Daniel John Davies (2 September 1885 – 4 June 1970) was a Welsh

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

(Congregationalist) minister and Welsh language poet. He published under the name 'D.J. Davies' and was also well known as 'Davies Capel Als'. He was born in Waenfelen, a cottage in

Pentre Galar Pentre Galar (or Pentregalar, Pentre-Galar) is a small settlement in the Preseli Mountains south of the village of Crymych, north Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the A478 Cardigan to Tenby road. The western part of the settlement lies in the parish of ...

near

Crymych Crymych () is a village of around 800 inhabitants and a community (population 1,739) in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated approximately above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Mountains, on the old Tenby to Cardiga ...

, in the

Preseli Hills The Preseli Hills or, as they are known locally and historically, Preseli Mountains, (Welsh: ''Mynyddoedd y Preseli / Y Preselau'' , ) is a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The range stret ...

of North

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, the third son of John Morris Davies and his wife Ann. After his parents and his two brothers died while he was a child, he moved to

Llanfyrnach Llanfyrnach () is a village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village is in the electoral ward and community of Crymych. The village of Crymych and the hamlets of Hermon, Glandwr and the eastern part of Pentre Galar are in Llanfyrnach par ...

to live with his mother's sister. He attended Glandŵr Independent chapel, Llanfyrnach, where, influenced by the minister, O. R. Owen, he began preaching himself on Whit Sunday 1906. He graduated in Hebrew from

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

in 1913, then studied Theology at the Memorial College, Brecon. In 1916 he was ordained to the ministry at Capel Als,

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

. He served Capel Als as its minister for over forty years, until his retirement in 1958. He was chair of the Union of Welsh Independents in 1957. A popular poet, he won the Chair at the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

in 1932, and won the

cywydd The cywydd (; plural ) is one of the most important metrical forms in traditional Welsh poetry (cerdd dafod). There are a variety of forms of the cywydd, but the word on its own is generally used to refer to the ("long-lined couplet") as it is b ...

competition four times. He was also a frequent adjudicator.

R. Williams Parry Robert Williams Parry (6 March 1884 – 4 January 1956) was one of Wales's most notable 20th-century poets writing in Welsh. Life R. Williams Parry was born in Tal-y-sarn, in Dyffryn Nantlle, a first cousin to the writers T. H. Parry-Williams ...

praised his mastery of the Welsh strict metres; and in Llanelli he held classes in

cynghanedd In Welsh-language poetry, ''cynghanedd'' (, literally "harmony") is the basic concept of sound-arrangement within one line, using stress, alliteration and rhyme. The various forms of ''cynghanedd'' show up in the definitions of all formal Welsh v ...

. A collection of his poetry, ''Cywyddau a chaniadau eraill'', was published in 1968. He wrote a number of hymns and was one of the editors of ''Caniedydd Cynulleidfaol'' (1960), the Welsh Independents' hymnbook. He was a strong radical both in his religious and his political views. A pacifist, he opposed the First World War and supported conscientious objectors. He married Enid Jones, daughter of D. Stanley Jones, minister of the Independent chapel at Caernarfon. He died on 4 June 1970; his ashes were buried in Glandŵr cemetery.

References

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* 1885 births 1970 deaths Calvinist pacifists Welsh Christian pacifists 20th-century Welsh clergy Welsh poets {{UK-Christian-clergy-stub