Cyril Gwynn

Cyril Gwynn (1897–1988) was a British poet, from Gower, in the City and County of Swansea. He was known as the Bard of Gower, and became a household name in Gower before leaving for Australia. His poetry was spoken rather than written, and was in the English language, using the Gower dialect.

Life

Arthur Cyril Gwynn, known as Cyril Gwynn, was born on 19 January 1897 in Briton Ferry, Carmarthenshire. His father was a Gower farmer called Arthur Gwynn, and his mother, Caroline, came from Briton Ferry, where her father worked as a ship's pilot. disappeared from the Gower scene:

“....this remarkable, self-effacing fellow, with his head in the clouds and his roots deep in the soil of Gower, seemed to have effaced himself completely and vanished from the scene. I heard he had gone abroad and, incredibly, never returned".

He had left Gower for Neath Abbey, where he worked as an engineer for 10 years.

At Hills Farm Winnie's health was deteriorating, and the doctor strongly advised a change from their isolated life on the farm. One of Cyril's daughters had emigrated to Australia, and urged her parents to visit for a holiday. In 1964, Cyril and Winnie went for a two-month holiday and stayed for good. In 2026, Cyril's great-grandson, Gareth Gwynn, wrote and performed a one-man show called Cyril about researching his family history to give a talk about Cyril Gwynn. It included readings of his poems and anecdotes from his life.

List of published poems

By 1928 Cyril Gwynn had collected enough poems to publish, at his own expense, "Gower Yarns", a collection of 33 of his poems. One-third of these poems were selected by the Gower Society, in 1975, for publication in: "The Gower Yarns of Cyril Gwynn". The idea was suggested by J. Mansel Thomas when Cyril Gwynne made his return visit to Gower, in 1975, at the age of 80. Below is a list of poems from the Gower Society publication:

Contentment; The Widow's Reply; Heavy Cropping; Two of a Kind; The Jobbing Gardener's Complaint; The Kittle Hill Scheme (1927); A Modern Samual; When Mumbles was "The Mumbles"; A Smart Recruit; Ilston Quarry (1925); The Village Blacksmith; My Dream; A Bard's Dilemma; Versatility; To the Life-Saving Club; Partners; Impressions of Farming: 1) By a City Gent; 2) After hearing Kipling's 'If'; 3) By a Farmer; Pro Tem; Early Birds; Capital; Will the Mill; Reluctant Hero; Farewell and Welcome; Salvation; True to Type; Shades of John Peel (1939); Farming – Ancient and Modern; What's in a Name?; A Cosy Yarn; A Dark Horse; Dawn in a Gower Valley;

Publications

"Gower Yarns", published by Cyril Gwynn (1928) "The Gower Yarns of Cyril Gwynn" (1975. Gower Society)