Waldo Goronwy Williams (30 September 1904 – 20 May 1971) was one of the leadingWelsh-languagepoets of the 20th century. He was also a notable Christianpacifist, anti-war campaigner, andWelsh nationalist.[1] He is often referred to by his first name only.[2]
Waldo Goronwy Williams was born inHaverfordwest,Pembrokeshire, the third child of John Edwal Williams (1863–1934), headmaster of Prendergast primary school in Haverfordwest, and his wife Angharad Williams (1875–1932). His father spoke both Welsh and English, but his mother only spoke English, as did Waldo himself in his early years.
In 1911 Waldo's father was appointed head of the primary school atMynachlog-ddu, Pembrokeshire. There Waldo learnt to speak Welsh. In 1915 his father moved again, to be head of Brynconin School, the primary school atLlandissilio, Pembrokeshire. Waldo was raised as aBaptist and baptised as a member of Blaenconin Baptist Chapel in 1921 at the age of 16.
After attending the grammar school atNarberth, Pembrokeshire, Waldo studied at theUniversity College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he graduated in English in 1926. He then trained as a teacher: he taught in various schools in Pembrokeshire and the rest of Wales and England, includingKimbolton School,Huntingdonshire. He also taught night classes for the Department of Extra-Mural Studies at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Waldo was a friend and supporter of Willie Jenkins (Hoplas), one of the pioneers of theIndependent Labour Party (ILP) and theLabour Party in Pembrokeshire. Willie Jenkins was apacifist, who had been imprisoned as aconscientious objector in theFirst World War; he stood as Labour candidate forPembrokeshire in four elections between 1922 and 1935. Waldo's famous poem "Cofio" (Remembering) was written in 1931 during a visit to Willie Jenkins's farm at Hoplas,Rhoscrowther, near Pembroke.[3]
Waldo married Linda Llewellyn in 1941. Her death in 1943 caused him anguish and distress. He never remarried. Later he would describe his two-year marriage as "fy mlynyddoedd mawr" – "my great years".[4]
Waldo was a conscientious objector in theSecond World War, which led to his dismissal from a headmastership. During theKorean War (1950–1953) he refused to pay his income tax on pacifist grounds as a protest against the war and forced militaryconscription – a protest he continued until compulsorymilitary service ended in 1963 and all the conscripted had been released. His goods were sequestrated by bailiffs and he was twice imprisoned in the early 1960s for refusing to pay his income tax.
Waldo Williams's volume of poetryDail Pren (Leaves of the Tree) was published in 1956 byGwasg Gomer. It has been described as the most outstanding work of Welsh language poetry published since 1945.[6]
In the late 1960s, Waldo Williams taught Welsh to children of 10–11 at the Holy Name Catholic School,Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. He is said to have been a mesmerising teacher, passionate and enthusiastic, who used wooden silhouettes of farm animals with their names painted in Welsh on one side.[citation needed]
Waldo Williams died in 1971 at St Thomas's Hospital, Haverfordwest. He was buried at the Blaenconin Baptist Chapel burial ground in Llandissilio, with his parents and his wife Linda. There is a memorial at Rhos-fach, near to his childhood home in Mynachlog-ddu.
In 2019, Waldo Williams Primary School in Haverfordwest was named in his honour.[8]
The Waldo Williams room atFriends House, London, UK is named after him.[9]
Waldo’s lounge is a new eating and drinking establishment opened in late 2024 in Haverfordwest town centre. This is named after the poet himself
Waldo Williams's poetry shows many influences, ranging fromWilliam Wordsworth andWalt Whitman to Welshhymns and the strict alliterative metres of traditional Welsh poetry, known ascynghanedd.
He was within the Welsh tradition of thebardd gwlad, poets who served a locality by recording its life and people in verse. He took as his moral anchor the cooperative, harmonious living he saw in the farming communities in thePreseli Hills. Amystical revelation about the unity of humankind, which he experienced in his youth, affected him deeply. Belonging to a humane local community, and desiring that people live together in peace, are constant themes in his poetry. This revelation inspired some of his greatest poetry, including "Mewn dau gae" (In two fields, 1956), perhaps his greatest of all. Other well-known poems of his include "Cofio" (Remembering, 1931), "Y tangnefeddwyr" (The peacemakers, 1941), "Preseli" (1946), and "Pa beth yw dyn?" (What is it to be human? 1952).
1926 – Graduates in English and trains as a teacher.
1928 – Begins to teach at various primary schools inPembrokeshire.
