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Jeremy Turner was born in Aberdare in 1958. His parents were Stan & Megan Turner, née George, who lived for all their married lives at Pleasant View, Godreaman. They raised two children, Jeremy and his sister Judy.

Stan Turner worked his way up from the bottom rung in the Aberdare Co-operative Society, finishing his career there in the mid-1980s as the Accountant and Deputy Chief Exec. Megan, who also worked in the Co-op, was from Godreaman, a Welsh speaker as a girl but who, like many, lost her Welsh through the lack of Welsh language education and the social mores of the time.

Other members of the Turner family include Tommy Turner, (Stan’s father), who worked most of his life for the electricity board and was secretary of the Aberaman Institute Amateur Operatic Society; and Ben Turner, Stan’s older brother, who became Head of Abertaf School when it was the Lower School of the new Mountain Ash Comprehensive. Jeremy’s cousins include Prof. Kerry Turner1, and Dr Chris Turner who held, amongst other positions, the post of Academic Registrar at Cardiff University.

Jeremy married Mari Rhian Owen from Llanfyllin in 1989, and they have two grown up children. Mari has her own professional career as an actor and dramatist, but also trained drama teachers on the PGCE course at Aberystwyth University until retiring in 2024. Both Jeremy and Mari were admitted to Gorsedd y Beirdd at the National Eisteddfod in Ynys Môn during August 2017.

Jeremy’s own career details follow — in his own words.

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My first contact with the school was a formal letter congratulating me on passing the 11‑plus, with details of uniform requirements, gym and sports kit, and the name of my house – Llewelyn. I was one of seven boys from Aberaman Primary school to pass the exam; there were four houses – Penri, Tudur, Dewi and Llewelyn: I was placed in Llewelyn.

I can’t remember any reference to the significance of these historical Welsh names. Nor was the school motto explained – Goreu Llyw Dysg – The Best Course [is] Learning. We parrot-chanted the Lord’s Prayer in Welsh and sang Welsh hymns with little or no translation or explanation. Many of the teachers, including senior masters, spoke Welsh – but not in front of the pupils. Considering this linguistic dichotomy, not unique to our school, it’s maybe surprising that my favourite subject was Welsh, but maybe not surprising considering that for the Welsh masters sharing their subject was a mission rather than a job; these language wizards each made a strong impression – Dyfrig Davies, Ted Pritchard, Gareth Davies and the wizard of wizards, Euros Jones Evans. My interest in languages was not limited to Welsh. Dai Phelps, Ken Griffiths and Robert Jones introduced me to France through classic, romantic and C20 French literature, and Charlie Morris took me to the sounds and stories of Latin on the streets of ancient Rome. These languages were doors to new worlds and their peoples. My inquisitive interest in people, their secrets, their cultures and characteristics has continued: I’ve recently retired after 45 years studying and creating people as an actor, playwright and theatre director.

Except for the occasional blasts of sadism masked as discipline (with a dap, chair-leg, black-board duster, a piece of chalk or even the direct slap on the head) The Gram was a place of fun and much wit. Discipline and punishment were often imposed through having to write ‘lines’; my favourite was the slightly Goon Show-esque ‘I am silly billy number twenty-seven’ given by the older Robert Jones, aka. Shiner (twenty-seven because my surname was towards the end of the alphabet); Shiner knew how to have fun. It was also a place of nicknames – for fellow pupils and especially for teachers. Those teachers who had kudos, respect or charisma were honoured with sometimes obvious, often inventive and usually kind monikers – Dickie Fenn, Long Tom, Piggy Phelps, Dala, Santa, Lanky Gibbon, Karate Ken, Pluto, Brace Yourself, Bob ‘Ar, Guitar Pritch, Shiner, The Doc, The Boss, and the moniker of all monikers Dai Cube (for David Daniel Davies); the provenance of some of these were lost in the myths of time. Other teachers, through pure respect were referred to by their first names – Euros, Charlie, Gethin, Dyfrig, Terry.

My other interest was music; Guitar Pritch’s (Robert Pritchard, Maths and Physics) guitar club was a dinner-break go-to where we sat on desks and sang the latest folk-pop songs. And even though I chose Geography rather than Music for O-Levels, the ever-encouraging music master, Gethin Evans, allowed me to take music as an extra subject, during his lunch-breaks, when I was in the lower 6th. And Maths – again Guitar Pritch featured here, along with Bob ‘Ar, as clear purveyors of the mysteries of numbers, geometry, algebra and calculus.

After taking Welsh, French and Economics at A-Level I went to the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth to read French with the intention of training as an accountant after graduating: GB had just joined the Common Market, and my aim was to be an international accountant – hopefully to be based in France.

In my first year at university, I read French, Welsh and Drama. At the end of the first year I dropped French to graduate in 1979 in Welsh and Drama. In 1980, with two college friends I set up Cwmni Cyfri Tri, an experimental theatre company much influenced by new European theatre and the work of Eugenio Barba and Jerzy Grotowski. In 1989 that company merged with Cwmni Theatr Crwban to form Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch which majored in theatre for young audiences, and of which I was the Artistic Director and CEO until retirement in 2024. Work with Arad Goch enabled me to travel to over 30 countries to perform, direct, run training courses and speak in seminars and conferences.

Between 2002 and 2008 I was a member of the International Executive Committee of ASSITEJ (l’Association Internationale du Théâtre pour l’Enfance et la Jeunesse). Other professional associations include work as a Lay Inspector for ESTYN; trainer for the Arts Council of Wales’ Creative Learning scheme; honorary member of the Welsh Academy; member of the Gorsedd of Bards; and currently a member of the Arts Council of Wales’ Consortium Celf Cymraeg, to promote and develop the arts through the Welsh language.

In July 2025 I graduated with a PhD from Aberystwyth University. The title of my research is ‘Chwaraea hwnna, dad. Nodweddion hanfodol prosesau creadigol mewn theatr i gynulleidfaoedd ifanc yng nghyd-destun diwylliant a iaith leiafrifol’ - ‘Play that, dad. Essential features of creative processes in theatre for young audiences in the context of minority culture and language’.

 

Mari and Jeremy following their admission to the Gorsedd
at the National Eisteddfod at Ynys Môn in August 2017

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Footnote

1. Kerry Turner has an entry in the Former Pupils section of this website.

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Acknowledgement

We are most grateful to Jeremy for providing the information about his career.

 

CR, September 2025