John Lloyd Thomas

Who was John Lloyd Thomas?

John Roland Lloyd Thomas was a noted Anglican clergyman, and later the Principal of St David's University College from 1953 to 1975. He was, himself, a graduate of St David's College, gaining a BA from the institution before completing a second BA in Theology at Jesus College, Oxford. He was the first Lampeter graduate to become Principal of St David's.

During his years as principal, he led the college into membership of the federal University of Wales. Previous principals had fought to maintain the college's independence, and the move was not universally popular, but it ultimately proved to be a turning point in the college's history, and saved it from near-certain bankruptcy. He later wrote about these events in a book, Moth or Phoenix? St David’s College and the University of Wales and the University Grants Committee. The title parodies previous claims that the college was like a moth, burning its wings as it tried to escape the light of the University of Wales.

Lloyd Thomas' name lives on at the college in the residential Lloyd Thomas Hall and refectory.