EDWARDS, GWILYM ARTHUR (1881 - 1963), minister (Presb.), principal of the Theological College, Aberystwyth, and author

Born 31 May 1881 at Caernarfon, son of Owen Edwards, Presb. minister, a native of Llanuwchllyn (and cousin of Sir Owen M. Edwards,, and Mary (née Jones) his wife. The father emigrated to Australia to regain his health, but his wife died before she could take her family to join him in Melbourne. The three sons were brought up by her parents in Dolgellau. He was educated in the county school, Dolgellau, and began preaching when fairly young. He was prepared for the ministry at the University College, Aberystwyth (where he graduated B.A. in 1903), and in Jesus College, Oxford (where he graduated in 1908). He was ordained in 1909, and served as minister of Zion, Carmarthen (1908-11), Oswald Road, Oswestry (1911-17), City Road, Chester (1917-23), and Tabernacl, Bangor (1923-28). In 1929 he was appointed professor at Bala College, and worked there with Principal David Phillips until 1939. From 1939 to 1949 he was principal of the Theological College at Aberystwyth. He was awarded an honorary D.D. degree by the University of Edinburgh. In 1917 he married Mary Nesta, daughter of Richard Hughes, a veterinary surgeon in Oswestry; they had a son and two daughters. After retiring he returned to Oswestry, and died there 5 October 1963; he was buried in Llanycil graveyard.

He was a prominent member of his Connexion, being Moderator of the Association in the East in 1951, and of the General Assembly in 1957. He delivered the Davies Lecture in 1933 on ' The Kingdom of God in the light of the apocalyptic ideas of the Bible ', [parts of which appeared in the Monthly Treasury ], and a Welsh version was published in 1935. He wrote a great deal for Cymru, and the periodicals of his denomination. He published, among other works, two volumes of children's stories in Welsh (1921 and 1927); two volumes in Welsh on the Bible (1922; 1932), one on Christian doctrine (1953), a volume on the history of civilisation (1927), and Athrofa'r Bala (a history of Bala College, 1937). His work as a preacher, teacher, and author was characterized by order and lucidity. He took an interest in education; he edited Sunday school textbooks for his denomination for years. He was also the literary editor of the Society for Religious Education in Wales and wrote a syllabus for religious instruction in the schools of Wales (1945-46). He took an interest in the School of Social Service for Wales, and wrote one of the booklets of that movement, Hamdden yr adolesent yng Nghymru (1929). The United Nations Organisation published another pamphlet of his, on Sunday school teachers and world peace (1934). He was a scholar with a clear, analytic mind, and paid great attention to detail.

Author

• Reverend Gomer Morgan Roberts, (1904 - 1993)

Sources

• Who's who in Wales, (1921), 107
• Blwyddiadur y Methodistiaid Calfinaidd, 1964, 276
• William Morris (ed.), Deg o Enwogion (1965) (1965), 77-84
• personal knowledge

Further Reading

• Wikipedia Article: Gwilym Edwards

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q5623621

Published date: 2001

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