She played a key role defeating the French during the last invasion of Britain in 1797. Armed only with a pitchfork, Jemima Nicholas is said to have single-handedly rounded up 12 enemy soldiers near Fishguard. Yet, despite securing a place in Welsh history, there has always been some doubt as to whether Jemima really existed. Now over 200 years later the Welsh heroine has stepped out of the shadows of myth and proved to have been a real person after all. Jemima Nicholas's baptism record has been found by a Pembrokeshire College lecturer researching his family's past. Andrew Thomas from Thornton uncovered the vital record in the Mathry Parish Registry at the Pembrokeshire's Records Office in Haverfordwest. It showed that a Jemima Nicholas had been baptised in Mathry on March 2, 1755. "I'm pretty sure it's her," said Pembrokeshire County Council archivist Nikki Bosworth, who helped Mr. Thomas in his search. "It's fascinating. This is something people have been talking about for a long time, particularly since the Last Invasion Bi-centenary celebration in 1997. "The baptism record is about the right date and it fits in with everything else we know about her. The name Jemima was also very uncommon at the time so it seems likely to have been her." Although Jemima is said to have played a key role in history, little is known about the real woman, or indeed whether she actually existed. A shoemaker by trade, she lived in Main Street, Fishguard. Samuel Fenton, vicar of Fishguard in 1832, recalled her making him several pairs of shoes when he was a boy. She was buried at St Mary's Church Fishguard on 16th July 1832, but her gravestone memorial was not erected until 1897 to commemorate the centenary of the unsuccessful French invasion. Mr. Thomas began exploring his family's history seven years ago. The father of two was aware that he was connected to the Nicholas family and after searching its eastern Nevern branch at the Records Office and on the internet began exploring the records of its western Mathry end earlier this year. "At first when I saw the record it did not sink in," he said of his discovery. "I had to draw back at bit before I realised what I had found. It's very exciting." The baptism record shows that Jemima's parents were William and Elinor Nicholas from Llanrhian. They also had a son Issac, who was baptised at Llanrhian two years later. Mr. Thomas and the staff at the Records Office are now continuing their search through the records to see if there is any more information they can uncover about Jemima.
