Wynne Islwyn Samuel (15 October 1911 – 3 June 1989) was a Welsh politician.

Biography

Born in Ystalyfera, Samuel became an orphan at an early age. He studied at Ystalyfera Grammar School and then a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and

lay preacher A lay preacher is a preacher who is not ordained (i.e. a layperson) and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Overview Some denominations specifically disco ...

in the

Baptist Church Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers ( believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of ...

. Although he was given an opportunity to play with

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club () is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Gla ...

, he was dissuaded by his aunt, and instead became a clerk for

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Town Council.Dr John Graham Jones,
SAMUEL, WYNNE ISLWYN
, ''Welsh Biography Online'' In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

. Samuel joined

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

in the early 1930s, and became active in the party when he lost his job, following its policy of neutrality in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was the party's South Wales organiser from 1940 until 1950, also editing ''The Welsh Nation'', its English-language magazine, and gaining election to Pontardawe Rural District Council. He established a base in Ystalyfera, recruiting sufficiently that it was home to the party's largest branch in South Wales, and he was the party's first Parliamentary candidate in the south, taking second place in the 1945 Neath by-election. Samuel stood for the party on several further occasions:

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

at the 1945 general election,

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 ...

at a 1946 by-election and the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

, and Pembroke in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, but was never elected. In 1954, Samuel was the Secretary of the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (; ) is a town in southwest Powys, Wales. It is located on the River Tawe, and was within the boundaries of the former county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes C ...

, although this was not a success, due to heavy rain.''A militant muse, Harri Webb: selected literary journalism 1948-80'', p.143 In 1960–61, he was President of the

Baptist Union of Wales The Baptist Union of Wales (Undeb Bedyddwyr Cymru) is a Baptist denomination Wales. It is affiliated with the Free Church Council, Cytûn (Churches Together in Wales), the European Baptist Federation, and the Baptist World Alliance. The headqua ...

. In later life, he studied law with the

University of London External System A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, and then obtained a doctorate from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

, following which he became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and law lecturer at Chester Technical College. He also set up Cymdeithas Bro a Thref Cymru, an organisation bringing together the town and community councils of Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, Wynne 1911 births 1989 deaths Alumni of the National University of Ireland Councillors in Wales Members of Gray's Inn People associated with University of London Worldwide People from Neath Port Talbot Plaid Cymru parliamentary candidates Welsh Baptists Welsh conscientious objectors Welsh barristers 20th-century Baptists