Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards
Founder of the national youth movement Urdd Gobaith Cymru
- Born:
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1895 - 1970
- Place of Birth:
- Llanuwchllyn
"What shall we the children of Wales, do to keep the language alive. We will establish a new Urdd and we will try to get every young person under eighteen to join us."
Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards
- Biography:
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Ifan ab Owen Edwards was born in Llanuwchllyn near Bala in Gwynedd in 1895. His father was Owen Morgan Edwards, a highly respected academic and educator who did much to further the development of Welsh medium education.
As a young man, Ifan went to the University of Wales Aberystwyth where he read history. He served as a solider in the First World War and then worked as a teacher in Dolgellau.
Like his father, he wanted to preserve the Welsh language and culture. He edited the children's magazine Cymru'r Plant and in an article in 1922, he made an unusual plea. "What shall we the children of Wales, do to keep the language alive. We will establish a new Urdd and we will try to get every young Welsh person under eighteen to join us," he wrote.
His appeal led to the founding of the Welsh league of youth, Urdd Gobaith Cymru. In 1922, the organisation had just over 700 members. Today, that figure stands at more than 50,000 children. Sir Ifan spent the rest of his life furthering the cause of the movement and its ideals of service to Wales, to mankind and to Christ. He was knighted in 1947.
First Welsh School
He made his family home in Aberystwyth and in 1939, he opened the first Welsh language primary school in Wales. It had only seven pupils on the register.
By the end of the war in 1945, there were 81 children and four teachers at Ysgol Lluest. Although it was a private school, it is widely acknowledged to have paved the way for the establishment of Welsh medium state schools.
Film Pioneer
Sir Ifan was also a pioneer in the world of cinema. He was the first person ever to make a Welsh language film. It was called "Y Chwarelwr" (the quarryman) and was shown for the first time in 1937. As part of his campaign to promote the language, Sir Ifan toured the cinemas of Wales showing the film.
His two sons have also made names for themselves. Owen Edwards became the first Director of the Welsh-language fourth television channel S4C in 1982 and Prys Edwards is a well-known businessman, a former Chairman of the Wales Tourist Board and Honorary Life President of the Urdd.
The Urdd's headquarters have been located in Aberystwyth since 1933.
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