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Parry, Robert Williams World War, 1914-1918
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Gohebiaeth rhwng Robert (Silyn) Roberts ac R. Williams Parry = Correspondence between Robert (Silyn) Roberts and R. Williams Parry

Gohebiaeth, 1913-1928, yn bennaf at Robert (Silyn) Roberts oddi wrth y bardd a'r darlithydd prifysgol R. Williams Parry, y llythyrau cynharaf wedi'u hanfon tra 'roedd Williams Parry yn athro yn ysgol Cefnddwysarn ger y Bala a'r rhan helaeth o'r ohebiaeth ddilynol yn olrhain ei hynt yn y fyddin yn ystod Rhyfel 1914-18. 'Roedd Williams Parry ar y cychwyn yn hynod anhapus yn ei yrfa milwrol ac mae'n erfyn ar Silyn, yn sgîl ei swydd fel ysgrifennydd Bwrdd Penodiadau Prifysgol Cymru, i'w symud i gatrawd sy'n cynnwys milwyr Cymreig (ceir tystiolaeth o ymgais Silyn i gyflawni ei ddymuniad). Cafodd Williams Parry air o'r diwedd (llythyr dyddiedig 24 Ebrill 1917) ei fod am gael ei drosglwyddo i'r '1st Welsh (Caernarvon) Battery Royal Garrison Artillery'. Serch annedwyddwch Williams Parry, ceir enghreifftiau yn ei lythyrau o farddoniaeth a ysgrifennodd ar faes y gâd, sy'n cynnwys ei englynion coffa i'w gyfaill Robert Pritchard Evans (1884-1917) (llythyr dyddiedig 26 Ebrill 1917) a'i soned 'Mater Mea' (llythyr dyddiedig 3 Rhagfyr 1917). Yn ei lythyr dyddiedig 11 Tachwedd 1918, mae Williams Parry yn datgan ei orfoledd ar derfyn y rhyfel. Arwyddir sawl un o'r llythyrau oddi wrth Williams Parry â'r enw 'Llion', sef y ffugenw a ddefnyddiodd ar gyfer ei ymgais lwyddiannus i gipio cadair Eisteddfod Genedlaethol 1910. Arnodir dau lythyr yn llaw Mary Silyn Roberts.
Ceir hefyd y canlynol:
Llythyr, 1 Mai 1915, at Robert (Silyn) Roberts oddi wrth W. J. Williams (1878-1952), sy'n ymddangos fel pe bai'n adrodd hanes dyfarnu cymhwyster R. Williams Parry ac eraill ar gyfer gwaith rhyfel.
Copi o lythyr, 10 Ionawr 1917, oddi wrth Robert (Silyn) Roberts at Capten Hamlet Roberts, 6ed Bataliwn y Ffiwsilwyr Cymreig Brenhinol, mewn ymgais i drosglwyddo R. Williams Parry i gatrawd Gymreig.
Llythyrau, Ebrill 1917, rhwng Robert (Silyn) Roberts a'r bardd Eingl-Gymraeg, llenor ac addysgwr Arthur Glyn Prys-Jones (1888-1987) ynghylch cyhoeddi cyfrol o farddoniaeth Eingl-Gymreig; yn un llythyr, ceir barn Silyn ar feirdd Cymreig cyfoes.
Llythyr, 3 Gorffennaf 1918, oddi wrth 'Kitty' yn Llundain, yn holi am gyhoeddiadau'n ymwneud ag R. Williams Parry ac â'r addysgwraig Lydewig Marie Souvestre (1830-1905).
Cerdyn post, 16 Mai 1930, wedi'i gyfeirio at Robert (Silyn) Roberts ond sydd â rhan helaeth ohono wedi'i dorri'i ffwrdd.

Ynghyd ag atodiad teipysgrif: 'Datganiad gan Angharad Tomos [un o roddwyr y casgliad] Mai 2022', sy'n cynnig sylwadau ynghylch llythyrau R. Williams Parry at Robert (Silyn) Roberts.

= Correspondence, 1913-1928, largely to Robert (Silyn) Roberts from the poet and university lecturer R. Williams Parry, the earliest letters sent whilst Williams Parry was teaching at Cefnddwysarn school, near Bala, with subsequent correspondence following, in the main, his military career during the First World War. Williams Parry's wartime experience was initially extremely unhappy and he begs Silyn, as secretary of the Welsh Appointments Board of the University of Wales, to transfer him to a regiment which includes Welsh soldiers (there is evidence of Silyn's attempts to fulfil his wishes). Williams Parry would finally receive word (letter dated 24 April 1917) of his transfer to the 1st Welsh (Caernarvon) Battery Royal Garrison Artillery. However, despite his melancholy, the war letters contain poetry written at the time by Williams Parry, which includes his commemorative 'englynion' (strict-metre verses) to his friend Robert Pritchard Evans (1884-1917) (letter dated 26 April 1917) and his sonnet 'Mater Mea' (letter dated 3 December 1917). Williams Parry expresses his joy at the end of the war in a letter dated 11 November 1918. Many of Williams Parry's letters are signed 'Llion', which was the pseudonym he used in his successful attempt to win the bardic chair at the 1910 National Eisteddfod. Two letters are annotated in the hand of Mary Silyn Roberts.
The following are also included:
Letter, 1 May 1915, to Robert (Silyn) Roberts from W. J. Williams (1878-1952), which appears to relate an account of how R. Williams Parry and others were assessed for war work.
Copy of a letter, 10 January 1917, from Robert (Silyn) Roberts to Captain Hamlet Roberts of the 6th Battalion of Royal Welsh Fusiliers in an attempt to obtain R. Williams Parry's transfer to a Welsh regiment.
Letters, April 1917, between Robert (Silyn) Roberts and the Anglo-Welsh poet, author and educator Arthur Glyn Prys-Jones (1888-1987) regarding the publication of a volume of Anglo-Welsh poetry; in one letter, Silyn expresses his opinion of contemporary Welsh poets.
Letter, 3 July 1918, from 'Kitty' in London, enquiring about publications relating to R. Williams Parry and to the Breton educator Marie Souvestre (1830-1905).
Postcard, 16 May 1930, addressed to Robert (Silyn) Roberts, a substantial part of which has been torn away.

Together with a typescript supplement comprising a statement made May 2022 by Angharad Tomos, one of the donors of the collection, containing observations on R. Williams' Parry's letters to Robert (Silyn) Roberts.