John Petts retrospective exhibition

Eleven letters, 1975, to John Petts relating to a retrospective exhibition of his work held at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea, including letters of appreciation from Kyffin Williams, John Piper, Lord Snowdon, Glyn Jones, Gwynfor Evans, Moelwyn Merchant and George Thomas, Viscount Tonypandy, together with a typescript draft of the catalogue and a draft of the cover design by John Petts.

Kyffin Williams, artist, was born in Llangefni, Anglesey, 9 May 1918. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and articled to the land agents, Yale and Hardcastle, Pwllheli, 1936-1939. He served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers from 1937 to 1941, but on failing an army medical examination because of his epilepsy he was advised to take up art by his doctor. Hence in 1941 he entered the Slade School of Fine Art, and from 1944 to 1973 was Senior Art Master at Highgate School in London. In 1968 he was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship to record the Welsh community in Patagonia.
He was elected President of the Royal Cambrian Academy from 1969 to 1976 and again from 1992; an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1970, and a Royal Academician in 1974. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the University Colleges of Swansea (1989), Bangor (1991) and Aberystwyth (1992). In 1973 he was made an Honorary MA and in 1993 an Honorary Doctor of Letters of the University of Wales. Other honours bestowed on him were the OBE (1982), the Cymmrodorion Medal (1991), and a KBE (2000).
Exhibitions of his work have been held at the following London Galleries: Colnaghi's, the Leicester Galleries, Thackeray Gallery; also the Howard Roberts and Albany Galleries, Cardiff; Tegfryn Gallery, Menai Bridge; and other provincial venues.
His work is found in the collections of the Arts Council of Great Britain, National Museum of Wales, National Library of Wales, Welsh Arts Council, Royal Academy, Contemporary Art Society, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, art galleries of Newport, Swansea, Hereford, Coventry, the Chantrey Bequest and very many private collections. A major retrospective exhibition was staged at the National Museum of Wales in 1987.
Kyffin Williams's autobiography, Across the Straits, was published in 1973, and his second autobiographical volume, A Wider Sky, in 1991. Other works include Boyo Ballads (1995), Portraits (1996), The land and the sea (1998), Drawings (2001), Cutting images (2002), and Gwladfa Kyffin / Kyffin in Patagonia (2004). Since 1974 he lived and worked at Pwllfanogl on the edge of the Menai Straits below Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, Anglesey. He died in September 2006.

Lord Tonypandy (1909-1997) was born Thomas George Thomas in Port Talbot, Glamorgan, one of five children of Zacharia Thomas. He attended Tonypandy Secondary School and University College, Southampton. He returned to Cardiff in 1931, where he taught at Marlborough Road Elementary School for Boys and Roath Park School. He was drawn into politics through the National Union of Teachers. Medically unfit for war service, he became a Special Constable and was elected to the union's Executive Committee in 1942. Thomas had joined the Labour Party in 1925. He was nominated with Barbara Betts (later Castle) for the dual seat of Blackburn, but stood for Cardiff Central, which he won in the Labour landslide in 1945 and, following the boundary changes in 1950, was MP for Cardiff West until 1983. As a Welsh Nonconformist, he opposed Attlee's conscription policy, and spoke against pub and cinema openings on Sundays. He also campaigned on leasehold reform. The peak of his ministerial career came between 1968-1970 when he served as Secretary of State for Wales; his other political posts were Minister of Civil Aviation, 1951; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, 1964-1966; Minister of State at the Welsh Office, 1966-1967, and at the Commonwealth Office, 1967-1968. He was Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, 1974-1976; and Speaker of the House of Commons, 1976-1983. He was the 133rd Speaker of the House of Commons, and the first to become known to a wider public through the broadcasting of Parliament on radio. In 1983, he was created Viscount Tonypandy of Rhondda. After he took his seat in the Upper House, he began to speak out against British integration with the European Union, at a time when his party was pro European Union. In 1996 he endorsed the anti-Europe campaign of Sir James Goldsmith and his Referendum Party. He was Chairman of the Bank of Wales, 1985-1991; President of the National Children's Home, 1990-1995; and Vice-President of the Macmillan Fund for Cancer Relief, 1991-1997. He was a diligent Methodist lay preacher throughout his life. He was a strong opponent of devolution and measures to alter the legal position of the Welsh language. He campaigned against Welsh devolution in the 1979 referendum. In 1997, with the banker Sir Julian Hodge, he was a prominent patron of the Welsh "Just Say No" campaign in the second referendum. It was his last campaign. He died aged 88 on 22nd September 1997.

