Robert Dewi Williams (29 December 1870 – 25 January 1955) was a Welsh schoolteacher, Presbyterian minister and author.

Life

Williams was born on 29 December 1870 at Llwyn-du Isaf in

Pandy Tudur Pandy Tudur is a village in Conwy county borough, in the north-west of Wales, and lies some 5 miles NE of Llanrwst. It takes its name from the pandy (or fulling mill) which was located there. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, 55.5% ...

in what was then the county of

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

. He went to school in Blaenau Llangernyw followed by a couple of months at the school in

Llanfair Talhaearn Llanfair Talhaiarn ( cy, Llanfair Talhaearn), abbreviated to ''Llanfair TH'', is a village and community (Wales), community approximately south of Abergele in Conwy county borough, Wales. Until 1974 it was included in Denbighshire. The villag ...

before going to school in

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

and in

Bala Bala may refer to: Places India *Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India * Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan * Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Romania * Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...

– he began to preach when attending the last of these. He was then a student at the

University College 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 = ...

and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

before being ordained as a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister in 1900. He was the minister of Cesarea chapel in

Llandwrog Llandwrog (; Welsh language: meaning 'The church of Saint Twrog') is a village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, most notable for the presence of the headquarters of Welsh record label Sain and the site of Caernarfon Airport. It has ...

from 1898 to 1904, then the minister of Jerusalem chapel in

Penmaenmawr Penmaenmawr (, ) is a town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, which was formerly in the parish of Dwygyfylchi and the traditional county of Caernarfonshire. It is on the North Wales coast between Conwy and Llanfairfechan and was an i ...

from 1904 to 1917. He was appointed the headmaster of the school in Clynnog Fawr in 1917, remaining headmaster when the school moved to Clwyd College,

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

. Williams retired in 1939 and lived in

Rhuddlan Rhuddlan () is a town, community, and electoral ward in the county of Denbighshire, Wales, in the historic county of Flintshire. Its associated urban zone is mainly on the right bank of the Clwyd; it is directly south of seafront town Rhyl. I ...

until his death on 25 January 1955, serving as Moderator of the North Wales Association of the Presbyterian Church from 1950 onwards.

Works

In addition to his skills as a preacher and teacher, Williams was a highly regarded writer. He wrote a long short-story, ', which was published in the first edition of the literary journal ''Y Beirniad'' published by John Morris-Jones, Williams being regarded the pioneer of this story form in Welsh. Other writings included contributions to periodicals, some of which were collected under the title ' (1973). The

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

holds various papers of Williams in its archive: some unpublished stories, as well as scrapbooks, drawings, cartoons and family photographs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Robert Dewi 1870 births 1955 deaths Welsh educators Welsh Presbyterians Welsh-language writers Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Rhuddlan People from Clynnog Fawr