David Rees Griffiths (6 November 1882 – 17 December 1953), also known by his
bardic name of Amanwy, was a
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
poet, and an older brother of politician
Jim Griffiths
James (Jeremiah) Griffiths (19 September 1890 – 7 August 1975) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, trade union leader and the first Secretary of State for Wales.
Background and education
He was born in the predominantly Welsh-speaking vill ...
.
Griffiths was born in
Betws, Carmarthenshire
Betws ('' en, Chapel house'') is a small village and community (Wales), community on the River Amman, some 15 miles north of Swansea, Wales; it is part of the ecclesiastical parish of ''Betws and Ammanford'', and the urban area of Ammanford. The ...
, where his father was a
blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
. He was the fifth of ten children. He spent his working life as a
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
miner, beginning work in 1894 at the
age of eight, after a brief education at the local
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
.
His father's
smithy remained a gathering point for local intellectuals and political activists. On 28 January 1908 David was badly injured in a
colliery explosion, which killed one of his brothers. In 1919 he published his first volume of poetry, ''Ambell Gainc''.
The profits from the edited volume (1924) went towards helping Rev. Gomer Morgan Roberts supplement his scholarship to Fircroft Adult College near Birmingham. Griffiths edited the volume of selected works from local minors it 'easily sold a thousand copies' for a shilling each and gave the 24 year old Roberts £30 to help support him. He also wrote a weekly column in ''The Amman Valley Chronicle'' entitled ''Colofn Cymry'r Dyffryn'' (column for the Welsh speakers of the valley) using the pen name Cerddetwr (one who wanders aimlessly).
In 1910, Griffiths won his first eisteddfod chair, going on to win a further fifty in local events. In the same year, his wife Margaret died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
. Griffiths also had a career as a journalist, writing for the ''Amman Valley Chronicle'' and also for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
Radio. In 1927, he travelled to
along with his son Gwilym, who was suffering from the same disease from which Gwilym would die in 1935. In 1928, Griffiths became caretaker at the local
a short film based on Griffiths' life, was made as part of the celebrations for the
. Amanwy played himself. As a younger man, he was portrayed by Ieuan Davies, who would later the youngest of Griffith's two daughters, Marged Mallt. Griffiths' eldest daughter Menna Ruth would teach at the local nursery school. She died in 2013.
*''Ambell Gainc'' (1919)
*''0 Lwch y Lofa'' (ed.) (1924)
*''Caneuon Amanwy'' (1956)