Huw T. Edwards
Huw Thomas Edwards (19 November 1892 – 8 November 1970) was a Welsh trade union leader and politician.[1]
Early life
Edwards was born in
Even before he was eighteen, Edwards left for
Military service and early career
Edwards went away to fight in August 1914, at the age of twenty-one. He returned from the Western Front in March 1918, severely wounded and made to spend months in hospital. In September 1918, he was discharged and spent the last weeks of the war teaching gas drill to new recruits. After returning to civilian life on 10 December 1918, he stayed in Aberfan for a week, before returning to Penmaenmawr quarry. He joined the Workers' Union and the Independent Labour Party. After representing the quarry workers in a case of pay, Edwards joined the Dockers' Union in around 1920, leaving the Amalgamated Union of Quarryworkers and Steelworkers, which represented most quarry workers. Edwards was dismissed from his job at the quarry, due to refusing to rejoin the quarryworkers' union after strike action.[5]
In 1923, Edwards became secretary of the Penmaenmawr branch of the Transport and General Workers' Union, which allowed him to meet with other union leaders. In 1927, he was elected to Penmaenmawr council.[6]
Later career
He was appointed the first chair of the
He published two autobiographical volumes in his native Welsh, Tros y Tresi (1956) and Troi'r Drol (1963). He was also a poet.
Personal life
In March 1920, Edwards married Margaret Owen, a Welsh-speaking woman from Rachub, Bethesda, Gwynedd. They had known each other since Edwards was a boy, as she was his sister's best friend.[8]
Notes
References
- Jones, John Graham (2001). "Edwards, Huw Thomas (1892-1970), trade union leader and politician". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- Ward, Paul (2011). Huw T Edwards: British Labour and Welsh Socialism. University of Wales Press. ISBN 9780708323298. Retrieved 21 April 2018.