Following an undergraduate degree in modern languages at the University of Oxford and an earlier career in translation, forestry and museum research, William 鈥淏ill鈥 Linnard, pursued a remote, post graduate degree at 吃瓜群众 in 1979 entitled A History of Forests and Forestry in Wales, while also working full-time at the Welsh Folk Museum in St Fagans. This thesis led to the publication in 1982 of the book, Welsh Woods and Forests 鈥 History and Utilization, which was cited as a seminal study and was later updated and republished in 2000. Dr Linnard was a regular contributor to The Quarterly Journal of Forestry, Folk Life Magazine, The National Library of Wales Journal and Morgannwg Journal, amongst many others. His 1979 pamphlet on Trees in the Law of Hywel has been republished in 2024 as part of a hardback collection by the Welsh Legal History Society.
Alongside extensive global travel, Bill continued translating and abstracting technical Russian and German forestry articles well into his 80s and still found time for a new area of research, that of horology, which led to four published books on Welsh clocks, numerous articles in Antiquarian Horology and a cherished collection of long-case clocks.
He leaves devoted wife of 68 years, Margaret, loving daughters, Gillian & Sarah and four dear grandchildren, who are privileged to have shared many years in the company of such an inspirational individual. Bill will be missed by all who knew him.
Published Books
Welsh Woods and Forests 鈥 History and Utilization,1982 (revised 2000)
Russian - English Forestry and Wood Dictionary, 1966 (revised 1999 with Darrah-Morgan)
Cardiff Clocks, 1999
Wales Clocks & Clockmakers, 2003
Henry Williams Lancarvan 鈥 A Clock and Watchmaker and a Great Farmer, 2003 (with Cloutman)
Charles Vaughan of Pontypool - A Mystery Clockmaker and his Clocks, 2005
An Autumn in Wales (1856) Julius Rodenberg (Translated and Edited by William Linnard, 1985)
Manual of Wood Decays in Trees (2001) Weber & Mattheck (Translated by William Linnard, 2003)