The record of Beatrice’s visit to Tywyn on 17 May 1896 was not associated with the church, but
rather with the tented camps in the area. Whether she included the church in her visit (or whether she
was accompanied by Annie) is not known – they would, together, visit it in 1898.
These camps were part of the local
Volunteer Corps established after the
Crimean War (1853-1856) in order to
bolster the number of militarily-trained
men throughout Britain. Following the
Anglo-Boer War (South African War) of
1899-1901, the dependency on these
volunteer groups led to the formalised
establishment of the Territorial Army in
1908. Training camps were held
annually