Dave Danford, Artistic Director of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod added: "Les Potts was a man who gave his whole life to our festival, and did so much behind the scenes as an active volunteer right until his sad passing. His death is a very sad moment for us all, but we are thankful for his enormous contribution, right from our very first festival in 1947."
Les was a well-known character in Llangollen, not just through his lifetime of dedication to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, but also as a member of the Llangollen Operatic Society, the Twenty Club, the Round Table, and the Llangollen Town Tidy group.
The Operatic Society has also paid tribute to Mr Potts saying he would be missed by everyone who knew him.
