Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis ( born John Saunders Lewis in Wallasey , England ) ( 15 October 1893 – 1 September 1985 ) was a Welsh poet , dramatist , historian , literary critic , and political activist . He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru ( the National Party of Wales ) , later known as Plaid Cymru . Lewis is usually acknowledged as one of the most prominent figures of 20th century Welsh - language literature . Lewis was a 1970 Nobel nominee for literature , and in 2005 was 10th in a BBC Wales poll to name Wales ' greatest - ever person . Early life . Born into a Welsh family living in Wallasey , England , in 1893 , Lewis was studying English and French at Liverpool University when the First World War broke out . After serving as an officer with the South Wales Borderers he returned to university to graduate in English . In 1922 , he was appointed as a lecturer in Welsh at the University College of Wales , Swansea . During his time at Swansea he produced some of his most exciting works of literary criticism : " A School of Welsh Augustans " ( 1924 ) , " Williams Pantycelyn " ( 1927 ) , and " Braslun o hanes llenyddiaeth Gymraeg " ( An outline history of Welsh literature ) ( 1932 ) . Founding Plaid Cymru . Discussions for the need of a " Welsh party " had been circulating since the 19th century . With the generation or so before 1922 there " had been a marked growth in the constitutional recognition of the Welsh nation , " wrote historian Dr . John Davies . By 1924 there were people in Wales " eager to make their nationality the focus of Welsh politics . Lewis ' experiences in World War I , and his sympathy for the cause of Irish independence , brought him to Welsh nationalism . In 1925 he met with H . R . Jones , Lewis Valentine and others at the National Eisteddfod , held in Pwllheli , Gwynedd , with the aim of establishing a " Welsh party " . Lewis and Jones represented separate organizations , both founded the previous year . Lewis headed " Y Mudiad Cymreig " ( ) and Jones heading the " " ( ) . They founded " Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru " ( ) ( which would become Plaid Cymru ) , on 5 August 1925 . The principal aim of the party would be to foster a Welsh speaking Wales . To this end it was agreed that party business be conducted in Welsh , and that members sever all links with other British parties . Lewis insisted on these principles before he would agree to the Pwllheli conference . According to the 1911 census , out of a population of just under 2 . 5 million , 43 . 5 % of the total population of Wales spoke Welsh as a primary language . This was a decrease from the 1891 census with 54 . 4 % speaking Welsh out of a population of 1 . 5 million . With these prerequisites Lewis condemned " ' Welsh nationalism ' as it had hitherto existed , a nationalism characterized by inter - party conferences , an obsession with Westminster and a willingness to accept a subservient position for the Welsh language , " wrote Dr . Davies . It may be because of these strict positions that the party failed to attract politicians of experience in its early years . However , the party ' s members believed its founding was an achievement in itself ; " merely by existing , the party was a declaration of the distinctiveness of Wales , " wrote Dr . Davies . The Lewis Doctrine 1926 - 1939 . During the inter - war years , " Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru " was most successful as a social and educational pressure group rather than as a political party . For Saunders Lewis , party president 1926 - 1939 , " the chief aim of the party [ is ] to ' take away from the Welsh their sense of inferiority . . . to remove from our beloved country the mark and shame of conquest . ' " Lewis sought to cast " Welshness " into a new context , wrote Dr . Davies . Lewis wished to demonstrate how Welsh heritage was linked as one of the ' founders of European civilization . Lewis , a self - described " strong monarchist " , wrote " Civilization is more than an abstraction . It must have a local habitation and name . Here its name is Wales . " Additionally , Lewis strove for the stability and well - being of Welsh - speaking communities , decried both capitalism and socialism and promoted what he called " perchentyaeth ; " a policy of ' distributing property among the masses " . Lewis was , in fact , ill - equipped to lead any party , or indeed even convince his immediate colleagues of his theories . Historian Geraint H . Jenkins writes : - " . . Lewis was a cold fish . His reedy voice , bow tie , cerebral style and aristocratic contempt for the proletariat were hardly endearing qualities in a political leader , and his conversion to Catholicism lost him the sympathy of fervent Nonconformists . Heavily influenced by the discourse of right - wing French theorists , this profoundly authoritarian figure developed a grand strategy , such as it was , based on the deindustrialization of Wales . Such a scheme was both impractical and unpopular . It caused grave embarrassment to his socialist colleague D . J . Davies , a progressive economist who , writing with force and passion , showed a much better grasp of the economic realities of the time and greater sensitivity towards the plight of working people . Broadcasting . Saunders Lewis perceived the early development of BBC radio broadcasting in Wales ( which was almost entirely in English ) as serious threat to his aim of arresting the decline of the Welsh language ( then down to 36 % ) and turning Wales back into a 100 % Welsh - speaking nation . At the same time he also recognised that if he could exert influence and pressure on the BBC , the Corporation could become a useful tool to serve Plaid Cymru ' s political ends . In 1929 he declared it would soon be necessary to arrange for " thousands of Welshmen to be prosecuted for refusing