It's the name "Gwladys" that startled me. It was obviously Welsh, and seemed related to the modern "Gladys," so I searched the word today. The OED has a few Gw-- words, but not this proper one; it's the same in the Random House Dictionary.
In Wikipedia, Gwladys is the name of a queen and the mother of the most famous Welsh saint, Cadoc the Wise. It appears that all of her other children also became saints: Cynidr, Bugi, Cyfyw, Maches, Glywys II and Egwine. She must have been very godly (or very well connected).
But - on to the Gladys connection. Gladys is a variation of the Roman Claudia/Claudius, itself derived from the Latin claudus, meaning "lame" (I presume thus the emperor's name).
You learn something every day.
Addendum: These comments by Anonymous are worth moving to the front:
P. G. Wodehouse makes fun of it in his Jeeves and Wooster books. The televised version of J&W also has a Gwladys in it (Season 4, set in New York)
Jeeves: Ladies who spell Gwladys with a W are seldom noted for their reliability. It gives them romantic notions.
Wooster: With a W, Jeeves? No, no. You spell it with a G.
J: If I might draw your attention
to the signature, sir.
W: Good Lord! G-W?
J: I blame Alfred Lord Tennyson and his Idylls Of The Kings. It also accounts for Kathryn, Isybel and Ethyl all spelt with a Y. But Gwladys is a particularly virulent form.