DAVIES, ANNIE (1910 - 1970), better known as NAN, radio and television producer

Born 16 June 1910, in Llwyngwinau House, Tregaron, third of the six children of David and Elizabeth Davies. The family kept a butcher's shop in Tregaron at the time, but when she was about a year old they moved to farm Cefngwyddil in the parish of Llanbadarn Odwyn, and in 1919 to farm Pontargamddwr in the parish of Caron-is-clawdd. She was educated at Castell Fflemish elementary school from 1915 to 1923 when she went to Tregaron county school. In 1929 she went to U.C.W., Aberystwyth, and took her finals in history and Latin in June 1932, but graduated in 1933.

She was for a period on the staff of Cardiff city library before joining the B.B.C. in 1935 as secretary to Sam Jones . She assisted him in establishing the very fine tradition of Welsh radio broadcasting at Bangor. In 1946 she left the B.B.C. and returned to Cardiganshire as warden of the aelwydydd (youth clubs) of Urdd Gobaith Cymru in Tregaron and Pontrhydfendigaid. The following year she was appointed secretary of the Urdd's monetary appeal, a year later head of the appeals department, and in 1949 head of the movement's programmes and planning department. A few months later she returned to Bangor as producer of radio talks, and in 1955 moved to the B.B.C. headquarters in Cardiff to the world of radio and later television.

In Cardiff she was responsible for editing the literary radio programme Llafar, and was the first producer (and later, editor) of the television magazine programme Heddiw, the first television programme to discuss national and international matters in Welsh. In 1965 this programme won the Western Mail and Echo prize for the best programme of the year in Welsh. She visited the Welsh colony in Patagonia and produced the first film of that country ever seen on television. She was responsible for a large number of programmes such as ' Nant dialedd ', ' Shepherd's calendar ', ' Bugail Cwm Prysor ' and ' Prynhawn o Fai '. In 1969 she retired from the B.B.C., returned to Tregaron where she bought a house called ' Monarch '; she enjoyed only a few months' health there and died aged 59 in Singleton hospital, Swansea, on 7 May 1970. She was buried in the graveyard of Bwlchgwynt chapel, Tregaron, on May 11.

Author

• Dr Owen Edwards

Sources

• Personal knowledge, and details from her sister, Mrs. Jane Edwards, Ysbyty Ystwyth, and Oswyn Evans, Porthcawl

Further Reading

• Wikipedia Article: Annie Davies

Additional Links

• Wikidata: Q20732625

Published date: 2001

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/