to pay for English programmes " . The following year Lewis was commissioned by E . R . Appleton , Director of the BBC ' s Cardiff radio station , ( who had banned broadcasting in Welsh ) to broadcast a talk which would " explain Welsh Nationalism " . On vetting the script , which advocated political nationalism in preference to " cultural nationalism " , Appleton decided it was too controversial and inflammatory to be broadcast . In October 1933 the University of Wales Council , which had been lobbying for more Welsh - language broadcasting , appointed a ten - man council to press the case with the BBC . It included David Lloyd George , William George , W . J . Gruffydd and Saunders Lewis - who was continuing to incense the BBC by publicly alleging it was " seeking the destruction of the Welsh language " . The University Committee , which was described by BBC Director General John Reith as " the most unpleasant and unreliable people with whom it has been my misfortune to deal " gained ever more influence on the BBC in Wales not least in the selection of BBC staff - a function delegated to the Committee by the Corporation . As newspapers of the time noted , appointees seemed primarily drawn from the families of the Welsh - speaking elite including " the son of a professor of Welsh and the offspring of three archdruids " . Saunders Lewis ' s assiduous campaigning over the years was to succeed in cementing an on - going Plaid Cymru influence within the BBC . When the BBC ' s Welsh Advisory Council was eventually established in 1946 , although half its members were Labour , several Plaid Cymru supporters were appointed including Saunders Lewis ' s successor as Plaid Cymru president , Gwynfor Evans . " Tân yn Llŷn " 1936 . Welsh nationalism was ignited in 1936 when the UK Government settled on establishing an RAF training camp and aerodrome at Penyberth on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd . The events surrounding the protest , known as " Tân yn Llŷn " ( " Fire in Llŷn " ) , helped define " Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru " . The UK Government settled on Llŷn as the site for its training camp after similar proposed sites in Northumberland and Dorset met with protests . However , UK Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin refused to hear the case against building this ' bombing school ' in Wales , despite a deputation representing 500 , 000 Welsh protesters . Protest against the project was summed up by Lewis when he wrote that the UK Government was intent upon turning one of the " essential homes of Welsh culture , idiom , and literature " into a place for promoting a barbaric method of warfare . Construction of this military academy began exactly 400 years after the first Act of Union annexing Wales into England . On 8 September 1936 , the building was set on fire and in the investigations which followed Saunders Lewis , Lewis Valentine , and D . J . Williams claimed responsibility . The trial at Caernarfon failed to agree on a verdict and the case was sent to the Old Bailey in London . The " Three " were sentenced to nine months imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs , and on their release they were greeted as heroes by 15 , 000 Welsh people at a pavilion in Caernarfon . Many Welsh people were angered by the judge ' s scornful treatment of the Welsh language , by the decision to move the trial to London , and by the decision of University College , Swansea , to dismiss Lewis from his post before he had been found guilty . Dafydd Glyn Jones wrote of the fire that it was " the first time in five centuries that Wales struck back at England with a measure of violence . . . To the Welsh people , who had long ceased to believe that they had it in them , it was a profound shock . " However , despite the acclaim the events of " Tân yn Llŷn " generated , by 1938 Lewis ' concept of " perchentyaeth " ( " home ownership " ) had been firmly rejected as " not " a fundamental tenet of the party . In 1939 Lewis resigned as " Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru " president , saying that Wales was not ready to accept the leadership of a Roman Catholic . Lewis was the son and grandson of prominent Welsh Calvinistic Methodist ministers . In 1932 , he had converted to Roman Catholicism . Second World War . Lewis maintained a strict neutrality in his writings through his column " Cwrs y Byd " in " Y Faner " . It was his attempt at an unbiased interpretation of the causes and events of the war . Outside of the party ' s initial position on the war , party members were free to choose for themselves their level of support for the war effort . " Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru " was officially neutral regarding involvement the Second World War , which Lewis and other leaders considered a continuation of the First World War . Central to the neutrality policy was the idea that Wales , as a nation , had the right to decide independently on its attitude towards war , and the rejection of other nations to force Welshmen to serve in their armed forces . With this challenging and revolutionary policy Lewis hoped a significant number of Welshmen would refuse to join the British Army . Lewis and other party members were attempting to strengthen loyalty to the Welsh nation " over the loyalty to the British State " . Lewis argued " The only proof that the Welsh nation exists is that there are some who act as if it did exist . " However , most party members who claimed conscientious objection status did so in the context of their moral and religious beliefs , rather than on political policy . Of these almost all were exempt from military service . About 24 party members made politics their sole grounds for exemption , of whom 12 received prison sentences . For Lewis , those who objected proved that the assimilation of Wales was " being withstood , even under the most extreme pressures " . University of Wales by - election , 1943 . Prior to 1950 , universities could elect and return representatives to the UK Parliament . In 1943 Lewis contested the University of Wales parliamentary seat at a by - election ; his opponent was former " Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru " deputy vice - president Dr William John Gruffydd . Gruffydd had voiced doubts about Lewis ' ideas since 1933 , and by 1943 he had joined the Liberal party . The " brilliant but wayward " Gruffydd was a favorite with Welsh - speaking intellectuals and drew 52 . 