John Dyfnallt Owen

Who was John Dyfnallt Owen?

Rev. John Dyfnallt Owen, was a Welsh poet, and served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1954 until his death. He was often known simply by his bardic name, "Dyfnallt".

Owen was born in Llangiwg, Glamorgan, and was brought up by his grandparents because of the death of his mother when he was an infant. He worked for a short period as a coal miner, then obtained an education at Parcyfelfed Academy and Bala Bangor College. Having been ordained as a Congregational minister, he took over Sardis Chapel at Pontypridd in 1905. Like all Archdruids, he was a winner of a major poetry prize at the National Eisteddfod, in his case the crown at the 1907 Eisteddfod in Swansea. During World War I, he served as a chaplain in France. In 1927, he became editor of the Welsh-language journal Y Tyst.