Roedd Gwynfor Evans yn un o brif wleidyddion Cymru ledled ail hanner yr ugeinfed ganrif, Llywydd Plaid Cymru o 1945 hyd at 1981 a'r cyntaf i gipio sedd yn y Senedd ar ran y Blaid, hynny ym 1966. Mae hefyd yn awdur nifer o gyfrolau hanesyddol pwysig.
Ganed Gwynfor Richard Evans yn Y Barri, Sir Forgannwg, ar 1 Medi 1912, yn fab i Dan Evans a Catherine Mary Richard ei wraig. Addysgwyd ef yn Ysgol Gynradd Gladstone Road, Y Barri, Ysgol Ramadeg y Barri, Coleg y Brifysgol, Aberystwyth a Choleg San Ioan, Rhydychen. Yn wreiddiol hyfforddwyd ef fel cyfreithiwr a daeth yn gyfreithiwr proffesiynol ym 1939, ond yna penderfynodd ennill ei fywoliaeth fel garddwr masnachol a gwnaeth ei gartref yn Llangadog, sir Gaerfyrddin. Ym 1941 ymbriododd â Rhiannon Prys Thomas, un a fu'n gefn cyson iddo drwy gydol ei fywyd cyhoeddus, a bu iddynt bedwar mab a thair merch.
Ym 1939 dewiswyd Gwynfor Evans yn ysgrifennydd mudiad Heddychwyr Cymru, ac ym 1941 etholwyd ef yn is-lywydd Plaid Cymru. Pedair blynedd yn ddiweddarach daeth yn Llywydd y Blaid, swydd y parhaodd ynddi tan 1981. Etholwyd ef yn aelod o Gyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin ym 1949 a pharhaodd fel henadur y Cyngor o 1949 tan 1974. Ym 1954 dewiswyd ef hefyd yn gadeirydd Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymreig. Yng Ngorffennaf 1966 gwnaeth gyfraniad gwir hanesyddol pan gipiodd etholaeth Sir Gaerfyrddin mewn is-etholiad hollbwysig a gynhaliwyd yn dilyn marwolaeth y Fonesig Megan Lloyd George. Collodd y sedd yn etholiad cyffredinol Mehefin 1970, ond cynrychiolodd yr etholaeth unwaith eto yn y Senedd rhwng Hydref 1974 a 1979. Aflwyddiannus bu ei ymgeisyddiaeth yno ym 1979 a 1983.
Chwaraeodd Gwynfor Evans ran ganolog yn natblygiad ei blaid fel grym gwleidyddol, a bu'n hollol allweddol ym mhob menter dros genedlaetholdeb Cymreig o'r Ail Ryfel Byd ymlaen. Hyd ddiwedd y ganrif roedd yn ffigwr dylanwadol ym mywyd cyhoeddus Cymru a pharhaodd yn uchel ei barch hyd yn oed ymhlith aelodau o bleidiau gwleidyddol eraill yng Nghymru a Lloegr. Roedd hefyd yn hynod amlwg yn y frwydr i sicrhau pedwaredd sianel a fyddai darlledu'n bennaf yn yr iaith Gymraeg, ac ym 1980 cyhoeddodd ei barodrwydd i ymprydio hyd angau pe bai angen oni chyflawnai'r Llywodraeth ei hymrwymiad i ddarparu'r fath wasanaeth yn unol ag addewid ei faniffesto etholiadol ym 1979. Gwasanaethodd hefyd fel aelod o fyrdd o bwyllgorau a chyrff cyhoeddus yng Nghymru, gan gynnwys Cyngor a Llys Llywodraethwyr Prifysgol Cymru, Aberystwyth a Chyngor Darlledu Cymru.
