Glan Williams (born Glanffrwd Owen Williams, 1 September 1911 – 9 June 1986) was a British caricaturist. Glan Williams was born in

Pentrechwyth Pentrechwyth ( en, village on the left) is a village in Swansea, Wales falling within the Bon-y-maen ward. The village approximates to the built up area around Jersey Road just uphill from the junction with the A4217 road and most recently the ...

, Swansea, Wales, the first of five children of Thomas Howell Williams and Mary Ann Owens. After winning a scholarship at age 14, he attended the Swansea School of Arts and Crafts (now part of Swansea Metropolitan University) from 1925 to 1931 where he became friends with other Swansea artists

Mervyn Levy Mervyn Levy (11 February 1914 – 14 April 1996) was a Welsh artist, art teacher and writer on art. Born in Swansea, where he became a friend of the painter Alfred Janes, the poet Dylan Thomas and the musician Daniel Jones, he spent most of his t ...

and

Alfred Janes Alfred George Janes (30 June 1911 – 3 February 1999) was a Welsh artist, who worked in Swansea and Croydon. He experimented with many forms, but is best known for his meticulous still lifes and portraits. He is also remembered as one of The K ...

. He was appointed City Cartoonist to the London Express Newspapers in 1930 and continued working in the 1930s as a political cartoonist for the '' Sunday'' and '' Daily Express'' while also contributing illustrations to stories in the '' Daily Herald''. In 1940, he joined the Welsh Regiment but was posted to the camouflage unit in Norwich with

Roland Penrose Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World ...

and

Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...

. Following the war, he worked as a commercial artist for the George Hopkinson Organisation and Fanfare Displays while continuing to work as a freelance cartoonist, being published in ''

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

'', '' Time and Tide'' and '' Sporting Life''. He provided cover art and theatre review illustrations for '' The Tatler and Bystander'', and the magazine featured him as "The Tatler's most recent discovery of a satirist of the contemporary scene" in 1954. From 1958 to 1960, he was a political cartoonist for the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 be ...

'' until it merged with the '' Daily Mail''. He also contributed cartoons for ''

Reynolds News ''Reynold's News'' was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, founded as ''Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper''Joanne Shattock, ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', p.2908 by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first edito ...

'' and continued to work for the paper after its merger with the ''

Sunday Citizen ''Reynold's News'' was a Sunday newspaper in the United Kingdom, founded as ''Reynolds's Weekly Newspaper''Joanne Shattock, ''The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', p.2908 by George W. M. Reynolds in 1850, who became its first edito ...

'' until it closed in 1967. In 1970, he was recruited by George Gale to provide illustrations and covers for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

.'' Throughout the seventies he contributed cartoons to the ''G. & M.W. Journal'', ''What's On in London'' (especially from 1976 to 1982 including covers), Pacemaker (including covers), ''Nursing Times'', and the ''Evening News''. From 1976 until his death from lung cancer in 1986, he drew caricatures of many British parliamentarians for '' The House'', a magazine of the British

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. In remembering Glan, ''What's On in London'' said that his friends would miss "his ebullient conversation, which reflected his constant enthusiasm for old-time socialism, rugby football and all things Welsh." Williams was married to Blanche "Lillie" Bunbury (née Ling) from 1948 until his death in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

References

1911 births 1986 deaths British painters People from Swansea Artists from Swansea {{UK-painter-20thC-stub