Elma Mary Williams

Elma Mary Williams was an author from the United Kingdom.

She was born in Moseley, Birmingham, in 1913 and educated at St John's Convent School.[1]

Having previously written several thrillers and romances, she became nationally well-known during the 1960s and early 70s for her books describing the animal sanctuary she had established on a farm at Tre'r Ddol near Machynlleth in Wales. Valley of Animals (1963) was a best-seller and was followed by several others, such as Animals under my Feet (1965, illustrated by Barry Driscoll), leading to a number of radio and television appearances.[2] Williams, a Roman Catholic who said she had drawn inspiration from St Francis of Assisi, later planned to develop a community where pensioners could retire along with domestic pets who they would otherwise not be allowed to keep. After initial planning setbacks she gained permission to proceed,[3] but died in 1971 before the plans were fully realised. The trust she set up initially planned to open a therapeutic facility on the site, but it was later sold and the last tenant, Winifred Berry, was asked to leave in 1975.[4]

In 1967 the composer Ian Parrott wrote a piece called Pant Glas Idyll inspired by Williams' farm.[5]

Her books were published as by Elma M Williams:

Fiction: The Waiting Years (1957) House with Loving Walls (1958) To Africa – the Bride (1958) The Fifth Lake (1959) Something of the World (1960) Love in a Mist (1960) Strange Legacy (1961) Escape to Death (1961) The Valley (1961) Tomorrow a Stranger (1962) The Winking Cat (1963) Owls Do Cry (1964) The Shaft of Light (1965) Where is Sylvia? (1967) Paul’s Secret Courage (1967)

Pant Glas: Valley of Animals (1963) Pig in Paradise (1964) Animals Under My Feet (1965) Elma M Williams Introduces The Valley of Animals, Pant Glas, Tre’r Ddol, Machynlleth (1969, booklet) Heaven on my Doorstep (1970) Foreword by Sir George Thomas. The Pant Glas Story (1970) Ride a Cock Horse (1970)


References

  1. ↑ The author's & writer's who's who, 1971, p.856
  2. ↑ The Bookseller, 3341-3353 (1970), 328
  3. ↑ "Refuge for pet lovers is given go ahead", Western Mail, 18 August 1970
  4. ↑ "Grand old lady of animal valley is told to quit", Western Mail, 19 February 1975
  5. ↑ Musical Opinion, v.106, 222


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