Background
Mr. Jones was born in Cardiff, United Kingdom, on May 20, 1929. He was a son of Sydney V. and M. Edith Jones.
Mr. Jones was born in Cardiff, United Kingdom, on May 20, 1929. He was a son of Sydney V. and M. Edith Jones.
In 1949 Bobi Jones graduated from University of Wales, Cardiff, earning Bachelor of Arts (with first class honors). In 1951 he received Master of Arts, in 1965 Doctor of Philosophy, and in 1979 Doctor of Letters from the same university.
From 1956 to 1958 Mr. Jones acted as a lecturer at Trinity College (now University of Wales Trinity Saint David), Carmarthen, Wales. During the period of 1959-1966 he occupied the post of a lecturer in education at University of Wales, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, between 1966 and 1980 he was a lecturer in Welsh and in 1980-1989 a professor.
Bobi Jones was a Christian leaning firmly to Calvinism. He attended a denominational chapel in Aberystwyth until a Welsh Evangelical Church was established in the town. He therefore followed a trend among Evangelicals of the time in leaving the old Christian denominations (see also Evangelical Movement of Wales and Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones), on finding that evangelical churches best suited his reformed theology. He had a regular column in the Welsh-language magazine of the Evangelical Movement of Wales, Y Cylchgrawn Efengylaidd, discussing the Christian heritage of Welsh literature.
Mr. Jones was a Welsh nationalist and a strong supporter of the Welsh language. He would argue that culture and the nation are ordained of God and that therefore sustaining their existence is a form of praise to God. His ideas on nationalism and on politics in general are best put forward in his book Crist a Chenedlaetholdeb (Christ and Nationalism), published in 1994.
Robert's view on sustaining the Welsh language and his contribution to it are unique. Many Welsh scholars such as R Tudur Jones contributed through support for pressure groups such as Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg. Bobi Jones was a supporter of such campaigns, but his major contribution to promoting the language was in teaching Welsh to adults.
Having learnt Welsh himself, he held that the key to restoring the Welsh language was to win over the non-Welsh speakers of Wales, as opposed to putting all the energy into campaigning for the rights of existing Welsh speakers. He felt that in addition to protesting over their rights to the government, Welsh speakers should themselves act positively. In adult teaching, he was the founder of CYD: Cymdeithas y Dysgwyr (Learners' Society), which arranges night classes in Welsh throughout Wales, and remained its honorary President until his death. Though a republican in his views, he taught Welsh to Prince Charles when the latter attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, in the summer of 1969, leading up to his investiture as Prince of Wales.
Quotations: "Death, you’re afraid of me, because I’m young."
Quotes from others about the person
John Emyr: "Bobi Jones is an author of great significance, not least for non-Welsh speakers. Himself having learnt Welsh, his work offers an insight, more so than the work of most authors whose first language is Welsh, into the significance of Welsh language and culture, particularly because of the strong intellectual or reflective element in his work. Deeply involved with the language and its culture, passionately committed to the best things in Welsh life, there is in his work - even at moments of high intensity - an element of detachment, an ability to step aside and see the wonder of Wales, its beauty and its tragedy, with an outsider's reflective, almost analytical gaze."
Bobi Jones married Anne Elizabeth Beti on December 27, 1952. The couple had two children: Lowri Dole (daughter), Rhodri Sion (son).