David Emlyn Thomas (16 September 1892 – 20 June 1954) was a Labour Party

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He served as the Member of Parliament for

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

from 1946 to 1954 and was the last former miner to represent the constituency.

Early life

He was born in

Maesteg Maesteg (; ) is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translatio ...

, the town to which his parents had moved from West

where his father had worked as a gardener in various country mansions. The family returned for a while to Cardigan and Cilgerran where Thomas received his early education. He subsequently returned to Maesteg and until 1906 attended school there. To his dismay, his father came home from work one day and announced that he had ‘had a start’ for him at the Oakwood

colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...

. His hopes for further education were thus dashed. David Thomas was employed as a clerk at three collieries from 1906 to 1915. For five of these years he worked at Torycoed Colliery,

Llantrisant Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the t ...

. Anxious to further his education, he attended night classes in typing and shorthand. This training proved invaluable to him when, in later years, he attended meetings of the

South Wales Miners' Federation The South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF), nicknamed "The Fed", was a trade union for coal miners in South Wales. It survives as the South Wales Area of the National Union of Mineworkers. Forerunners The Amalgamated Association of Miners ( ...

(SWMF). Thomas married Bessie, a teacher, in 1923. She died in September 1953.

Early career

In 1919 he was appointed a full-time Federation official at the SWMF office in Maesteg under Vernon Hartshorn, MP and Evan Williams, JP. Thomas joined the Labour Party in 1919 and was secretary of the Labour Party ward committee in Maesteg. When the SWMF office in Maesteg closed in 1934 Thomas was transferred to the Federation Office in Aberdare as Area Secretary and, in addition, fulfilled the duties of the Miners’ Agent, Noah Ablett, who was seriously ill. On the death of Ablett, he was elected Miners’ Agent, a role he fulfilled until 1946. He worked tirelessly and efficiently on behalf of the miners, dealing with such matters as compensation cases and the rights of the disabled miners. An active nonconformist, Thomas was an active member and deacon at Ebenezer, Trecynon.

Parliamentary career

In 1946, on the elevation to a peerage of George Hall, Thomas was chosen by the Aberdare Divisional Socialist Party to contest the vacant parliamentary seat. His maiden speech made in 1947 reflected his concern for the welfare of the miners; he spoke of the inadequate compensation for disabled miners and also the lack of other employment for those suspended from the industry due to injury. He pushed for the construction of factories in the mining areas. When elected MP in 1946, his majority was 17,125; this increased to 27,892 in 1950 and to 27,973 in 1951. He was a member of the

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

of the House of Commons and in 1949-50 was the leader of the Welsh Parliamentary Labour Group in the House.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, David People from Maesteg 1892 births 1954 deaths National Union of Mineworkers-sponsored MPs Welsh Labour MPs UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955