Joan Petchey

Joan Eileen Petchey (17 September 1920 – June 1990), known by her bardic name Elowen, was an English teacher, linguist, and participant in the twentieth-century Cornish language revival.

She taught French and Cornish and was active in promoting spoken revived Cornish. She was admitted to Gorsedh Kernow as a bard in 1950.

Early life

Petchey was born in Truro, Cornwall, on 17 September 1920, the daughter of William Petchey and Lillian Petchey (née Williams).

According to the 1939 Register, she was living in Chelsea, London, where she worked as a typist for the Inland Revenue.

She became known as one of the more fluent speakers of revived Cornish during the mid-twentieth century. Elizabeth Carne, later Grand Bard of Gorsedh Kernow, described her as an exceptionally gifted speaker who demonstrated that Cornish could again function as a spoken language.

Among her students was the Rev. Dr. Cadoc Leighton, who later acknowledged her as one of his principal teachers of Cornish.

She was also a supporter of Mebyon Kernow, a Cornish nationalist party.

Death

Petchey died in St Austell, Cornwall, in June 1990.

The linguist Nicholas Williams later described her as one of the strongest champions of the Cornish language revival.