Llewelyn Wyn Griffith

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(30 August 1890 – 27 September 1977) was a Welsh novelist, born in

Llandrillo yn Rhos Rhos-on-Sea () is a seaside resort and Community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The population was 7,593 at the 2011 census. It adjoins Colwyn Bay and is named after the Welsh kingdom of Rhos (north Wales), Rhos established ...

Clwyd Clwyd ( , ) is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English cerem ...

. He is known for his memoir, ''Up to Mametz'', based on his service during World War I. Educated at

Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...

Grammar School, he joined the civil service. On the outbreak of war in August 1914 he was working at the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

in London. He tried to join up but was refused because the Inland Revenue was considered a reserved occupation. When the rules were relaxed he and a friend tried to join the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who w ...

, but his friend was rejected. Both then joined the 7th (Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

. When the 15th (Service) Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers (1st London Welsh) was forming as part of '

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the F ...

' Griffith applied for a commission and was accepted in January 1915. His service as a company commander with the 15th Royal Welsh Fusiliers, part of the

38th (Welsh) Division The 38th (Welsh) Division (initially the 43rd Division, later the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division and then the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division) of the British Army was active during both the First and Second World Wars. In 1914, the division ...

, provided the material for ''Up to Mametz''. He covered his later war service on the staff in the sequel ''Beyond Mametz'' (unpublished until 2010).''Up to Mametz and beyond'', Revised Edn ( Jonathon Riley, ed.), Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2021, ISBN 978-1-52670-055-1. Griffith was a career civil servant, and rose to a senior post in the Inland Revenue. He was a key helper to Sir Ernest Gowers in the writing of '' Plain Words'' in 1948. He was a well-known broadcaster, a founder-member of the

Round Britain Quiz ''Round Britain Quiz'' (''RBQ'') is a panel game that has been broadcast on BBC Radio since 1947, making it the oldest quiz still broadcast on British radio. It was based on a format called ''Transatlantic Quiz'', a contest between American an ...

team. After retirement from the Inland Revenue he served as vice chairman of the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

."Dr Llewelyn Wyn Griffith – Distinguished Welsh writer and broadcaster", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 29 September 1977, p. 14 He was appointed CBE in the 1961 Birthday Honours. A continuation of his World War memoir, based on research into Griffith's papers, was published in 2010.

Works

Works by Griffith

*''Up to Mametz'' (1930) *''Spring of Youth'' (1935) *''The Wooden Spoon'' (1937) *''The Way Lies West'' (1945) *''The Barren Tree'' (1945) *''The Welsh'' (1950) *''The Adventures of Pryderi'' (1962)

Related works

*''Up to Mametz and Beyond'' (2010)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Llewelyn Wyn 1890 births 1977 deaths Anglo-Welsh novelists British Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Welch Fusiliers officers 20th-century Welsh novelists Welsh male novelists 20th-century British male writers People from Conwy