Roedd Gwynfor Evans hefyd yn awdur toreithiog. Cyhoeddodd nifer fawr o bamffledi ac erthyglau gwleidyddol eu naws yn y Gymraeg a'r Saesneg sydd yn adlewyrchu ei gred mewn cenedlaetholdeb a heddychiaeth. Ymhlith ei gyfrolau niferus mae Wales Can Win (1973), A National Future for Wales (1975), Diwedd Prydeindod (1981), (cyfrol sydd yn ddadansoddiad llym o 'Brydeinrwydd' y Cymry), Pe Bai Cymru'n Rhydd (1989) a Fighting for Wales (1990). Cyhoeddodd hefyd hanes cynhwysfawr Cymru yn ei gyfrol Aros Mae (1971), astudiaeth a enillodd cryn fri ac a chyfieithwyd i'r Saesneg dan y teitl Land of My Fathers (1974). Fel hanesydd roedd Evans yn olynydd teilwng i awduron fel Theophilus Evans ac Owen M. Edwards. Roeddent oll yn gwneud defnydd o ymchwil ysgolheigion eraill er mwyn ceisio meithrin yn eu cyd-Gymry falchder yng ngogoniant eu hanes a'u llên. Gweithiau eraill o bwys o'i eiddo yw Seiri Cenedl (1986), cyfrol o fywgraffiadau byrion o Gymry blaenllaw drwy'r oesoedd ynghyd â fersiwn Saesneg Welsh Nation Builders (1987).
Dyfarnwyd i Gwynfor Evans radd Ll.D. (Cymru) honoris causa ym 1973 a medal Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion ym 1984. Ers blynyddoedd roedd yn byw yn Nhalar Wen, Pencarreg ger Llanybydder, sir Gaerfyrddin, lle bu farw ar 21 Ebrill 2005 yn 92 mlwydd oed.
Gwynfor Evans was one of the most prominent Welsh politicians throughout the second half of the twentieth century, Plaid Cymru President from 1945 until 1981, and the first person to win a parliamentary seat on behalf of Plaid Cymru in July 1966. He is also the author of a number of important historical works.
Gwynfor Richard Evans was born at Barry, Glamorganshire, on 1 September 1912, the son of Dan Evans and Catherine Mary Richard his wife. He was educated at Gladstone Road Elementary School, Barry, Barry County School, the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and St John's College, Oxford. He originally trained to be a solicitor and qualified in 1939. But he then decided to earn his living as a market gardener and settled at Llangadog, Carmarthenshire. In 1941 he married Rhiannon Prys Thomas, a partner who supported him unstintingly in his public work. They had four sons and three daughters.
In 1939 Gwynfor Evans was chosen secretary of the Heddychwyr Cymru (Welsh Pacifist) movement and in 1941 he became the vice-president of Plaid Cymru. Four years later he was elected party president and remained in that position until 1981. He was elected to the Carmarthenshire County Council in 1949 and remained an alderman of the council until his retirement in 1974. In 1954 he was chosen chairman of the Union of Welsh Independents. In July 1966 a truly historic event occurred when Gwynfor Evans captured the Carmarthenshire constituency in a momentous by-election held following the death of Lady Megan Lloyd George. He lost the seat in the June 1970 General Election, but again represented the constituency in parliament from October 1974 until 1979. His candidatures there were unsuccessful in 1979 and 1983.
Gwynfor Evans played a central role in the development of his party as a political force, and he was a key figure in every nationalist campaign ever since the Second World War. Until the very end of the twentieth century he was an influential figure in Welsh public life and he was highly respected even among the members of other political parties in Wales and England. He was also hugely prominent in the campaign to secure a fourth television channel which would broadcast mainly in the Welsh language, and in 1980 he announced his willingness to go on hunger strike until death if necessary unless the government adhered to its pledge to set up such a service in keeping with its election manifesto promise in 1979. He also served as a member of an array of committees and public bodies in Wales, among them the Council and Court of Governors of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and the Welsh Broadcasting Council.
Gwynfor Evans was also a prolific author. He published a large number of political pamphlets and articles in both Welsh and English, writings which reflect his unwavering belief in nationalism and pacifism. Among his many volumes are Wales Can Win (1973), A National Future for Wales (1975), Diwedd Prydeindod (1981) (a volume which comprises a harsh condemnation of the 'British' attitudes of the Welsh people), Pe Bai Cymru'n Rhydd (1989) and Fighting for Wales (1990). He also published a comprehensive history of Wales in his volume Aros Mae (1971), a study which was highly acclaimed and which was translated into English in the volume Land of My Fathers (1974). As a historian Evans was a worthy successor to authors like Theophilus Evans and Owen M. Edwards. Each of these writers made use of the researches of other scholars with the aim of attempting to instil in their fellow Welsh people a pride in the glories of their history and literature. Other important works published by Gwynfor Evans include Seiri Cenedl (1986), a volume of short biographies of prominent Welsh historical figures, together with an English version Welsh Nation Builders (1987).
