Author: Rheolwr Gwefan

LOSS OF A GIANT LOSS FROM THE CWM

 

His friends and residents of the area were shocked to hear about the death of the former councillor Howard Davies, Alun Lewis Court, on Monday afternoon, September 12, at Merthyr Hospital. He was 66 years old.

 

Howard belonged to one of the best known families of Cwmaman and beyond. His great grandfather was the poet Isaac Edmunds (Alaw Sylen), Abercwm-boi, whose poems appeared for years in the Welsh papers of the area (Y Gwladgarwr and Darian). The poet’s daughter, and Howard’s grandmother Howard  was one of the most famous artists in Cwm Cynon and Cwmaman: a woman known by everyone (as was the fashion of the age) as ‘Madam Elizabeth Edmunds Price’.

 

 

Naturally, Howard was proud of these relationships and his middle name, Edmund, he received from his parents Trevor and Nancy Davies. His other grandfather (Thomas Dafis ‘Drapwr’ to the old inhabitants) was a miner and a deacon at Zion.
Howard loved Cwmaman and its people. He featured prominently in the life of the area all his life. Raised in Byron Street and Milton Street and – as much – in Seion Chapel where he was  one of the ‘chicks’ of Idwal Rees and the saints of that worthy cause. Inevitably, therefore, after Aberdare Welsh School was established in 1949, Howard went there from 1955 to mature as a natural Welshman of blood and desire until the end.
After he attended the Boys’ Grammar School, Aberdare (before Rhydfelen and similar schools), he went to Cyn-coed. But a teaching career did not appeal and he left to join the  Tax Revenue in Llanishen. There he remained until he retired about six years ago.

 

He served as a councillor for Plaid Cymru in Aberaman South ward between 1991-95 and  again between 2008 and 2012. In the early ’90s, he was appointed governor and later chairman of Glynhafod Primary School governors.
Howard’s health deteriorated greatly during the past five years and  traveling back and forth to the hospital was an integral part of his life. He had a wealth of support from his friends –  Philip and Beryl Northey, Alan Hoare, Gwyneth Edwards and others who gave unfailing loyalty over a long period.
Howard’s funeral was held on Friday morning 23 September at Llwydcoed Crematorium,  with a large congregation paying their respect.
DLD.

‘A man of principle’ Jim Criddle pays tribute to Aneurin Richards

William Aneurin Richards was Aneurin to everyone except his wife Hilda, who called him Bill. He was a Senior N.C.B. Mining Engineer from Capel Hendre but lived the majority of his life in Gwent. He was an Islwyn Borough councillor from 1973-1996 and a Gwent County councillor from 1977-1981. He was Plaid Cymru’s Westminster candidate for Abertillery in both the 1974 Westminster elections and for Islwyn in 1983 and 1987. The simple facts cannot of course give any real picture of the man he was. He was the man who brought Helen Mary Jones and Jocelyn Davies into the Party and ‘persuaded’ Allan Pritchard to stand for election. He was a man of principle, of high ability, of integrity and dignity. He was greatly respected by officers and members on both councils where he served.

He oversaw the establishment of the new Islwyn Constituency of Plaid Cymru when the Abercarn UDC wards from Abertillery joined the Bedwellty wards and ensured that the financial base of the constituency would be a sound one through his work as Treasurer. He was the Group Leader for the whole of his 20 year career in local government, and his firm example and strong principles were always appreciated by the other members. We all thought of ourselves as ‘Dad’s children’ – Dad was what we called him, and we admired his intellectual ability and in particular his expertise in housing policy, a subject where he became Party Spokesperson. We always said that his motto was ‘feel free to agree with me’ but he was in no sense a dictator, and he argued his point logically but fairly. He was generous to the Party and sustained his interest to the end. His legacy is a solvent and active constituency and the memory and respect of those who remain.

Gwyneth Mai Williams, 1938 -2016

 

A cornerstone of old Cwmaman, near Aberdare, fell from its place in the wall of Time when we heard in late July about the death of Gwyneth Mai Williams, Dan-y-rhiw, a short while before her 78th birthday.

 

She was someone who committed to her community and politics, standing in Plaid Cymru’s name in the 1970s and 1980s on numerous occasions. The party at that time used to put forward strong teams of candidates and organised energetically in the wards of Aberaman and South Ameraman and, Gwyneth, more often than not, was the main candidate, with her well-known public face. So much so that she came to be known by many until the end as ‘Gwyneth Plaid’.

 

Gwyneth fought tirelessly against the Labour Party’s dominance. They had won everything in the ward since the 1920s. After she had stood many times over two decades, in 1987 she nearly succeeded in beating a Labour Councillor in South Aberaman winning 742 votes against her opponent’s 766.

 

In 1991 after Gwyneth and other had laid the groundwork, the Labour Party’s floodgates opened and Plaid Cymru won three seats in South Aberaman for the district council in one fell swoop, with good majorities.

 

Gwyneth was overjoyed and also slightly envious that it was to others rather than herself that “Jericho fell” (a completely understandable reaction of course). She continued to be active even though she didn’t stand again. She would always be present outside the polling station in Cwmaman in an election, as well as in the Count, and she only stopped as she lost her mobility as she grew older.

 

We celebrate her name; her cheerful character; her sense of homour and her willingness to contribute towards her community and help everyone around her.

 

It’s true to say that she is remembered well around these parts.

 

A tribute to Glyn Erasmus by Jim Criddle and his friends in Blackwood. It was with shock and great sadness that Plaid Cymru learnt of the death of Glyn Erasmus. He died suddenly and totally unexpectedly at his home in Blackwood on the evening of Friday, January 15th. Glyn joined the party many years ago when being a member of Plaid Cymru in the valleys was neither fashionable nor a career move. He joined the party because he loved his country and enjoyed this challenge. He was a man who relished challenges. His professional work in engineering required him to travel frequently and often took him abroad which restricted his ability to contribute to Welsh politics, but when he became organiser to the CCBC Councillors’ Group he had the freedom to devote himself full-time to the national cause. Glyn had the gift of a methodical mind and a rigorous approach to everything he undertook. Consequently he expected to see spreadsheets, data, reports and hence planning which was based on factually detailed and correct information. He was someone who was prepared to challenge perceived wisdom and current methods, and so was ready to ruffle the feathers of those who, regardless of their status, he saw as preferring gut feeling over evidence. Glyn relished debate and with his dry wit would always ask ‘why’? Glyn was active at every level of the Party: he stood more than once as a candidate in elections for Islwyn Borough and Caerphilly County Borough Councils; was a Town Councillor for Blackwood, where he was Mayor in 2014-15; Chair of the Sirhowy Branch; Constituency Treasurer; Chair of the Credit Union; Regional Representative for the South-East and of course Party Treasurer (not all of these at once!). He was energetic and gave of his time generously, although he hated wasting any of it. He turned up for everything and was always prepared to take on the kind of tasks that require organisation and precision, as long as the outcome was worthwhile. He was especially good at relating to and supporting the younger Party members, and many of them will have had encouragement and help from him to establish their political careers. Glyn was a committed nationalist without sentimentality who could be quite hard-nosed, but there was another side to him: he was unashamedly besotted by his family who he talked about with the utmost pride, especially his first grandchild Bronnie, and the ‘Lady in Red’ ringtone for his wife Carol said it all.