Robert Morton Stanley Ellis (1 April 1898 – 2 November 1966) was a Welsh author and a minister with the

Presbyterian Church of Wales The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales. History The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...

(the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists). Ellis was born on the

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

coast, but spent much of his childhood in

Glanaman Glanamman ( cy, Glanaman) is a Welsh mining village in the valley of the River Amman in Carmarthenshire. Glanamman has long been a stronghold of the Welsh language; village life is largely conducted in Welsh. Like the neighbouring village of Ga ...

, a Welsh-speaking coalmining village in the

Amman Valley Amman Valley may refer to: *The valley of the River Amman * Amman Valley Hospital *Amman Valley Railway The Amman Valley Railway Society ( cy, Rheilffordd Dyffryn Aman) is situated near the former Gwaun Cae Gurwen branch line, that runs alongsid ...

in Carmarthenshire. He left school aged 12 and worked in a shop, then as a coalminer and as a tinplate worker. He started lay preaching at Bethania Presbyterian church, Glanaman, and was trained for the ministry at the Presbyterian colleges at Aberystwyth and Bala. He was ordained in 1925: his first churches were in

Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

. In 1930 he returned to the Amman valley, as minister of Caersalem Chapel, Ty Croes, on the outskirts of

Ammanford Ammanford ( cy, Rhydaman) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. The built-up area had a population of 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger. Acco ...

, where he remained for 36 years. In 1965 he was elected as Moderator of the

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

Association of the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Ellis was well known throughout Wales both as a preacher and as a popular lecturer - his lectures focused on the great preachers of the Welsh pulpit tradition. He wrote for the Welsh religious press between 1930 and his death in 1966. Three of his books also examine great Welsh preachers: * ''Living Echoes'' (1957), * ''Doniau a danwyd'' (1957), * ''Lleisiau Ddoe a Heddiw'' (1963). In 1963 he published a well received and entertaining autobiography: * ''Wrth Gofio'r Daith'' (1963) emembering the Journey

References

Welsh Presbyterian ministers Welsh-speaking clergy Welsh writers People from Ceredigion 1898 births 1966 deaths 20th-century British Presbyterian ministers {{Wales-bio-stub