Meredith Edwards

Gwilym Meredith Edwards (10 June 1917 – 8 February 1999) was a Welsh character actor and writer. He was born in Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire, Wales, the son of a collier, and attended Ruabon Boys' Grammar School. He became an actor in 1938, first with the Welsh National Theatre Company, then the Liverpool Playhouse. He was a Christian conscientious objector in the Second World War, serving in the Non-Combatant Corps, before being seconded to the National Fire Service in Liverpool and London. Edwards' film appearances include A Run for Your Money (1949), The Blue Lamp (1950), The Magnet (1950), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Cruel Sea (1953), The Great Game (1953), The Long Arm (1956), Dunkirk (1958) and Tiger Bay (1959). He appeared as the murderous butler in the cult television series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) in 1969, and as Tom in the cult children's science fiction serial Sky in 1975. He also played Thomas Charles Edwards in the 1978 BBC drama series Off to Philadelphia in the Morning and Richard Lloyd in the 1981 TV series The Life and Times of David Lloyd George. A Welsh nationalist and Welsh speaker, he stood as Plaid Cymru candidate for Denbigh in the 1966 general election. He was awarded an honorary degree in 1997 by the University of Wales, and was a member of the Gorsedd of Bards. He married Daisy Clark in 1942. They had two sons and a daughter. He is the father of actor Ioan Meredith and the grandfather of actors Ifan Meredith and Rhys Meredith.