Pennar Davies

Who was Pennar Davies?

William Thomas Pennar Davies was a Welsh clergyman and author.

Born simply William Thomas Davies, in Mountain Ash, the son of a miner, he took the name "Pennar" "as a sign of his identification with the native culture of Wales". Pennar Davies studied at University of Wales, Cardiff, at Balliol and Mansfield College, Oxford, and at Yale University. In 1943 he became a Congregational minister in Cardiff. He subsequently taught at Bala-Bangor Theological College, and became Principal of Swansea Memorial College in 1952, retaining the post until his retirement in 1981.

A member of Plaid Cymru, Davies stood as a Parliamentary candidate at Llanelli in the UK general elections of 1964 and the 1966. He was a leading campaigner for Welsh language broadcasting.

Pennar Davies and his wife Rosemarie had five children. His eldest son Dr Meirion Pennar, became a leading Welsh language academic, poet and translator.