Colwyn Bay's Congo Training Institute, which ran between 1891-1911, was a radical idea from a radical Welshman. Its founder, William Hughes from Rhoslan, near Criccieth, had to cut short his missionary work for the Baptist Missionary Society in the Congo, Africa, due to ill health.

His response was to found a missionary training college at Colwyn Bay. His approach, way ahead of its day, enabled Africans to receive work training alongside their Biblical instruction and return home as self-employed evangelists.

It's doubtless that Hughes' Welshness and background influenced his un-colonial perspective. He advocated that Africans should be able to worship in their own language and have more control over their own affairs - a view that was no doubt influenced by his own culture.

His radical ideas did not endear him to the traditionally-minded missionary establishment, but were well received by the West Africans who appreciated his support for their freedom of cultural expression.

It has been argued that his influence was far-reaching - the local missionaries trained by Hughes might well have been an influence on the post-colonial generation including independence Prime Ministers such as Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), Hastings Banda (Malawi) and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.

Although well-supported locally, the Institute was not without its troubles and Hughes' ideas were unpalatable to the Baptist Church Missionary Society. He was financially naïve, and in 1911 faced national scandal at the hands of John Bull magazine - akin to today's tabloids - which suggested the Africans were 'walking in the woods with local ladies' of an evening.

Many have argued that this spelt the end for the institute. Although the attention was hardly welcome, I don't think this is what caused the end of the institute as bankruptcy proceedings had already begun at this point.

On the whole it seems as though the institute was well supported by the local community. There are accounts of farewell groups singing hymns to departing students and the station master postponing the train's departure so that these farewells could take place.

We also have a list of generous donations made locally to departing missionary students as well as the provision of suits and overcoats from a Chester clothier.

At its peak the institute trained around 60 students. King Leopold II of Belgium was its patron. North Wales explorer, H M Stanley also gave lectures in support of the institute. Martin M'Caw

Illustrations taken from Dark Africa and The Way Out by William Hughes, courtesy of Bangor University Library & Archive rare books collection.