The Valleys -

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53 Results

Evan James - Ieuan ap Iago

‘This land of my fathers is dear to me.’

'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau' or 'Land of My Fathers' is, by tradition, the national anthem of Wales. The words were written by Evan James and the tune composed by his son, James James, in 1856 whilst they were living in Pontypridd. The earliest written copy survives in the collections of the National Library of Wales.

Dafydd Williams

Shaper of the modern world

This shaper of the modern world drafted the first constitution of the French Revolution, assisted with writing the American Constitution and founded the Royal Literary Fund.

Tom Jones

Tom Jones has sold a truly heroic number of records - over 100 million since 1965!

Once 'too hot to handle', Tom Jones is now the respected face of the BBC's 'The Voice'. competition and the most famous singer ever to come from Wales.

Sidney Gilchrist Thomas

‘These two young men, Thomas and Gilchrist of Blaenavon, did more for Britain's greatness than all the Kings and Queens put together.’ ( Andrew Carnegie)

A global hero of industry; in the 1870s, his experiments at Blaenavon Ironworks led to a boom in steel making that echoed around the world.

Nye Bevan

All I am doing is extending to the entire population of Britain, the benefits we have had in Tredegar for a generation or more. (Nye Bevan)

Heroes don’t come any bigger than Aneurin Bevan who shaped modern health care in Britain, establishing the National Health Service in 1948, which became the envy of the world.

Michael Sheen

Passionate about his home town of Baglan, Sheen produced an epic piece of street theatre there in 2011 - The Passion.

Sir Daniel Gooch

I look back upon the time spent at Tredegar as by far the most important years of my life... large works of this kind are by far the best school for a young engineer. (Sir Daniel Gooch)

Sir Daniel Gooch trained as an engineer under Thomas Ellis at Tredegar Ironworks. Together they pioneered steam railway locomotion in south Wales.

Charlotte Guest

Born into the English aristocracy, Lady Charlotte Guest wasn’t an obvious candidate as a translator of medieval Welsh. But within 13 years of marrying John Josiah Guest she had moved to Dowlais, had 10 children, learned Welsh and translated the tales of the Mabinogion. (Angela Elniff-Larsen)

Influential ironmaster's wife who became one of the best known women in 19th century Wales.

Pamela Shepherd

Pamela founded the Salvation Army in Aberdare, winning praise for her heroic efforts to reform the 'sinners' of the thriving, but unruly town of Aberdare.

Patrick Jones

One of the true great poets of our age, his work captures the feelings of the young people of Wales today. (100 Welsh Heroes)

Patrick Jones is a poet and playwright who has brought the struggles and contradictions of life in the Welsh Valleys to new audiences. He was voted the most innovative poet and playwright in the ‘Top 100 heroes of Wales’.

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