John Lasarus Williams (29 October 1924 – 15 June 2004), known as John L, was a

Welsh nationalist Welsh nationalism ( cy, Cenedlaetholdeb Cymreig) emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of Welsh culture and Wales as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or self determination which includes ...

activist. Williams was born in

Llangoed Llangoed () is a small village, community and electoral ward just north of Beaumaris, on the Isle of Anglesey or ''Ynys Môn'', at . The Royal Mail postcode begins LL58. Llangoed ward has a population of 1,275 (2001), falling at the 2011 census to ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, but lived most of his life in nearby

Llanfairpwllgwyngyll Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (), is a large village and local government community on the island of Anglesey, Wales, on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. Both shortened (Llanf ...

. In his youth, he was a keen footballer, and he also worked as a teacher. His activism started when he campaigned against the refusal of Brewer Spinks, an employer in

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,00 ...

, to permit his staff to speak

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 ...

. This inspired him to become a founder of Undeb y Gymraeg Fyw, and through this organisation was the main organiser of ''Sioe Gymraeg y Borth'' (the Welsh show for

Menai Bridge Menai Bridge ( cy, Porthaethwy; usually referred to colloquially as Y Borth) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north-west Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thom ...

using the colloquial form of its Welsh name).Colli John L Williams
, ''

BBC Cymru BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

'', 15 June 2004 Williams also joined

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

. He was a long-serving councillor on Gwynedd County Council, and was twice the party's candidate for

, at the 1970 and 1979 general elections.Seremoni i gofio arloeswr
, ''

'', 26 September 2005 Williams later worked at

Bangor Normal College The Normal College, Bangor ( cy, Y Coleg Normal) was an independent teacher training college, founded in 1858. It was created through the efforts of the British and Foreign School Society and the educator Sir Hugh Owen, and was funded by £11,0 ...

, lecturing in Welsh. He wrote a number of books, on history, the Welsh language, and also his autobiography.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John L. (Welsh nationalist) 1924 births 2004 deaths Academics of Bangor University Councillors in Wales People from Anglesey Plaid Cymru politicians Welsh-language writers