Urien Wiliam (7 November 1929 – 21 October 2006) was a

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

novelist and dramatist. Wiliam was born in

Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Barry ( cy, Y Barri; ) is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Bar ...

, the son of Professor Stephen J. Williams, an academic at

Swansea University , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

. He became an expert in the

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

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 ...

, and studied the language at

, before undertaking a doctorate in psychology at

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in which he translated the

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is an individually administered intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16. The Fifth Edition (WISC-V; Wechsler, 2014) is the most recent version. The WISC-V takes 45 to 65 minut ...

into Welsh, and produced norms for Welsh-speaking children. His first teaching post was at

Trinity College, Carmarthen Trinity University College ( cy, Coleg Prifysgol y Drindod) was a Church University College in Carmarthen, Wales. The institution was founded in 1848 as the South Wales and Monmouthshire Training College, a teacher-training college. It change ...

. He married Eiryth Davies and had three children, including

Sioned Wiliam Sioned Wiliam (born 1962) is a Welsh comedy producer and executive. A former controller of comedy for ITV, she became the commissioning editor of comedy for BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra in March 2015 and served in the post for seven years.Jake ...

. He won the Drama Medal at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, 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 Eur ...

in 1972 and 1973. After becoming a freelance writer, he produced scripts for the Welsh-language children's TV programme, ''

Wil Cwac Cwac ''Wil Cwac Cwac'' is a Welsh-language animated television series produced by Siriol Animation for S4C in 1982. It is based on a series of children's books written in the early 1930s by Jennie Thomas and J. O. Williams (including the famous Wel ...

''. He died at

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a weal ...

Works

Plays

*''Cawl Cennin'' (1969) *''Y Ffin'' (1970) *''Y Llyw Olaf'' (1972) *''Y Pypedau'' (1973)

Novels

*''Dirgelwch y rocedi'' (1968) *''Pluen yn fy het a Stafell Ddwbl'' (1970) *''Perygl o'r Sêr'' (1972) *''Tu Hwnt i'r Mynydd Du'' (1975) *''Chwilio Gem'' (1980) *''Breuddwyd Rhy Bell'' (1995)

Sources

Obituary

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiliam, Urien 1929 births 2006 deaths People from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan Alumni of Swansea University Alumni of the University of Liverpool People associated with Trinity University College Welsh children's writers Welsh-language writers Welsh Eisteddfod winners Welsh male novelists Welsh male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Welsh novelists 20th-century Welsh dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British male writers