Geraint Thomas was a larger than life character who left an indelible impression on all who knew him. A Plaid supporter from a young age, probably his first political victory â as a 12 year old â was ensuring that the scout group of which he was a reluctant member in Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, ditched the union jack in favour of the Ddraig Goch. Of such victories are activists forged! Along with contemporaries Sharon Morgan, Sian Edwards, Dai Rees, Tony Jenkins and others, he was very much part of the enthusiastic groundswell of young Plaid members who contributed so much to Gwynforâs by-election victory in 1966.
Geraint was blessed with a profound intellect (hence his nickname â âProfâ), a sharp wit, and an insatiable interest in the world around him. A voracious reader, he would engage everyone and anyone in lively and well-informed conversation on almost any subject. Following graduation from Jesus College, Oxford he returned to Wales to pursue a career in town planning.
Geraint fought two general elections in Aberafan (1974 & â79), and later became a long-serving town councillor in his hometown of Carmarthen, contributing much to the well-being of a town he truly loved.
In many ways much of that early political potential remained unrealised, not least due to ill health. But he will be remembered as talented, energetic and able to carry those around him in his enthusiasm and drive; a synergy maker; a positive energy.
Following his recent death at the age of just 68, he has left fond memories and a smile on the face of all who knew him. He leaves a daughter, Ceridwen, and three grandchildren.
Marc Phillips
Mary always brought joy into peopleâs lives. She could also be fierce â especially towards the enemies of Plaid Cymru, a cause  very close to her heart. Mary, however busy she was, always found time to work for Plaid. During her life, Mary was:
In 2004, she joined the group of Plaid Cymru elected representatives following her election as councillor on Neath Port Talbot Council, representing South Bryncoch ward. She represented her area with vigour and enthusiasm and this was recognised by the local residents who re-elected her continuously.
Iâm told that Jim was at one time a Labour Party member, but it didnât take him long to see the light. He was convinced by his old friend Malcolm Parker to stand for Plaid in a local council election in the early 70âs, and so began a lifetime of commitment to Plaid and a total of over 30 yearsâ service as a councillor.
Gordon was a great friend of Wales and a totally committed nationalist. We had met in the 1965 Plaid Cymru summer school in Machynlleth when he was National Secretary of the SNP, and he visited Wales on many occasions. We were both elected to Westminster in February 1974 and were colleagues during the fraught days of the 1978 Devolution Acts and the 1979 Referenda when the iniquitous 40% rule prevented Scotland from getting their National Assembly, although a majority of those voting in Scotland had supported it. In the following election, after the downfall of the Callaghan government, the SNP lost 9 of their 11 seats – with just Gordon and Donald Stewart surviving, as colleagues for Dafydd Elis Thomas and myself. We continued to argue the case for our two nations, until Gordon lost his Dundee seat in 1987. By then Margaret Ewing and Andrew Welsh had regained their seats, and they were joined by Alex Salmond, leading to the campaign that eventually, in 1997, secured our respective parliaments. Gordon was a key person, at a critical time, in the emergence of the SNP as a major parliamentary party. Modern-day Scotland owes him a debt of gratitude and we in Wales salute his memory.
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’.
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.
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.