Gwilym Richard Jones was the first person to have been awarded all three major literary awards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Jones was awarded the crown in 1935, the chair in 1938 and the prose medal in 1941. The Eisteddfod is notoriously difficult to achieve an award without merit, as the judges will often award no winner if they feel the quality of the work submitted does not meet the standards desired. Jones was the only person to achieve all three awards in the 20th century.

Jones was raised in Talysarn

Talysarn

Talysarn is a village in the slate quarrying Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd, Wales.The Welsh language poet Robert Williams Parry was born in 37, Station Road, Talysarn, where a plaque designed by R.L. Gapper commemorates the connection. Other persons connected with the village were Annant, quarryman,...

 and entered a career in journalism

Journalism

Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

 at Caernarfon

Caernarfon

Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...

 when he wrote for Yr Herald Cymraeg. Controversially he became the editor of Baner ac Amserau Cymru in 1945, a paper which openly supported the activities of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg.