Prifardd (Chief Bard) and scholar
T. H. Parry-Williams was raised in the Schoolhouse, Rhyd Ddu, where his father was headmaster. His upbringing in Eryri greatly influenced his work as a poet, seen in poems such as ‘Llyn y Gadair’ and ‘Moelni’.
He was educated at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Oxford, Freiburg in Germany and the Sorbonne in Paris.
T. H. Parry-Williams was a lecturer in Welsh at Aberystwyth but was denied promotion to the post of Professor in 1919 because of his beliefs as a conscientious objector during the First World War.
By 1920, however, the College had reconsidered, and he remained there as Chair until 1952.
T. H. Parry-Williams won both the chair and crown at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham and the chair and crown once again at the Eisteddfod in Bangor. He was knighted in 1958 in recognition of his work.