Aberystwyth Pacifists ~ Part Three

Waldo Goronwy Williams (1904 – 1971)

If you travel around various towns and cities in Wales, you are sure to see round blue plaques affixed to building walls, many of which are dedicated to Waldo Williams – it’s as if everyone wants to acknowledge his time with them, no matter how short. A far cry from the recognition gained by either T. Gwynn Jones or Thomas Parry-Williams!

Aberystwyth is one of these towns. The blue plaque below reads: “Here the poet, pacifist, Quaker, and patriot lived from 1923 - 1927 when he was a student”, and references his connection to Idwal Jones. 

Blue plaque to Waldo Williams and Idwal Jones in Aberystwyth affixed to the house in which Waldo lived as a student. Photo: R. Bertz

Waldo’s connection (apparently it is usual to refer to him by his first name) to Aberystwyth has two brief chapters, but his firm belief in pacifism was life long. Waldo’s life is well-documented with a reverence awarded similar to that of mystics and magicians. Born in Haverfordwest in 1904, Waldo only learned Welsh once his family moved to Mynachlog-ddu in Preseli in 1911, and from then on he expressed his heart through the medium of Welsh, reserving English for his satirical and humorous writings.

During his childhood he was exposed to various family discussions about socialism and pacifism; his father used to read poetry to Waldo’s mother and Waldo, towards the end of his life, remembered his father reading an anti-war poem by T.E. Nicholas, Gweriniaeth a Rhyfel (Republicanism and War), in 1916.

The Peacemakers was written by Waldo in 1941 – the same year he married Linda Llewellyn and officially registered as a conscientious objector. I was introduced to this translation during one of my Welsh mentor sessions – it is from a biography of Waldo written by Alan Llwyd (Gomer Press, 2010). Here is an excerpt:

The Peacemakers/ Y Tangnefeddwyr

Rose-red sky above the snow
Where bombed Swansea is alight,
Full of my father and mother I go,
I walk home in the night.
They are blest beyond hearing,
Peacemakers, children of God.

What is their estate tonight,
Tonight, with the world ablaze?
Truth is with my father yet,
Mother with forgiveness stays.
The age will be blest that hears them,
Peacemakers, children of God.

More like T. Gwynn Jones than Thomas Parry-Williams, Waldo was a somewhat rebellious pacifist – he was incarcerated twice because of his refusal to pay tax during the Korean War and his stand against war and exploitation came from his feeling that “we were living by killing and devouring. It was endemic within us, and a poison to us all.” And yet, in his poems it is clear that he believes in the inherent nature of good and that one day this goodness would unite ‘the families’ of the world.

In 1941, he could see Swansea in flames after the German bombing, and was moved to write The Peacemakers in order to convey that in the midst of the mayhem and destruction of WWII, peacemakers are the children of God. This inspired the title of a wonderful drawing including Waldo, by artist Aneurin Jones.

But what of Waldo’s connection with Aberystwyth...?

In September 2021, the Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies at Aberystywth University launched a bursary, funded by Waldo’s family, to aid two or more students (annually) with their learning of Welsh. To gain the award, it is necessary to write an essay with a focus on Waldo and/or the subject of pacifism. 

Between 1923 and 1927, Waldo was himself a student at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth – studying English before undertaking a teacher training course. During this time he formed a close friendship with dramatist, Idwal Jones – renowned for his sense of mischief and delightful humour. They shared lodgings together in a house on Cambrian Street. Given the age difference (Jones was born in 1897 in Aberystwyth and seems to have remained there throughout his life), it is likely that Jones owned the house, which now sports the blue plaque in their honour.

Waldo was a social creature who figured prominently in student life on campus – he was an editor of The Dragon, the same student magazine to which both T. Gwynn Jones and T. H. Parry-Williams contributed. He is also mentioned in the Welsh Gazette as a frequent participant in open debates – with themes including"'trade unions are a menace" and “that the doctrine of class war is detrimental to the best interests of the community.”

It appears Waldo was more effective in his debates than in his studies, although he graduated on 22 July 1926. His frequent appearances in Welsh newspapers show him in good company: he is mentioned as a participant in a 1924 discussion about the ‘late’ government – referring to the Conservative party loss in December 1923, leading to the first Labour government in Britain. On the same page, T. Gwynn Jones advocates for separate Welsh government while the League of Nations Union advertises an upcoming talk on the “Method of Peacemaking”.

 After leaving Aberystwyth the first time, Waldo taught in Pembrokeshire and regularly competed with his two good friends, Wil Glynsaithmaen (W.R. Evans)  and Ernie Lan (Rev. E. Llwyd Williams) in the Eisteddfodau – the trio were often referred to as three legs of the tripod. He was a firm believer in meditation and that it heightened his belief in pacifism. Since he didn’t own a car, he was a frequent sight on a bicycle on the country roads.

Although he was too old to be conscripted for the Second World War, Waldo registered as a conscientious objector to make a point; however, because he believed he would lose his job as a result, he left his temporary post as headmaster of Puncheston (Cas-mael) School soon after marrying Linda in 1941, and  moved to Pwllheli to teach at Botwnnog School. He was the adjudicator for the Solva Eisteddfod in 1943. Sadly, Linda died of TB the same year and Waldo spent most of the next five years teaching near Cambridge and Swindon in England.

In 1946, Waldo wrote Preseli as a direct response to the proposal put forward to use the Preseli hills as a permanent military exercise range. “To the wall! We must keep our well clear of this beast’s dirt” became a rallying cry to protect the environment and the Welsh identity from being defiled in any way. Waldo’s use of landscape to convey an anti-war message was not limited to Preseli or The Peacemakers. 

