1. Waldo Goronwy Williams was one of the leading Welsh-language poets of the 20th century.
17 Facts About Waldo Williams
1. 2.
Waldo Williams was a notable Christian pacifist, anti-war campaigner, and Welsh nationalist.
3.
Waldo Williams is often referred to by his first name only.
4.
Waldo Goronwy Williams was born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, the third child of John Edwal Williams, headmaster of Prendergast primary school in Haverfordwest, and his wife Angharad Williams.
5.
Waldo Williams's father spoke both Welsh and English, but his mother only spoke English, as did Waldo himself in his early years.
6.
Waldo Williams was raised as a Baptist and baptised as a member of Blaenconin Baptist Chapel in 1921 at the age of 16.
7.
Waldo Williams then trained as a teacher: he taught in various schools in Pembrokeshire and the rest of Wales and England, including Kimbolton School, Huntingdonshire.
8.
Waldo Williams taught night classes for the Department of Extra-Mural Studies at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.
9.
Waldo Williams was a conscientious objector in the Second World War, which led to his dismissal from a headmastership.
10.
Waldo Williams's goods were sequestrated by bailiffs and he was twice imprisoned in the early 1960s for refusing to pay his income tax.
11.
Williams, Waldo Williams had become a supporter of Plaid Cymru.
12.
Waldo Williams 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.
13.
Waldo Williams died in 1971 at St Thomas's Hospital, Haverfordwest.
14.
Waldo Williams was buried at the Blaenconin Baptist Chapel burial ground in Llandissilio, with his parents and his wife Linda.
15.
Waldo Williams's lounge is a new eating and drinking establishment opened in late 2024 in Haverfordwest town centre.
16.
Waldo Williams was within the Welsh tradition of the, poets who served a locality by recording its life and people in verse.
17.
Waldo Williams took as his moral anchor the cooperative, harmonious living he saw in the farming communities in the Preseli Hills.