Gwyn Thomas (6 July 1913 – 13 April 1981) was a Welsh writer, dramatist, ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

''-columnist, radio broadcaster and raconteur, who has been called "the true voice of the English-speaking valleys".

Early life

Gwyn Thomas was born in Cymmer, Porth in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fa ...

Valley, the youngest of 12 children, to coalminer Walter Morgan Thomas and his wife. His mother died when he was aged six, and he was consequently brought up by his sister, often with handouts from the local soup kitchen. After winning a scholarship, Thomas studied Spanish at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Plagued by mysterious health problems, terribly poor and depressed, it was only after spending a summer and a term at the end of his second year at

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loc ...

, thanks to a miners' scholarship, that he decided to complete his studies. Thomas was diagnosed at the age of 23 with a previously undetected

thyroid The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thy ...

malfunction that had been poisoning him for years, which was operated on to prevent his death.

Career

On graduation, and wanting to be a writer, Thomas struggled to establish himself during the 1930s depression. He took on part-time lecturing jobs across England, while trying to get his novel ''Sorrow For Thy Sons'' published. He married his childhood friend Eiluned (Lyn) Thomas in Pontypridd Register Office on 5 January 1938. Failing to pass the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

medical at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

thanks to 20 years of smoking, he returned to Wales in 1940 and taught at the WEA. He then became a schoolteacher, first teaching French in Cardigan, and then Spanish and French at

Barry Grammar School Barry Comprehensive School ( cy, Ysgol Gyfun y Barri) was a secondary school for boys aged 11–16, situated opposite Highlight Park in the town of Barry, in Wales. Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School was the partner girls' school that also provi ...

for 20 years. Approached in 1951 by a

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales b ...

producer to write for the radio, he returned to his childhood memories of 1920s South Wales to create the radio play ''Gazuka!'', a celebration of a bizarre musical instrument. A prolific novelist and short-story writer, he became a regular on chat shows such as ''

The Brains Trust ''The Brains Trust'' was an informational BBC radio and later television programme popular in the United Kingdom during the 1940s and 1950s, on which a panel of experts tried to answer questions sent in by the audience. History The series was ...

,'' and after 20 years of teaching in 1962 he became a full-time writer and broadcaster, retiring with his wife to

Peterston-super-Ely Peterston-super-Ely ( cy, Llanbedr-y-fro) is a village and community situated on the River Ely ( cy, Afon Elái) in the county borough of the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The community population at the 2011 census was 874. The community include ...

. However, due to a combination of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, heavy drinking and smoking, his health began to fail in the late 1960s. In 1981 Thomas collapsed and was taken to the

University Hospital of Wales University Hospital of Wales ( cy, Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru) (UHW), also known as the Heath Hospital, is a major 1,000-bed hospital in the Heath district of Cardiff, Wales. UHW is a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Constr ...

in Cardiff, where he died on 13 April, shortly before his 68th birthday.

Memorial

In 1993 Sir Anthony Hopkins portrayed Thomas in a BBC Wales television production, "Selected Exits", adapted by

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. Career Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his family ...

and based on his memoir ''A Few Selected Exits''. Later that year Hopkins unveiled a bronze bust of Thomas in the foyer of the New Theatre, Cardiff, where he spoke about his personal experience of knowing the author, who had been a family friend. Thomas was further commemorated at an event in Memorial Hall, Barry on Saturday 21 November 2009, when Pride in Barry announced it was placing a Blue Plaque on the Old College Inn, Barry, where his old school classrooms used to be. In 2013, at the centenary of his birth, he was compared with

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social a ...

and

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

Works

Novels

*''The Dark Philosophers'' (1946) ew edition 2005*''The Alone to The Alone'' (1947) ew edition 2008ref> *'' All Things Betray Thee'' (1949) ew edition 1986*''The World Cannot Hear You'' (1951) *''Now Lead Us Home'' (1951) *''A Frost on My Frolic'' (1953) *''The Stranger at My Side'' (1954) *''A Point of Order'' (1956) *''The Love Man'' (1958) *''Sorrow For Thy Sons'' (1986) ritten 1936*''The Thinker and the Thrush'' (1988) ritten 1949

Short stories

*''Where Did I Put My Pity?'' (1946) *''Gazooka and Other Stories'' (1957) *''Ring Delirium 123'' (1960) *''A Welsh Eye'' (1964) (with drawings by John Dd. Evans; new edition 1984) *''The Lust Lobby'' (1971) *''The Sky of our Lives'' (1972) *''Selected Short Stories'' (1984) ew editions 1988, 1995*''Meadow Prospect Revisited (1992)

Plays

*''The Keep'' (1962) *''Sap'' (1974) *''The Breakers'' (1976) *''Three Plays'' (1990) 'The Keep'', ''Loud Organs'', ''Jackie The Jumper''

Misc

*''A Hatful of Humours'' (1965) ssays*''A Few Selected Exits'' (1968) utobiography; new editions 1985, 1993*''High on Hope'' (1985) ournalism

References

External links

BBC Wales
on his life.

after meeting

Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He was known to friends and professional colleagues alike by the nickname Bruno. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to sc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Gwyn People from Porth Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Complutense University of Madrid alumni Welsh schoolteachers Welsh short story writers Welsh novelists Welsh expatriates in Spain Anglo-Welsh novelists 1913 births 1981 deaths 20th-century British novelists 20th-century Welsh dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British short story writers British expatriates in Spain