Percy Thomas

The son of Welsh sea captain Christmas Thomas, Sir Percy Thomas was born in the north-east of England but moved to Cardiff when he was 10. When he was just 14, his father died at sea. Thomas went on to practice as an architect in Cardiff for more than 50 years and was responsible for the design of many well-known public buildings across Britain, but mostly in South Wales. He was one of the consultant engineers for the Ministry of Transport during the construction of the Severn Bridge. At its peak, Thomas’s practice was the largest in Wales, and one of the largest in the United Kingdom.

In 1937 Thomas became president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and was, at the time, the youngest ever president in its 103-year history. Two years later he was awarded the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture, and in 1943 Thomas became only the second man in the history of RIBA to be appointed president a second time. He was also three-times elected president of the South Wales Institute of Architects.

During World War I, Thomas served with the Artists Rifles, Royal Engineers, and then as a staff officer with the Royal Engineers XIII Army Corps. He received the OBE (Military Division), and was twice mentioned in dispatches. During World War II Thomas was a lieutenant-colonel in the Home Guard and later became an honorary colonel of the 109 Regiment of the Royal Engineers (Territorial Army). Between 1942-55 he was a member of the Welsh Board for Industry. Thomas was a Justice of the Peace and in 1946 received a knighthood. Three years later he was appointed the High Sheriff of Glamorganshire.