Alun Herbert Davies (1927-2005), known as Alan Creunant in Wales, was a Welsh head teacher, and first director of the

Welsh Books Council The Books Council of Wales (previously known as the Welsh Books Council) or Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru was established in 1961. Today it is funded by the Welsh Government. The council's aims are to promote the interests of Welsh language books and Engl ...

. His parents were Rev. Thomas Herbert (Creunant) Davies and Hannah Davies (née Thomas). On completing his secondary education in Llandovery he studied at Trinity College,

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

, but did not enter the teaching profession until he had completed two years military service. Following a short period teaching in the

Tregaron Tregaron ( "town of St Caron") is an ancient market town in Ceredigion, Wales, astride the River Brenig, a tributary of the River Teifi. Tregaron is northeast of Lampeter. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the ward of Tregaron wa ...

area, he moved to

Llangeitho Llangeitho is a village and community on the upper River Aeron in Ceredigion, Wales, about four miles (6 km) west of Tregaron and north of Lampeter. Its population of 874 in 2001 fell to 819 at the 2011 census. Nonconformism The village is l ...

where, in 1952, he took up the position of school head teacher. From 1965 to 1987 he held the position of Director of the

. During this time he secured significant funding for the institution from local authorities and the Welsh Arts Council, and developed trading practices, introducing a wholesale operation for booksellers and publishers, and introducing services to help publishers improve standards of book production. He was also able to include in Books Council's remit the distribution of grants to improve and extend the variety of books published. Davies' other great passion was religion, and he served as a lay preacher with the Presbyterian Church of Wales. He was also Moderator of the South Wales Association of the Presbyterian Church of Wales in 1979–1980. In 1987 he received an honorary MA from the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

, and in 2004 was made a Fellow of the

University of Wales Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

. He died from cancer at Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, in October 2005.

References

Welsh schoolteachers 1927 births 2005 deaths {{UK-reli-bio-stub