Gwynfor Evans was awarded the degree of Ll.D. (Wales) honoris causa in 1973 and the medal of the Honorary Society of Cymmrodorion in 1984. For many years he resided at Talar Wen, Pencarreg, near Llanybydder, Carmarthenshire where he died on 21 April 2005 aged 92 years.

Kyffin Williams, artist, was born in Llangefni, Anglesey, 9 May 1918. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and articled to the land agents, Yale and Hardcastle, Pwllheli, 1936-1939. He served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers from 1937 to 1941, but on failing an army medical examination because of his epilepsy he was advised to take up art by his doctor. Hence in 1941 he entered the Slade School of Fine Art, and from 1944 to 1973 was Senior Art Master at Highgate School in London. In 1968 he was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship to record the Welsh community in Patagonia.
He was elected President of the Royal Cambrian Academy from 1969 to 1976 and again from 1992; an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1970, and a Royal Academician in 1974. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the University Colleges of Swansea (1989), Bangor (1991) and Aberystwyth (1992). In 1973 he was made an Honorary MA and in 1993 an Honorary Doctor of Letters of the University of Wales. Other honours bestowed on him were the OBE (1982), the Cymmrodorion Medal (1991), and a KBE (2000).
Exhibitions of his work have been held at the following London Galleries: Colnaghi's, the Leicester Galleries, Thackeray Gallery; also the Howard Roberts and Albany Galleries, Cardiff; Tegfryn Gallery, Menai Bridge; and other provincial venues.
His work is found in the collections of the Arts Council of Great Britain, National Museum of Wales, National Library of Wales, Welsh Arts Council, Royal Academy, Contemporary Art Society, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, art galleries of Newport, Swansea, Hereford, Coventry, the Chantrey Bequest and very many private collections. A major retrospective exhibition was staged at the National Museum of Wales in 1987.
Kyffin Williams's autobiography, Across the Straits, was published in 1973, and his second autobiographical volume, A Wider Sky, in 1991. Other works include Boyo Ballads (1995), Portraits (1996), The land and the sea (1998), Drawings (2001), Cutting images (2002), and Gwladfa Kyffin / Kyffin in Patagonia (2004). Since 1974 he lived and worked at Pwllfanogl on the edge of the Menai Straits below Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, Anglesey. He died in September 2006.

Lord Tonypandy (1909-1997) was born Thomas George Thomas in Port Talbot, Glamorgan, one of five children of Zacharia Thomas. He attended Tonypandy Secondary School and University College, Southampton. He returned to Cardiff in 1931, where he taught at Marlborough Road Elementary School for Boys and Roath Park School. He was drawn into politics through the National Union of Teachers. Medically unfit for war service, he became a Special Constable and was elected to the union's Executive Committee in 1942. Thomas had joined the Labour Party in 1925. He was nominated with Barbara Betts (later Castle) for the dual seat of Blackburn, but stood for Cardiff Central, which he won in the Labour landslide in 1945 and, following the boundary changes in 1950, was MP for Cardiff West until 1983. As a Welsh Nonconformist, he opposed Attlee's conscription policy, and spoke against pub and cinema openings on Sundays. He also campaigned on leasehold reform. The peak of his ministerial career came between 1968-1970 when he served as Secretary of State for Wales; his other political posts were Minister of Civil Aviation, 1951; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, 1964-1966; Minister of State at the Welsh Office, 1966-1967, and at the Commonwealth Office, 1967-1968. He was Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, 1974-1976; and Speaker of the House of Commons, 1976-1983. He was the 133rd Speaker of the House of Commons, and the first to become known to a wider public through the broadcasting of Parliament on radio. In 1983, he was created Viscount Tonypandy of Rhondda. After he took his seat in the Upper House, he began to speak out against British integration with the European Union, at a time when his party was pro European Union. In 1996 he endorsed the anti-Europe campaign of Sir James Goldsmith and his Referendum Party. He was Chairman of the Bank of Wales, 1985-1991; President of the National Children's Home, 1990-1995; and Vice-President of the Macmillan Fund for Cancer Relief, 1991-1997. He was a diligent Methodist lay preacher throughout his life. He was a strong opponent of devolution and measures to alter the legal position of the Welsh language. He campaigned against Welsh devolution in the 1979 referendum. In 1997, with the banker Sir Julian Hodge, he was a prominent patron of the Welsh "Just Say No" campaign in the second referendum. It was his last campaign. He died aged 88 on 22nd September 1997.

Roedd Gwynfor Evans yn un o brif wleidyddion Cymru ledled ail hanner yr ugeinfed ganrif, Llywydd Plaid Cymru o 1945 hyd at 1981 a'r cyntaf i gipio sedd yn y Senedd ar ran y Blaid, hynny ym 1966. Mae hefyd yn awdur nifer o gyfrolau hanesyddol pwysig.
Ganed Gwynfor Richard Evans yn Y Barri, Sir Forgannwg, ar 1 Medi 1912, yn fab i Dan Evans a Catherine Mary Richard ei wraig. Addysgwyd ef yn Ysgol Gynradd Gladstone Road, Y Barri, Ysgol Ramadeg y Barri, Coleg y Brifysgol, Aberystwyth a Choleg San Ioan, Rhydychen. Yn wreiddiol hyfforddwyd ef fel cyfreithiwr a daeth yn gyfreithiwr proffesiynol ym 1939, ond yna penderfynodd ennill ei fywoliaeth fel garddwr masnachol a gwnaeth ei gartref yn Llangadog, sir Gaerfyrddin. Ym 1941 ymbriododd â Rhiannon Prys Thomas, un a fu'n gefn cyson iddo drwy gydol ei fywyd cyhoeddus, a bu iddynt bedwar mab a thair merch.
Ym 1939 dewiswyd Gwynfor Evans yn ysgrifennydd mudiad Heddychwyr Cymru, ac ym 1941 etholwyd ef yn is-lywydd Plaid Cymru. Pedair blynedd yn ddiweddarach daeth yn Llywydd y Blaid, swydd y parhaodd ynddi tan 1981. Etholwyd ef yn aelod o Gyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin ym 1949 a pharhaodd fel henadur y Cyngor o 1949 tan 1974. Ym 1954 dewiswyd ef hefyd yn gadeirydd Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymreig. Yng Ngorffennaf 1966 gwnaeth gyfraniad gwir hanesyddol pan gipiodd etholaeth Sir Gaerfyrddin mewn is-etholiad hollbwysig a gynhaliwyd yn dilyn marwolaeth y Fonesig Megan Lloyd George. Collodd y sedd yn etholiad cyffredinol Mehefin 1970, ond cynrychiolodd yr etholaeth unwaith eto yn y Senedd rhwng Hydref 1974 a 1979. Aflwyddiannus bu ei ymgeisyddiaeth yno ym 1979 a 1983.
Chwaraeodd Gwynfor Evans ran ganolog yn natblygiad ei blaid fel grym gwleidyddol, a bu'n hollol allweddol ym mhob menter dros genedlaetholdeb Cymreig o'r Ail Ryfel Byd ymlaen. Hyd ddiwedd y ganrif roedd yn ffigwr dylanwadol ym mywyd cyhoeddus Cymru a pharhaodd yn uchel ei barch hyd yn oed ymhlith aelodau o bleidiau gwleidyddol eraill yng Nghymru a Lloegr. Roedd hefyd yn hynod amlwg yn y frwydr i sicrhau pedwaredd sianel a fyddai darlledu'n bennaf yn yr iaith Gymraeg, ac ym 1980 cyhoeddodd ei barodrwydd i ymprydio hyd angau pe bai angen oni chyflawnai'r Llywodraeth ei hymrwymiad i ddarparu'r fath wasanaeth yn unol ag addewid ei faniffesto etholiadol ym 1979. Gwasanaethodd hefyd fel aelod o fyrdd o bwyllgorau a chyrff cyhoeddus yng Nghymru, gan gynnwys Cyngor a Llys Llywodraethwyr Prifysgol Cymru, Aberystwyth a Chyngor Darlledu Cymru.
Roedd Gwynfor Evans hefyd yn awdur toreithiog. Cyhoeddodd nifer fawr o bamffledi ac erthyglau gwleidyddol eu naws yn y Gymraeg a'r Saesneg sydd yn adlewyrchu ei gred mewn cenedlaetholdeb a heddychiaeth. Ymhlith ei gyfrolau niferus mae Wales Can Win (1973), A National Future for Wales (1975), Diwedd Prydeindod (1981), (cyfrol sydd yn ddadansoddiad llym o 'Brydeinrwydd' y Cymry), Pe Bai Cymru'n Rhydd (1989) a Fighting for Wales (1990). Cyhoeddodd hefyd hanes cynhwysfawr Cymru yn ei gyfrol Aros Mae (1971), astudiaeth a enillodd cryn fri ac a chyfieithwyd i'r Saesneg dan y teitl Land of My Fathers (1974). Fel hanesydd roedd Evans yn olynydd teilwng i awduron fel Theophilus Evans ac Owen M. Edwards. Roeddent oll yn gwneud defnydd o ymchwil ysgolheigion eraill er mwyn ceisio meithrin yn eu cyd-Gymry falchder yng ngogoniant eu hanes a'u llên. Gweithiau eraill o bwys o'i eiddo yw Seiri Cenedl (1986), cyfrol o fywgraffiadau byrion o Gymry blaenllaw drwy'r oesoedd ynghyd â fersiwn Saesneg Welsh Nation Builders (1987).