1931 – "Cofio" (Remembering) – inspired by a visit to the farm of his friend Willie Jenkins at Hoplas, Rhoscrowther
1936 – Publication ofCerddi'r plant (Poems for Children) jointly with E Llwyd Williams
1938 – "Y Tŵr a'r Graig" (The Tower and the Rock) – a milestone in which Waldo contrasts the independent judgement he valued in a Pembrokeshire community with the militarism of the state
1941 – Marries Linda Llewellyn in Blaenconin chapel (April)
1941 – "Y tangnefeddwyr" (The peacemakers) – a poem of love for his parents and peacemakers, and of horror at the bombing of Swansea[10]
1942 – Conscientious objector to military service on pacifist grounds, conditionally exempted by the South Wales Tribunal sitting at Carmarthen (February 1942)
1942 – Moves from Pembrokeshire with his wife to the Llŷn Peninsula in north-west Wales, to teach at Botwnnog County School (1 March 1942).
1943 – Linda Llewellyn dies of tuberculosis on 1 June 1943. Waldo is grief-stricken.
1945 – Leaves Llŷn for England, working in schools in Kimbolton and Lyneham, Wiltshire, 1945–1948.
1949 – Returns to Wales as a supply teacher in Builth Wells.
1950 – Returns to Pembrokeshire for the rest of his life, teaching in schools and at extramural classes.
1950 – TheKorean War: Williams resigns from teaching to begin a protest of non-payment of income tax against the war. This continues until the end of compulsorymilitary service in 1963. Bailiffs sequestrated his possessions and ultimately he was imprisoned.
Dail Pren (The Leaves of the Tree, 1956), the only volume of poetry for adults published by Waldo Williams in his lifetime; a new edition was published in 1991 by Gwasg Gomer, with an introduction byMererid Hopwood
Cerddi Waldo Williams (The Poems of Waldo Williams) (1992), a selection of his poetry edited byJ. E. Caerwyn Williams
Waldo Williams: rhyddiaith (Waldo Williams: Prose) (2001), edited by Damian Walford Davies – a selection of his prose writings in both Welsh and English
Cerddi'r plant (Poems for children, 1936), poems by Waldo Williams and by E. Llwyd Williams
The Old Farmhouse (1961) – Waldo Williams's translation into English ofYr hen dy ffarm byD. J. Williams (1953)
Waldo Williams: Cerddi 1922–1970 (Poems 1922–1970) (2012), ed. Alan Llwyd and Robert Rhys – a comprehensive collection of Waldo Williams's poetry
^"UK General Election results October 1959". Archived fromthe original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved18 August 2007.. Pembrokeshire had returned a Labour M. P.,Desmond Donnelly, to the Commons since 1950. Donnelly's views differed from those of Willie Jenkins and Waldo Williams – Donnelly was a supporter of German rearmament in 1954 and a strong opponent of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament from 1958.
^For Tony Conran's volume of translations,The Peacemakers (1997) and Rowan Williams's translation of "Between Two Fields" (Mewn dau gae), see English-language sources below.
Nicholas, James (1975).Waldo Williams. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. A general introduction to Williams's life and work.
Williams, Waldo; trans. Tony Conran (1997).The Peacemakers: selected poems. Poems in Welsh with parallel English translations by Tony Conran. With an introduction by Conran to Waldo Williams's life and work. Llandysul: Gomer (1997).ISBN1859024440ISBN9781859024447
Chríost, D. M. G. (2013) "Waldo Williams Dail Pren (1956)". In: Welsh Writing, Political Action and Incarceration. Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. PrintISBN9781349348701. OnlineISBN9781137372277
Davies, Damien Walford (2001).Waldo Williams: rhyddiaith. Caerdydd: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru. ISBN. Includes critical introductions, and notes to the texts, and both his Welsh-language and English-language prose.
Nicholas, James (editor) (1977).Waldo: cyfrol deyrnged i Waldo Williams. Llandysul: Gwasg Gomer. A collection of articles about Williams's life and work
Rhys, Robert (editor) (1981).Waldo Williams. Cyfres y meistri. Abertawe: Gwasg Christopher Davies. ISBN. A collection of articles about Williams's life and work
Rhys, Robert (1992).Chwilio am nodau'r gân: astudiaeth o yrfa lenyddol Waldo Williams hyd at 1939. Llandysul: Gwasg Gomer. ISBN. A study of Williams's literary career until 1939. An appendix includes a significant collection of his early poems not published inDail pren.
Thomas, Ned (1985).Waldo. Llên y llenor. Caernarfon: Gwasg Pantycelyn. A general introduction to Williams's life and poetry
Llwyd, Alan (2014)Waldo: Cofiant Waldo Williams 1904–1971 (Biography and Bibliography)ISBN9781784610456
