Gwynfor Evans | |
|---|---|
_and_Gwynfor_Evans_(1473664)_(cropped).jpg) Evans in 1951 | |
| President ofPlaid Cymru | |
| In office 1945–1981 | |
| Preceded by | Abi Williams |
| Succeeded by | Dafydd Wigley |
| Member of Parliament forCarmarthen | |
| In office 15 July 1966 – 29 May 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Megan Lloyd George |
| Succeeded by | Gwynoro Jones |
| In office 10 October 1974 – 7 April 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Gwynoro Jones |
| Succeeded by | Roger Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gwynfor Richard Evans (1912-09-01)1 September 1912 Barry, Wales |
| Died | 21 April 2005(2005-04-21) (aged 92) Pencarreg,Carmarthenshire, Wales |
| Party | Plaid Cymru |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7 |
| Relatives |
|
| Alma mater | University of Wales, Aberystwyth St John's College, Oxford |
Gwynfor Richard Evans (1 September 1912 – 21 April 2005) was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. He was President of theWelsh political partyPlaid Cymru for thirty-six years and was the firstmember of Parliament to represent it atWestminster, which he did twice, from 1966 to 1970, and again from 1974 to 1979.
On entering the House of Commons, he famously failed in his attempt to obtain permission to take theoath in theWelsh language. He was the first MP to attempt to do so, but the right to take the oath in any of the UK's non-English native languages was not granted until 1974. His most notable achievement was his successful campaign for the creation of a Welsh-language television channel.
Gwynfor Evans was born inBarry, nearCardiff, to Dan Evans and Catherine Richard. He had a brother named Alcwyn, and a sister named Ceridwen. His father ran a chain of shops in Barry, and his mother a china shop. His mother was a fluent Welsh speaker. As a boy, he was educated at Gladstone Road School. Later on, he was educated at Barry County School, where he was captain of the school's cricket and hockey teams. The area was mostly English-speaking; at school, he began learning theWelsh language but did not become fully fluent until the age of seventeen.[citation needed]
Evans studied at theUniversity of Wales, Aberystwyth, and atSt John's College, Oxford, from where he qualified as a lawyer. During his time at St John's, he became a member of theDafydd ap Gwilym society there. He was also amarket gardener. He was a teenager when the Welsh nationalist partyPlaid Cymru was founded in 1925, and he founded a branch of the party while he was at Oxford. He became the party's president in 1945 and retained the office until 1981.[citation needed]
Apacifist, he became active in Heddychwyr Cymru, a Welsh organisation closely associated with thePeace Pledge Union, serving as secretary and editor of a series of pamphlets throughout theSecond World War. A committed Christian also, he declared himself aconscientious objector and was required to appear before a tribunal which, recognising the firmness of his beliefs, registered him unconditionally.[citation needed]
Evans is credited with keeping Plaid Cymru going through the lean years of the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1950s, he campaigned unsuccessfully for aWelsh parliament. He joined localsDafydd Roberts andElizabeth May Watkin Jones in their protest against the closure and flooding of their villageCapel Celyn.[1] This was because of the plan to dam theTryweryn River to supply the city ofLiverpool with water. This was acause célèbre in Wales in the early 1960s.[2]
In 1962, Evans joinedWales West and North Television, in which he was one of the leading figures in the venture. It won theITV franchise for western and northern Wales, but the venture failed because of financial difficulties, and the company was merged with another station,Television Wales and the West.[3]
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Evans was elected toCarmarthenshire County Council in 1949, keeping his seat for the next 25 years, usually as the lone Plaid Cymru representative, acquiring the nickname "Evans dual carriageway" for his emphasis on improving transport links. In1973, following the abolition of Carmarthenshire County Council, Evans failed to be elected to the new Dyfed County Council.[4] Evans contestedMerioneth at the general elections of1945,1950,1955 and1959, and the1954 Aberdare by-election.
In 1964 Evans transferred his candidature to Carmarthen. On 14 July 1966, Evans won the parliamentary seat ofCarmarthen fromLabour in aby-election caused by the death of LadyMegan Lloyd George, daughter of the formerLiberal prime minister,David Lloyd George, having come third in thegeneral election just a few weeks before. He had also contested the seat at the1964 general election. His by-election victory is regarded as a seminal moment for Plaid Cymru. He was shown around the House of Commons by fellow pacifistEmrys Hughes, the son-in-law ofKeir Hardie; on pointing out the Welsh Labour table in the Commons' tea room, Hughes warned him, "You'd better not sit down there, your name's mud among that lot."[5]
On entering the House of Commons, he famously failed in his attempt to obtain permission to take theoath in theWelsh language.[6] He was the first MP to attempt to do so, but the right to take the oath in any of the UK's non-English native languages was not granted until 1974.[7]
In the1970 general election Evans lost his Carmarthen seat toLabour'sGwynoro Jones and failed to regain it in theFebruary 1974 general election by only three votes. He regained the seat, with a majority of 3,640 votes, in theOctober 1974 general election, when he returned to Parliament accompanied by two other Plaid Cymru MPs,Dafydd Wigley andDafydd Elis Thomas.
Evans lost Carmarthen once more at the1979 general election, toRoger Thomas (also Labour). He was unsuccessful in the1983 general election, and did not contest any further elections.
In theHouse of Commons, Evans was true to his pacifist principles in being one of the few MPs to oppose the British government's support of the Nigerian federal government with supplies of weapons in the civil war againstBiafra (1967–1970).[8] He also opposed theVietnam War: after being denied entry to the country as part of an inspection group, he instead protested outside a US air base inThailand.[9]
Evans was the first (and last) president of theCeltic League 1961–71.Robert McIntyre of theSNP was vice-president at the time.
His most notable achievement was his successful campaign for the creation of a Welsh-language television channel.[10] In 1980 his threat to go onhunger strike, after theConservative government reneged on its election promise of aWelsh language television channel, was instrumental in bringing about an early U-turn on the part ofMargaret Thatcher, andS4C began broadcasting on 1 November 1982.[11]
In his political retirement he became a prolific writer, mainly on Welsh subjects and writing in Welsh with simultaneous or later English editions. His workAros Mae (It Endures) (published 1971), a comprehensive history of Wales, and the English-language versionLand of my Fathers: 2000 Years of Welsh History (published 1974), had already become best-sellers.
In 1941 Evans married Rhiannon Prys Thomas, who survived him by nine months, dying on 13 January 2006.[12] They had seven children.[13] Their daughter,Meinir, became a prominent Welsh-language activist and marriedFfred Ffransis.
Evans died at his home inPencarreg on 21 April 2005 at the age of 92.[14][15][16][5]
On his death the Welsh political establishment united in paying its respects to Gwynfor Evans:
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCarmarthen 1966–1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCarmarthen 1974–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President ofPlaid Cymru 1945–1981 | Succeeded by |
| New post | Honorary President ofPlaid Cymru 1982–2005 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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