Obituary

WYNNE OLIVER

BY Richard Talog Jones

31 December 2025

With much sadness we were made aware of the sad passing of one of our longest members Wynne Oliver who died on the 31st of December 2025. At our meeting our Chair turned to friend and former Chair Bill Griffiths, to commemorate Wyn with a few fond memories.

Wyn was a well known figure in Llanelli circles, being head of sports and also a Maths teacher at Ysgol y Graig for many years. He was a stalwart of under-15 rugby in Llanelli over a long period and also a member of the selection and coaching staff for the Wales under-15 teams. He played rugby for the Scarlets in the 1950’s and was a member of their celebrated Snelling 7’s winning team of that period. He also played for Bridgend when he was sports master at Cowbridge Grammar School.

Wyn was also an accomplished athlete, being a champion sprinter and represented Wales at the Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958 when he was only 18. A member of Carmarthen Harriers, he gave an account of his athletics career in the book Carmarthen Harriers Memories 1948-2023. He was well known by generations of schoolchildren in both Llanelli and Wales generally and was a highly respected character. He was also an officer and Lay Reader at St. Gwynog’s church, Llangennech, where he was a regular attender.

We express our deepest sympathy as an organisation to his widow, Pat and to his daughter Jane and son Huw and all the family.

Bill's kind words were followed by a moment of silence to reflect and commemorate our friend, Wynne Oliver.

A funeral was held on January the 17th at St Gwynog's Church, Llangennech.

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