A Proud Welsh Patriot: A Biography of Gwilym Prys-Davies

Disgrifiad Cymraeg / Welsh Description

Dyma'r cofiant cyntaf yn Saesneg (addasiad o waith blaenorol yn Gymraeg) o fywyd gwleidyddol a phersonol yr Arglwydd (Gwilym) Prys-Davies (1923-2017). Mae'r cofiant gwych, crefftus a chyffrous hwn yn talu sylw ysgolheigaidd dyledus i bob agwedd ar fywyd a gyrfa Gwilym Prys-Davies, yn gyfraniad mawr i'n dealltwriaeth o fywyd gwleidyddol Cymru dros gyfnod hir.

Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description

The first biography in English (an adaptation of a previous work in Welsh) of the political and personal life of Lord (Gwilym Prys-Davies (1923-2017). This superb biography, well crafted and well paced pays due scholarly attention to all aspects of Gwilym Prys-Davies's life and career, and is a major contribution to our understanding of Welsh political life over a long timeframe.

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Bywgraffiad yr Awdur / Author Biography

Mae D Ben Rees wedi cyhoeddi nifer o lyfrau gan gynnwys Mahatma Gandhi (1970), James Griffiths (2014), Cledwyn Hughes (2017), Aneirin Bevan (2000) a Gwilym Prys-Davies (2022). Mae'n awdur toreithiog ers ei gyfnod fel myfyriwr yn Aberystwyth ac wedi llunio 30 o gyfrolau ar Gymry Lerpwl a'r Cyffiniau.

Bywgraffiad yr Awdur / Author Biography

D Ben Rees has published a number of books including Mahatma Gandhi (1970), James Griffiths (2014), Cledwyn Hughes (2017), Aneirin Bevan (2000) and Gwilym Prys-Davies (2022). He has been a prolific writer since his time as a student at Aberystwyth and has compiled 30 volumes on Liverpool Welsh.

Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review

This is the first biography in English (a skilful adaptation of a previous work in Welsh) of Lord (Gwilym) Prys-Davies (1923–2017) penned by one of our busiest political biographers and the author of substantial biographical works on William Abraham (Mabon), Aneurin Bevan, Jim Griffiths and Cledwyn Hughes. The author was fortunate in being one of the first researchers to quarry the substantial archive of Prys-Davies's political and personal papers deposited at the National Library of Wales shortly after his death. Rev. D. Ben Rees, as a Labour Party activist throughout his life, knew his subject closely over several decades. They first met in 1962 and remained in regular contact throughout until Prys-Davies's death in 2017. They soon became firm friends who enjoyed a mutual respect and admiration. As Lord Prys-Davies was not a professional politician, and was by nature a modest individual who shunned the limelight, his many achievements have not been fully appreciated. Full biographies of individuals who generally laboured in the background are rare, but this study is a true exception. All too often Prys-Davies is remembered primarily as the unsuccessful Labour candidate in the Carmarthen by-election of July 1966 when Plaid Cymru president Gwynfor Evans captured the division. But Prys-Davies's many achievements are fully chronicled here in this biography. These include his key role in promoting the use of the Welsh language in the law courts during the 1960s, his championing of the setting up of S4C in 1982, and his contribution towards the drafting and passage of the Welsh Language Acts of 1967 and 1993. He was also a fervent supporter of devolutionary initiatives throughout his life, was a 'special advisor' to John Morris MP when he was Secretary of State for Wales during the 1970s and gave sound advice to many other Welsh politicians. All too often, the Welsh Office as an institution proved non-committal and luke warm in its attitudes towards devolution. People like Prys-Davies kept it on track. Rev. D. Ben Rees has mastered the many aspects of his subject's life and career. These include his formative years at Llanegryn in Merionethshire, his family background, his university days at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, his role within the Welsh Republican Movement when he was a young man, and his important relationship with political contemporaries like Dr Huw T. Edwards and Goronwy O. Roberts MP. Many other Labour politician also come to the surface in this fascinating tale. The fresh material on the Welsh Republican Movement is especially significant, a group whose activities were condemned by D. J. Williams, Abergwaun as mere 'childish heroics', and whose members hostile press reports dubbed as 'Cymric Bolsheviks with beards and bombs'. Among the future lawyers with whom Prys-Davies mixed were Emlyn Hooson, Elystan Morgan and John Morris. All three in due course became front-line politicians and prominent members of the House of Lords. Other college contemporaries included Jennie Eirian Davies, R. Cyril Hughes and Gwyn Alf Williams. All feature in this volume and in the fullness of time served as among the architects of the devolved Wales of the twenty-first century. Although Ben Rees clearly admired his subject and appreciated his contribution in several spheres of influence, never does the study descend into sycophantic hagiography. Prys-Davies's faults and weaknesses are given due coverage throughout the lengthy text. This well-crafted biography, scrupulously fair, and paying due attention to all aspects of Gwilym Prys-Davies's life and career, is a major contribution to our understanding of Welsh political life over a long time-frame, and certainly rescues his subject from potential oblivion and neglect. It is attractively produced, includes useful photographs, and bears a detailed index.