Ffred Ffransis (born Frederick Sefton Francis, 14 June 1948), is a prominent member of

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg The Welsh Language Society ( cy, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas) is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every as ...

(The

Welsh Language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the 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 Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

Society).

Biography

He was born in

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpor ...

, but lived in

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd''). To the west ...

for most of his childhood. The son of English-speaking parents Marjorie Francis and Frederick Francis, he learnt basic Welsh at secondary school, and became fluent during his time as a student in the

University 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 = ...

. He became involved in the Welsh language scene, and became a Welsh language activist. He has served many jail sentences for taking part in non-violent direct action in the name of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg. He is married to

Meinir Ffransis Meinir Ffransis (born 8 April 1950; née Evans) is a Welsh political activist, best known for her activities as a prominent member of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Society). She served jail sentences for various offences while ca ...

, the daughter of

Gwynfor Evans Gwynfor Richard Evans (1 September 1912 – 21 April 2005) was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. He was President of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru for thirty-six years and was the first Member of Parliament to represent it at Westmi ...

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 ...

's first member of Parliament, and has seven children - Lleucu Meinir, Carys Llywelyn, Angharad Clwyd, Hedd Gwynfor,

Gwenno Teifi Gwenno Teifi (full name Gwenno Teifi Ffransis, born 1987) is a Welsh language activist from Llanfihangel-ar-Arth, Wales. In February 2006 she became the first member of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (The Welsh Language Society) to serve a jail sent ...

, Siriol Teifi and Ioan Teifi. He is a well known supporter of football club Rhyl F.C.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ffransis, Ffred Linguists from Wales Welsh language activists Alumni of Aberystwyth University Living people People from Colwyn Bay 1948 births