James C. A. Whetter (20 September 1935 – 24 February 2018) was a Cornish historian and politician, noted as a Cornish nationalist and editor of The Cornish Banner (An Baner Kernewek). He contested elections for two Cornish independence parties. A prolific writer, Dr James Whetter was the editor of Mebyon Kernow's monthly magazine Cornish Nation in the early 1970s before later becoming active in the Cornish Nationalist Party. While active in Mebyon Kernow he authored A Celtic Tomorrow - Essays in Cornish Nationalism (MK Publications 1973) and The Celtic Background of Kernow (MK Publications 1971), the latter intended to assist schoolchildren in a better understanding of Cornish Celtic history and culture.
Whetter's books include The History of Glasney College (Padstow: Tabb House, 1988), Cornwall in the Seventeenth Century (Padstow: Lodenek Press, 1974) and The History of Falmouth (Redruth: Dyllansow Truran, 1981).
Whetter gained a PhD from London University and was director of the Roseland Institute, a centre for Cornish Studies at Gorran Haven near St Austell.[1] The institute contains a library of over 20,000 books in the process of being catalogued and put on-line and is the base for the publishing activities of Lyfrow Trelyspen and CNP Publications. The former produces works on Cornish history, essays and related subjects, and the latter, the quarterly Cornish magazine, The Cornish Banner (An Baner Kernewek).[2]
Political activity
editIn 1974, Whetter stood twice as the Mebyon Kernow parliamentary candidate before founding, in 1975, the Cornish Nationalist Party, a political party that split from Mebyon Kernow to campaign for Cornish independence, and for which he was a candidate at the 1979 general election.
Elections contested
editUK Parliament elections
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Votes | % | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 1974 | Truro | Mebyon Kernow | 850 | 1.5 | [3] |
| Oct 1974 | Truro | Mebyon Kernow | 384 | 0.7 | [3] |
| 1979 | Truro | Cornish Nationalist Party | 227 | 0.4 | [3] |
| 1983 | North Cornwall | Cornish Nationalist Party | 364 | 0.67 | [3] |
Dr Whetter also contested the Cornwall and Plymouth European Parliamentary seat in 1984 as the CNP candidate polling 1,892 votes (1.0).
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "The Roseland Institute". Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ The Roseland Institute at Gorran Haven
- ^ a b c d FWS Craig, British parliamentary election results, 1974-1983
External links
edit- Obituary and Tribute to Dr James Whetter published on the Transceltic website
- Dr James Whetter Obituary on the Cornwall Live news website including tributes by Dick Cole, the leader of Mebyon Kernow, historian Bernard Deacon and Michael Bunney, chairman of St Gorran Parish History Society and a parish councillor
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