WILLIAMS, WILLIAM JOHN (1878 - 1952), H.M. Inspector of Schools and Director of the Council of Social Service for Wales and Monmouthshire
Date of birth: 1878
Date of death: 1952
Spouse: Maud Williams (née Owen)
Parent: Anne Williams
Parent: Richard Williams
Gender: Male
Occupation: H.M. Inspector of Schools and Director of the Council of Social Service for Wales and Monmouthshire
Area of activity: Education; Public and Social Service, Civil Administration
Author: John Graham Jones
Born 1878, the fourth son of Richard and Anne Williams, Hafod, Swansea. His brother Richard Trefor Williams, O.B.E., (who died in 1932) was the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Health at Cardiff. Educated at schools in Swansea and at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he graduated LL.B. and M.A., he was a schoolmaster at Gowerton County School, Bootle Intermediate School and Newport High School. He became a barrister at the Middle Temple in 1912, and an inspector of schools in the Welsh Department of the Board of Education in 1915. He played an important role in encouraging the use of the Welsh language in the elementary schools of Carmarthenshire. In 1933 he succeeded Dr. G. Prys Williams as Chief Inspector of Schools, and remained in the post until he reached retirement in December 1944. He took particular interest in extra-mural studies, especially in the activities of the W.E.A. and the external department of Coleg Harlech. From 1945 until 1952 he served as the Director of the Council for Social Service for Wales and Monmouthshire which he had served as assessor since 1934.
Williams was a member of a large number of committees, among them the Welsh Committee of the Arts Council of Great Britain, the Welsh Committee of the British Council, the Welsh Committee of UNESCO and the B.B.C. Appeals Committee (Wales). He was also a director of the Welsh National Opera and a vice-president of Coleg Harlech, 1948-52. In 1943 he was awarded the degree of LL.D. honoris causa by the University of Wales.
He married in 1906 Maud, daughter of David Owen, J.P., and Anne Owen of Morriston, Swansea. They had one son. They lived at Llanelli and later at 4 North Road, Cardiff. He died 23 January 1952, and his remains were cremated at Glyntaff Crematorium.
Author
- Dr John Graham Jones
- Who was who?
- Y Cymro, 23 November 1933
- The Times, 24 January 1952
- The Cardiff Times, 2 February 1952
- The Biographical Index of W. W. Price, Aberdâr
Sources
- Wikidata: Q20821240
Additional Links
Published date: 2001
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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