Tribute to Roger Boore - Founder of Dref Wen

Gyda thristwch mawr rydym yn cyhoeddi fod Roger Boore sylfaenydd Gwasg y Dref Wen wedi marw yn 82 mlwydd oed.

Sefydlodd Wasg y Dref Wen yng Nghaerdydd ynghyd a'i wraig Anne yn 1969; gwasg oedd yn bennaf yn cyhoeddi llyfrau Cymraeg i blant. A fyntau'n magu teulu ifanc ar ddiwedd y chwedegau, sylweddolodd cyn lleied o lyfrau Cymraeg oedd ar gael i blant, a pha mor llwm oedd eu diwyg. Felly, yn y blynyddoedd cynnar hynny roedd y pwyslais ar gyhoeddi llyfrau lliwgar storïol cyn ehangu’r cyhoeddiadau i gynnwys llyfrau addysgol a rhai dwyieithog.

Fel un o’i blant roeddwn yn hynod o ffodus i gael llyfrau megis Seraffin, Ra Ta Ta Tam, Yr Eliffant Pinc ag Ysmotiau Melyn, Y Bachgen ar y Traeth, llyfrau Tomi Ungerer ymhlith teitlau di-ri eraill o’m hamgylch pan oeddwn i'n blentyn. Wrth i ni dyfu daeth Asterix, Tintin, Noson Galan, Brenin Catoren ac eraill i’n diddanu.

Bu i weledigaeth ac awydd Dad i ddarparu'r llyfrau gorau i blant Cymru ddatblygu fy nghariad at ddarllen. Mantra Dad wrth ddechrau Dref Wen oedd “dim ond y gorau sydd yn ddigon da i blant Cymru”, ac mae’n siŵr wrth glywed hynny yn rheolaidd ac atgofion eraaill am y llyfrau cynnar yma, fod Roger wedi cyrraedd y safon hwnnw.

O holl waith Dad, mae’n debyg taw ei drosiad o lyfrau Asterix sydd yn dangos cymaint o elfennau ei gymeriad gorau. Roedd athrylith y fersiynau Cymraeg yn dangos gallu ieithyddol, hiwmor, ffraethineb fy Nhad ond hefyd ei natur ddiymhongar.

Er iddo gael ei fagu yn Lloegr ar aelwyd di-Gymraeg, roedd Dad yn angerddol am y Gymraeg a dysgodd yr iaith pan oedd yn ei arddegau a magu ei deulu drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. Roedd yn awyddus i wneud hynny wedi i’w deulu ar ochr ei fam a’i Dad golli’r iaith i raddau helaeth cyn ei eni.

Ymhlith cyhoeddiadau’r Wasg dan ei reolaeth roedd Llyfr Hwiangerddi y Dref Wen, Y Geiriadur Lliwgar, a'r cyfresi Storïau Hanes Cymru ac O’r Dechrau i’r Diwedd. O’r holl lyfrau a gyhoeddodd Dref Wen, Llyfr Hwiangerddi y Dref Wen oedd yr un yr oedd Dad yn fwyaf prowd ohono.

Bu iddo ymddeol o'r wasg yn 1999 gan drosglwyddo'r awenau i'w feibion. Trosodd Roger lyfrau plant niferus i’r Gymraeg,o amryw ieithoedd gan gynnwys cyfrolau gwreiddiol Astrix a Tintin yn y Gymraeg a’r clasur y Teigr a Ddaeth i De ac yn 1997 dyfarnwyd iddo Dlws Mary Vaughan Jones am ei gyfraniad nodedig i faes llyfrau plant yng Nghymru. Cafodd hefyd ei dderbyn yn aelod o Orsedd y Beirdd yn 2016 am ei wasanaeth.

Enillodd Roger gystadleuaeth y stori fer yn Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru Bangor a'r cylch 1971 a’r Fedal Ryddiaith yn Eisteddfod Pantyfedwen 1972. Yn ogystal â’i drosiadau, mae wedi cyhoeddi casgliad o straeon byrion, nofel i blant a chyfres o bum llyfr taith yn croniclo hanesion ei deithiau tramor.

Yn amlwg bydd bwlch enfawr yn ein bywydau wedi marwolaeth sydyn Dad. Er hynny rydym yn ffodus fod bywyd a gwaddol Dad yn parhau trwy lyfrau Gwasg y Dref Wen sydd wedi dod â chymaint o fwynhad i filoedd o blant Cymru dros y degawadau. Ond efallai mai i ni, ei blant a’i wyrion a’i wyresau y gwnaeth y gymwynas fwyaf.

 

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It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Roger Boore, the founder of Gwasg y Dref Wen aged 82.

In 1969 Roger and his wife Anne founded the Cardiff publishing house Gwasg y Dref Wen. With their young children growing up in the Welsh capital in the sixties, he realised how few Welsh language books were available for children and those on the shelf did little to inspire young Welsh speakers. He set out to change that and the publisher’s early years were dominated by colourful story books before they expanded the range to include educational books and bilingual stories.

As one of his children I was extremely lucky to be surrounded by books such as Seraffin, Ra Ta Ta Tam, Yr Eliffant Pinc ag Ysmotiau Melyn, Y Bachgen ar y Traeth, books by Tomi Ungerer amongst countless other titles as a child. As I got older along came Asterix, Tintin, Noson Galan, Brenin Catoren and others to enjoy.

It was thanks to Dad’s vision and desire to provide the best books possible to the children of Wales that my love of reading developed. Dad’s mantra when he established Dref Wen was “only the best is good enough for the children of Wales”, and it is clear from hearing countless recollections from others of these early books that Dad achieved this aim.

Of all Dad’s work, it’s likely that his adaptation of Asterix into Welsh best shows so many elements of his character. The genius of the Welsh versions shows his linguistic ability, the humour and wit of my father but also his unassuming nature.

Roger was passionate about the Welsh language and learnt Welsh as a teenager. He felt it was important to learn and pass on the language to his family after it had been largely lost from his own family before he was born.

During his tenure at Gwasg y Dref Wen the publisher brought many books to market including Llyfr Hwiangerddi y Dref Wen (the standard Welsh nursery rhyme collection), Y Geiriadur Lliwgar (Welsh children’s dictionary), the Welsh History Stories series and the prize-winning From Start to Finish series on religions - each collection being issued in both Welsh and English. Of all the books published under Dad’s tenure it is Llyfr Hwinagerddi y Dref Wen that he was most proud of. He retired in 1999 passing the baton to his sons who now run Gwasg y Dref Wen.

Roger also translated many children's books into Welsh, from a variety of languages, including the original Asterix and Tintin in Welsh and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. In 1997 he was awarded the Mary Vaughan Jones award for his outstanding contribution to children’s books in Wales. He was also accepted into the Gorsedd of the Beirdd in 2016, again for his services to publishing.

Roger won the short story competition in the 1971 National Eisteddfod of Wales and the Prose Medal at the 1972 Pantyfedwen Eisteddfod. He published a collection of short stories, a children’s novel, and a ground-breaking series of five travel books.

Naturally there will be a huge gap in our lives following the sudden death of Dad. Despite that we are lucky that his life and endowment will continue through the books of Gwasg y Dref Wen, which have brought so much enjoyment to thousands of Welsh children over the decades. However, it is perhaps us, his sons and his grandchildren who benefitted most.