Dyfarnwyd i Gwynfor Evans radd Ll.D. (Cymru) honoris causa ym 1973 a medal Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion ym 1984. Ers blynyddoedd roedd yn byw yn Nhalar Wen, Pencarreg ger Llanybydder, sir Gaerfyrddin, lle bu farw ar 21 Ebrill 2005 yn 92 mlwydd oed.
Gwynfor Evans was one of the most prominent Welsh politicians throughout the second half of the twentieth century, Plaid Cymru President from 1945 until 1981, and the first person to win a parliamentary seat on behalf of Plaid Cymru in July 1966. He is also the author of a number of important historical works.
Gwynfor Richard Evans was born at Barry, Glamorganshire, on 1 September 1912, the son of Dan Evans and Catherine Mary Richard his wife. He was educated at Gladstone Road Elementary School, Barry, Barry County School, the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and St John's College, Oxford. He originally trained to be a solicitor and qualified in 1939. But he then decided to earn his living as a market gardener and settled at Llangadog, Carmarthenshire. In 1941 he married Rhiannon Prys Thomas, a partner who supported him unstintingly in his public work. They had four sons and three daughters.
In 1939 Gwynfor Evans was chosen secretary of the Heddychwyr Cymru (Welsh Pacifist) movement and in 1941 he became the vice-president of Plaid Cymru. Four years later he was elected party president and remained in that position until 1981. He was elected to the Carmarthenshire County Council in 1949 and remained an alderman of the council until his retirement in 1974. In 1954 he was chosen chairman of the Union of Welsh Independents. In July 1966 a truly historic event occurred when Gwynfor Evans captured the Carmarthenshire constituency in a momentous by-election held following the death of Lady Megan Lloyd George. He lost the seat in the June 1970 General Election, but again represented the constituency in parliament from October 1974 until 1979. His candidatures there were unsuccessful in 1979 and 1983.
Gwynfor Evans played a central role in the development of his party as a political force, and he was a key figure in every nationalist campaign ever since the Second World War. Until the very end of the twentieth century he was an influential figure in Welsh public life and he was highly respected even among the members of other political parties in Wales and England. He was also hugely prominent in the campaign to secure a fourth television channel which would broadcast mainly in the Welsh language, and in 1980 he announced his willingness to go on hunger strike until death if necessary unless the government adhered to its pledge to set up such a service in keeping with its election manifesto promise in 1979. He also served as a member of an array of committees and public bodies in Wales, among them the Council and Court of Governors of the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth and the Welsh Broadcasting Council.
Gwynfor Evans was also a prolific author. He published a large number of political pamphlets and articles in both Welsh and English, writings which reflect his unwavering belief in nationalism and pacifism. Among his many volumes are Wales Can Win (1973), A National Future for Wales (1975), Diwedd Prydeindod (1981) (a volume which comprises a harsh condemnation of the 'British' attitudes of the Welsh people), Pe Bai Cymru'n Rhydd (1989) and Fighting for Wales (1990). He also published a comprehensive history of Wales in his volume Aros Mae (1971), a study which was highly acclaimed and which was translated into English in the volume Land of My Fathers (1974). As a historian Evans was a worthy successor to authors like Theophilus Evans and Owen M. Edwards. Each of these writers made use of the researches of other scholars with the aim of attempting to instil in their fellow Welsh people a pride in the glories of their history and literature. Other important works published by Gwynfor Evans include Seiri Cenedl (1986), a volume of short biographies of prominent Welsh historical figures, together with an English version Welsh Nation Builders (1987).
Gwynfor Evans was awarded the degree of Ll.D. (Wales) honoris causa in 1973 and the medal of the Honorary Society of Cymmrodorion in 1984. For many years he resided at Talar Wen, Pencarreg, near Llanybydder, Carmarthenshire where he died on 21 April 2005 aged 92 years.

Title based on contents.

Preferred citation: NLW MS 23211E.

Published