3 % of the vote , to Lewis ' 22 % , or 1 , 330 votes . The election effectively split the Welsh - speaking intelligentsia , and left Lewis embittered with politics ; he retreated from direct political involvement . However the experience proved invaluable for " Plaid Cymru " , as they began to refer to themselves , as " for the first time they were taken seriously as a political force . " The by - election campaign led directly to " considerable growth " in the party ' s membership . " Tynged yr Iaith " and the 1961 census . " see also Tynged yr iaith " In 1962 Lewis gave a radio speech entitled " Tynged yr iaith " ( " The Fate of the Language " ) in which he predicted the extinction of the Welsh language unless action was taken . Lewis ' intention was to motivate " Plaid Cymru " into more direct action promoting the language ; however it led to the formation of " Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg " ( " Welsh Language Society " ) later that year at a " Plaid Cymru " summer school held in Pontardawe in Glamorgan . The foundation of " Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg " allowed " Plaid Cymru " to focus on electoral politics , while the " Cymdeithas " focused on promoting the language . Lewis ' radio speech was in response to the 1961 census , which showed a decrease in the percentage of Welsh speakers from 36 % in 1931 to 26 % , of the population of about 2 . 5 million . In the census the counties of Meirionnydd ( Merionethshire ) , Ynys Môn ( Anglesey ) , Caerfyrddin ( Carmarthenshire ) , and Caernarfon ( Caernarvonshire ) averaged a 75 % proportion of Welsh speakers , with the most significant decreases in the counties of Glamorgan , Flint , and Pembroke . Responding to calls for Welsh devolution , in 1964 the Labour Government established the Welsh Office ( ) and Secretary of State for Wales . Nobel Nominee . In 1970 , Lewis was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature . His literary works include plays , poetry , novels and essays . He wrote mostly in Welsh , but he also wrote some works in English . By the time of his death in 1985 some rated him as amongst the most celebrated of Welsh writers . Others however consider Saunders Lewis ' s literary and political reputation is undeserved . In 2001 Lord Elis - Thomas , himself a former Plaid Cymru President , declared in a television documentary that Lewis was " lousy as a politician , lousy as a writer , but a good Catholic " . Political criticisms . Lewis ' perceived " elitist views , " and a " condescending attitude towards some aspects of nonconformist , radical and pacifist traditions of Wales " drew criticism from fellow nationalist such as D . J . Davies , a leftist party member . Davies argued in favour of engaging English - speaking Welsh communities , and stressed the territorial integrity of Wales . Davies pointed towards Scandinavian countries as a model to emulate , and was active in the economic implications of Welsh self - government . In many ways it was Davies ' ideal of Welsh nationalism which was adopted after the Second World War , wrote Dr . Davies . But it was Lewis ' " brilliance and charismatic appeal " which was firmly associated with " Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru " in the 1930s . In 1936 , in the midst of the turmoil of " Tân yn Llŷn " , Lewis praised Adolf Hitler when he said " At once he fulfilled his promise — a promise which was greatly mocked by the London papers months before that — to completely abolish the financial strength of the Jews in the economic life of Germany . " However , in the 1930s other British politicians including Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George also made favourable comments about fascist leaders . Literary activity . Lewis was above all a dramatist . His earliest published play was " Blodeuwedd " ( The woman of flowers ) ( 1923 – 25 , revised 1948 ) . Other notable plays include " Buchedd Garmon " ( The life of Germanus ) ( radio play , 1936 ) , " Siwan " ( 1956 ) , " Gymerwch chi sigarét ? " ( Will you have a cigarette ? ) ( 1956 ) , " Brad " ( Treachery ) ( 1958 ) , " Esther " ( 1960 ) , and " Cymru fydd " ( Tomorrow ' s Wales ) ( 1967 ) . He also translated Samuel Beckett ' s " En attendant Godot " into Welsh . He published two novels , " Monica " ( 1930 ) and " Merch Gwern Hywel " ( The daughter of Gwern Hywel ) ( 1964 ) and two collections of poems as well as numerous articles and essays in various newspapers , magazines and journals . These articles have been collected into volumes including : " Canlyn Arthur " ( Following Arthur ) ( 1938 ) , " Ysgrifau dydd Mercher " ( Wednesday essays ) ( 1945 ) , " Meistri ' r canrifoedd " ( Masters of the centuries ) ( 1973 ) , " Meistri a ' u crefft " ( Masters and their craft ) ( 1981 ) and " Ati ŵyr ifainc " ( Go to it , young men ) ( 1986 ) . Honorary Doctorate / Demand for Latin Mass . In March 1983 , at the age of 89 , Saunders Lewis was made an honorary Doctor of Letters of the University of Wales at a ceremony specially conducted at his home in Penarth . The Catholic Herald , reporting the honour , noted that in the previous year Lewis had made a plea for Mass to be said in Latin in Wales rather than in the " foreign language of English " , which he pointed out was " a later arrival " .