John Albert Gwilliam

John Albert Gwilliam

John Albert Gwilliam was born in Pontypridd on 28 February 1923 and educated at Monmouth School and Cambridge University where he gained Blues in 1947 and 1948. He played at lock and No 8 for Newport, London Welsh, Wasps, Gloucester, Edinburgh Wanderers and Llanelli. His 23 caps for Wales between 1947 and 1954 included 13 as captain and the Grand Slam campaigns of 1950 and 1952. He was also a member of the Wales XV that beat New Zealand in December 1953. He captained the Barbarians against Cardiff and Swansea in 1950 and Leicester in 1951. John Gwilliam taught at Glenalmond and later became headteacher of Birkenhead School.