MineArchive
Gwilym Myrddin
| Category | Literature |
|---|---|
| Dates | Born 1863; moved to Betws 1898; lampman at Pantyffynnon to 1924; National Eisteddfod crown, Llanelli, 1930; died 1946; Cerddi Gwilym Myrddin 1948. |
Gwilym Myrddin was the bardic name of William Jones (1863-1946), a Carmarthenshire farmer's son who worked as a lampman at Pantyffynnon Colliery near Ammanford until ill health made him give it up in 1924, and who won the crown at the Llanelli National Eisteddfod in 1930 with a poem on the poet Ben Bowen. His collected poems were published as Cerddi Gwilym Myrddin in 1948.
The mining history in this record
William Jones was born on 12 April 1863 at Llwyndinawed farm, Cil-y-cwm, near Llandovery, and his schooling was cut short by the needs of the farm. He married Elizabeth Jones of Pumsaint in 1886 and at the end of 1898 moved to Betws, Ammanford, on the edge of the anthracite coalfield. He was first a farm bailiff near Ammanford and then took a post as lampman at Pantyffynnon Colliery, looking after the miners' safety lamps, until he resigned on health grounds in 1924.
A keen eisteddfod competitor, he published Pryddest a Chân in 1902. In 1930, six years after leaving the pit, he won the crown at the National Eisteddfod at Llanelli for a pryddest on Ben Bowen, and in 1938 he published 'Y Ferch o'r Scer' and 'Peniel', two poems he had entered for the crown at the Cardiff National Eisteddfod that year.
People
William Jones, 'Gwilym Myrddin' (1863-1946), lampman at Pantyffynnon Colliery and crowned bard.
Legacy today
His poems were collected after his death as Cerddi Gwilym Myrddin (1948). He died at Betws, Ammanford, on 10 January 1946.
Mining language in this record
Words and phrases in this record that are genuine mining terminology, occupations, methods or economic practice — not scenery or ordinary regional language that merely appears in a mining-adjacent work.
| Expression | Meaning | MineArchive connection |
|---|---|---|
| lampman | The colliery worker who issued, cleaned and maintained the miners' safety lamps; Gwilym Myrddin's job at Pantyffynnon. (South Wales) | Safety Lamp — (B) Linked to Safety Lamp, the equipment the lampman looked after. |
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- He worked as a lampman at Pantyffynnon Colliery and resigned on health grounds in 1924. (documented fact) 1,2
- He won the crown at the 1930 Llanelli National Eisteddfod with a poem on Ben Bowen. (documented fact) 1,2
- He published Pryddest a Chân (1902) and 'Y Ferch o'r Scer' and 'Peniel' (1938); Cerddi Gwilym Myrddin appeared in 1948. (documented fact) 1
- Gwilym Myrddin was William Jones (1863-1946), born at Llwyndinawed, Cil-y-cwm. (documented fact) 1,2
Mines
- Pantyffynnon Colliery — Carmarthenshire
Gwilym Myrddin worked as lampman at Pantyffynnon until 1924.
People
- William Jones (Gwilym Myrddin) (1863–1946) · worker — Lampman at Pantyffynnon Colliery and National Eisteddfod crowned bard.
Regions
Sources
- (secondary) JONES, WILLIAM ('Gwilym Myrddin'; 1863-1946), poet — Dictionary of Welsh Biography (Griffith Milwyn Griffiths)
- (secondary) Local people of note (Gwauncaegurwen and district) — GENUKI
Record created: 18 September 2026 · Last researched: 18 September 2026