Anna Leonowens
She was the "I" of the popular story, "The King and I". Her account of her time as a teacher in the Royal Siamese Court. Here actual work was published under the title 'The English governess at the Siamese court'.
Fame Hilite: World-renowned bass-baritone; knighted in 2017 for services to music; sang the coronation Kyrie for King Charles III in Welsh.
Birth info: Born 9 November 1965 in Pant Glas, Caernarfonshire (Gwynedd), Wales.
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Beyond the opera house, Terfel founded the Faenol Festival near Snowdonia in 2000 and is a vice president of the historic Dunvant Male Choir in Swansea. In 2023 he made history as the first performer to sing Welsh at a British coronation.
Career Highlights:
Career Highlight: Won the Lieder Prize at Cardiff Singer of the World, 1989
Career Highlight: Debuted at the Royal Opera House and Metropolitan Opera in the early 1990s
Career Highlight: Knighted for services to music, 2017
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Connection: Born and raised in rural Gwynedd; Welsh was his first language, and he remains a leading patron of Welsh music and culture.
Location String: Pant Glas, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales
Connection Place Map: 53.0068,-4.2814
Sir Bryn Terfel Jones was born on 9 November 1965 in Pant Glas, a small village in Caernarfonshire (now Gwynedd), the son of a farmer. Welsh was his first language, and he grew up singing in chapel and competing at local eisteddfodau, taught traditional Welsh songs by a family friend before he had any formal training. He is now widely regarded as one of the finest bass-baritones of his generation, a singer whose career has taken him from the hills above Caernarfon to the world's greatest opera houses.
Terfel studied at...
Edward II
Edward of Caernarvon (as his contemporaries knew him) was the first heir to the England and Wales throne to be styled 'Prince of Wales'. A Plantagonet, he was perhaps one of the most disliked, unsuccessful leaders England has known.
Harold Lowe
From Caernarfonshire, Wales
Commander Harold Godfrey Lowe RD RNR wrote his name into history as a hero for actions during the loss of the White Star Ship, TITANIC.
Harold is portrayed by Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd in the James Cameron movie 'Titanic' where we have a sense of the urgency and danger he was facing.
As the ship's Fifth Officer he was instrumental in organising the release of lifeboats and having taken his own charge to safety away from the stricken vessel was so appalled to see...
Fame Hilite: Welsh-speaking actor best known for playing Morgan opposite Katharine Hepburn in 'The Corn Is Green' (1979) and Merak in Doctor Who's 'The Armageddon Factor'.
Birth info: Ian was born in Caernarfon, North Wales
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Saynor made his breakthrough playing Morgan opposite Katharine Hepburn in the 1979 television film 'The Corn Is Green', based on Emlyn Williams' play, and the same year appeared as Merak in the Doctor Who serial 'The Armageddon Factor'. He went on to a long career working for BBC Wales, BBC South and S4C, appearing in numerous stage productions mostly based in Cardiff and London, and most recently played the father of the lead detective in the 2018 bilingual drama 'Hidden'.
Career Highlights:
Career Highlight: Played Morgan opposite Katharine Hepburn in 'The Corn Is Green' (1979)
Career Highlight: Played Merak in the Doctor Who serial 'The Armageddon Factor' (1979)
Career Highlight: Played Adam Lockett in the sitcom 'The Cuckoo Waltz'
Career Highlight: Extensive work for BBC Wales, BBC South and S4C
Career Highlight: Played the father of the lead detective in the 2018 drama 'Hidden'
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Connection: Born in Caernarfon (probably) to Welsh parents and is a Welsh speaker
Comment By: goutherns , This Comment: Grew up in Holywell, Flintshire, currently in Oxfordshire.
Comment By: avalon13 , This Comment: I first saw Ian Saynor in 'The Mallens' and admired his ability and personality. It may have something to do with the name we share, although my only link with Caernarfon is that the boy I went to sea with lived there. I personally hope to see more of Ian.
Pete Drummond
DJ with the pirate station Radio London from September 1966 until it closed on the 14th of August 1967. He continued his career with BBC Radio 1 from 1967 through to 1991.
Sir William Preece
William Henry Preece was an electrical engineer who was a major figure in the development and introduction of wireless telegraphy and the telephone in Great Britain.