 

Carreg Waldo in the Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire Photo: R. Bertz, plaque in public domain

The Second World War inspired a great welling up of creativity for Waldo. While poems composed prior to 1938 were mainly light-hearted (his children’s poetry book was published in 1936 with friend E. Llwyd Williams), the long strict-metre poem Y Tŵr a’r Graig (The Tower and the Rock) of 1938 was a turning point. This poem was written directly in response to conscription and used imagery drawn from Pembrokeshire to compare the militaristic state with the sense of independence still felt by the common people of the land.  

It is no wonder that the most evocative memorial to Waldo took the form of a large standing stone with a plaque (which necessitated an explanatory plaque due to the number of visitors who believed the stone commemorated an extremely old welsh pony – I believe this misinterpretation would have delighted Waldo.)

Waldo returned to Pembrokeshire in 1951, coming back to Aberystwyth in 1953, to lecture in the Extra Mural Department on and off for the next decade. During this time, he was not based in Aberystwyth. Instead, he lived a nomadic existence in various lodging houses all over the country. The bailiffs caught up with him during a stay near Milford Haven, which was where he was also introduced to and joined the Quakers.

It is during this period that his pacifism had serious consequences – his possessions were seized by bailiffs in lieu of tax debts to theh Inland Revenue, and he endured two stints in jail.  Even in prison, he found the peaceful path – he was given a job in the garden, and found a sense of comradeship with other inmates, who described him as a good man; a man who led by example. 

 

Waldo in the early 1960s, part of the Julian Sheppard collection Source: National Library of Wales

 

The most recent link between Aberystwyth and Waldo is the appointment of Eisteddfod-Chaired poet Mererid Hopwood as Professor of Welsh and Celtic Studies. Dr Hopwood is one of the honorary presidents of the Cymdeithas Waldo Society, which has a tri-partate mission to sustain the memory of Waldo, promote his contribution to the literature and culture of Wales, and to appreciate and promote his contribution to pacifism.

His enduring sense of peace came from the people of Preseli – where he saw communities living and benefiting from “the earth’s help with their skill”. The idea that enduring peace comes from treating the earth in a sustainable manner, with respect not greed, is reflected in many of his poems. The acknowledgement of Waldo’s reputation is clear in the title of the biography by Alan Llwyd - Stori Waldo Williams Bardd Heddwch/ The Story of Waldo Williams Poet of Peace.

 

Cover of the Waldo Williams biography Source: ABEBooks

There is a Welsh word ‘awen’ which doesn’t translate into English very well. It is close to ‘spirit’ or ‘life force’, or 'muse'. According to Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, awen is a merging of the imaginative force with primordial energy, and in his lecture ‘Poetry and Peacemaking’ based on the poems of Waldo, he expressed a belief that awen, as part of Waldo’s wisdom, turned poetry into an act of peacemaking by being a form of reconciliation above political agenda.

In 2021, to mark the 50th anniversary of Waldo Williams’ death on 20 May - in a reflection of his single published volume of adult poetry – Dail Pren (Tree Leaves) - the public was encouraged to hang a line of Waldo poetry in a tree.  Like the Bob Dylan song, it was hoped that the wide assortment of poetical leaves would be blowing in the wind all over Wales and beyond.

“How many deaths will it take ‘til [one man] knows that too many people have died?”

To bring this full circle back to The Peacemakers, and hear a beautiful and rousing performance of the poem Y Tangnefeddwyr by Côr Llanddarog (Llanddarog & District Choir), please follow this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN4qaJbPCwg   

Dove of Peace (former bell tower for Siloh Chapel, Aberystwyth) Photo: R. Bertz

Blog by Rasma Bertz

 Sources:

 BENNETT, G. 2014. What’s the Context? 22 January 1924: Britain’s first Labour government takes office. History of Government  22 January 2014 [Online]. Available from: https://history.blog.gov.uk/2014/01/22/whats-the-context-britains-first-labour-government-takes-office-22-january-1924/.

CRITCHLEY, P. 2018. In the World of Waldo Williams. Being and Place  25 January 2018 [Online]. Available from: https://pcritchley2.wixsite.com/beingandplace/post/2018/01/25/in-the-world-of-waldo-williams.

CYMDEITHAS WALDO SOCIETY. (2010). Waldo [Online]. Available: http://www.waldowilliams.com/?page_id=36&lang=en [Accessed 13 March 2022].

CYMDEITHAS WALDO SOCIETY. (2021). Poems blowing in the wind to remember Waldo Williams. Llenyddiaeth Cymru Literature Wales [Online]. Available at: https://www.literaturewales.org/lw-news/poems-blowing-in-the-wind-to-remember-waldo-williams/ [Accessed 13 March 2022].

PRIFYSGOL ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY. (2021). Aberystwyth University Launches Waldo Williams Bursary [Online]. Aberystwyth: Aberystwyth University Available: https://menter.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2021/09/title-247542-en.html [Accessed 13 March 2022].

RHYS, R. (2017). WILLIAMS, WALDO GORONWY (1904-1971) [Online]. Aberystwyth: Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Available: https://biography.wales/article/s11-WILL-WAL-1904#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=13&manifest=https%3A%2F%2Fdamsssl.llgc.org.uk%2Fiiif%2F2.0%2F4635361%2Fmanifest.json&xywh=28%2C735%2C3918%2C3381 [Accessed 13 March 2022].

WELSH ICONS NEWS. (2022). Waldo Williams [Online]. Available: https://welshicons.org/cymrupedia/writers/waldo-williams/ [Accessed 14 March 2022].