Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Evan Nicholas (6 October 1879 - 19 April 1971),was a Welsh language
poet, preacher, radical, and champion of the disadvantaged of society.
Nicholas was born at Blaunwaun Felen in Llanfyrnach
parish, north Pembrokeshire
. As a teenager he worked two days a week at THE SWAN INN, Eglwyswen (Whitechurch), Pembrokeshire. THE OLD SWAN INN still stands today, but is now a holiday cottage, having closed as a pub in the 1920's. He left Pembrokeshire in 1897 and worked briefly in Treherbert
in the Rhondda
.
Around the turn of the 20th century, he entered the ministry and he received his three-year training for this at the Gwynfryn Academy (Ysgol y Gwynfryn), Ammanford, under Watcyn Wyn (Watkin Hezekiah Williams) and Gwili John Jenkins. . Between 1904 and 1914 he was a minister in the village of Glais
in the Swansea Valley, where Nicholas Road bears his name .
He was a prolific poet. The main themes of his poetry were injustice, the battle between the working class and the power of capital, and pacifism
. He was incarcerated at Swansea prison for his socialist views and the books of poetry, "Canu'r Carchar" (Prison Songs) and "Llygad y Drws" (referring to the eye-hole in the prison cell door) were written while in prison. He also translated The Internationale
into Welsh.
Nicholas was a friend of James Keir Hardie, the founder of the Independent Labour Party
and in 1915 he delivered the funeral service at Hardie's funeral. His socialist beliefs led him to oppose Welsh nationalism in his early years, but in his later years he embraced patriotic beliefs. He died at Aberystwyth
.
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
poet, preacher, radical, and champion of the disadvantaged of society.
Nicholas was born at Blaunwaun Felen in Llanfyrnach
Llanfyrnach
thumb|250 px|right|The parish church of St Brynach, LlanfyrnachLlanfyrnach is a village and parish in the hundred of Cemais, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name means "church of St Brynach". It is situated in a remote upland area on the headwaters of the River Tâf, about 18 km from Cardigan, the...
parish, north Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
. As a teenager he worked two days a week at THE SWAN INN, Eglwyswen (Whitechurch), Pembrokeshire. THE OLD SWAN INN still stands today, but is now a holiday cottage, having closed as a pub in the 1920's. He left Pembrokeshire in 1897 and worked briefly in Treherbert
Treherbert
Treherbert is a village and community situated at the head of the Rhondda Fawr valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Treherbert is a former industrial coal mining village which was at its economic peak between 1850 and 1920...
in the Rhondda
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
.
Around the turn of the 20th century, he entered the ministry and he received his three-year training for this at the Gwynfryn Academy (Ysgol y Gwynfryn), Ammanford, under Watcyn Wyn (Watkin Hezekiah Williams) and Gwili John Jenkins. . Between 1904 and 1914 he was a minister in the village of Glais
Glais
Glais is a small semi-rural village located in Swansea and is host to a site of Special Scientific Interest in the United Kingdom. With a pristine example of glacial moraine in the south of the village's boundaries the location is one of over a thousand sites in Wales that is officially designated...
in the Swansea Valley, where Nicholas Road bears his name .
He was a prolific poet. The main themes of his poetry were injustice, the battle between the working class and the power of capital, and pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
. He was incarcerated at Swansea prison for his socialist views and the books of poetry, "Canu'r Carchar" (Prison Songs) and "Llygad y Drws" (referring to the eye-hole in the prison cell door) were written while in prison. He also translated The Internationale
The Internationale
The Internationale is a famous socialist, communist, social-democratic and anarchist anthem.The Internationale became the anthem of international socialism, and gained particular fame under the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1944, when it was that communist state's de facto central anthem...
into Welsh.
Nicholas was a friend of James Keir Hardie, the founder of the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
and in 1915 he delivered the funeral service at Hardie's funeral. His socialist beliefs led him to oppose Welsh nationalism in his early years, but in his later years he embraced patriotic beliefs. He died at Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
.
Poetry
- Salmau'r Werin (1909)
- Cerddi Gwerin (1912)
- Cerddi Rhyddid (1914)
- Dros Eich Gwlad (1920)
- Terfysgoedd Daear (1939)
- Llygad y Drws (1940)
- Canu'r Carchar (1942)
- Y Dyn a'r Gaib (1944)
- Dryllio'r Delwau (1941)
- Rwy'n Gweld o Bell (1963)