 In the later 1950s an issue arose which tarnished the reputations of both Braddocks in the eyes of much of Liverpool 's Welsh community and the people of Wales . In 1955 Liverpool council applied for the compulsory purchase of land in the Tryweryn Valley , Merionethshire , North Wales , for the construction of a reservoir to serve Liverpool 's increasing needs for water — some 65 million gallons a day . The proposal would mean the flooding of the small village of Llyn Celyn , and several farms . On 7 November a deputation led by the Plaid Cymru president Gwynfor Evans sought to address the council in a plea for a change in policy . According to Bessie 's biographer Ben Rees , while Evans was speaking , Bessie banged on the table and joined other councillors in insulting Evans and demanding that he " go back to Wales " . In July 1957 , when the enabling legislation reached its second House of Commons reading , Bessie described the scheme as regional rather than local , and claimed that some parts of Wales would benefit from it . The land to be flooded in the Tryweryn Valley was not , she said , of high agricultural value , and " nothing was done that was not agreed to by the tenants in the area " . The bill became law , and construction began in 1959 , but protests and demonstrations continued until the reservoir 's opening in 1965 . The slogan <unk> <unk> ( " Remember Tryweryn " ) was coined by nationalists , says Rees , as " a reminder of Liverpool 's greed and lack of sensitivity " . In October 2015 , on the 50th anniversary of the reservoir 's completion , protestors demonstrated around the statue of Bessie at <unk> 's Lime Street Station . 
