Leading light of Plaid Cymru dies (From Barry And District News)

Leading light of Plaid Cymru dies

A PIONEERING politician whose roots were in Barry has died in his nineties.

Gwynfor Evans was born in Barry in 1912, and was the son of Dan Evans, who founded the famous store.

He was a leading light in Plaid Cymru for most of his life until he died last week aged 92.

He famously threatened a hunger strike in 1980 if the Iron Lady, Prime Minister at the time Margaret Thatcher, refused to allow a Welsh speaking television station.

He won his battle and S4C was born when broadcasts began in 1982.

At the tender age of 20 he was elected president of Plaid Cymru. He led the party for 36 years.

He was educated at University of Wales, Aberystwyth and St John's College Oxford. As a pacifist and committed Christian he refused to fight in World War II and tried to lead a peace mission to Vietnam.

In the 1950s, Mr Evans fought for a parliament for Wales but was ridiculed for such a forward-thinking idea.

In 1966 he became the first Plaid Cymru candidate to be elected to parliament. He won the by-election in Carmarthen, when Labour MP Dame Megan Lloyd George died.

Hundreds of supporters travelled to London to see him enter parliament for the first time. He likened himself to the first Labour MP Keir Hardie.

Mr Evans lost his seat to Labour three years later but when he returned to Westminster in 1974 there were two other MPs to accompany him.

He lost his seat again in 1979, just as Margaret Thatcher came to power and took her on to get S4C up and running.

Mr Evans leaves his wife, Rhiannon, seven children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

His funeral was held in North Wales yesterday.