Albert Clifford Williams, BEM (28 June 1905 – 1987) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Labour Party politician and

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

at Rose Heyworth Colliery in Abertillery. He went to a primary school in

Blaina Blaina ( cy, Blaenau ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

but started work in the mines at the age of 14. Williams became a National Union of Mineworkers official in 1934. In 1952 he became a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and he was a member of hospital boards for thirty years. He was also Chairman of Usk River Board for ten years. Williams was awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

in 1957. A Monmouthshire County Councillor, he became a County

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in 1964 and served until 1974 when Aldermen were abolished. In April 1965 he was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for the safe Labour seat of

Abertillery Abertillery (; cy, Abertyleri) is a town and a community of the Ebbw Fach valley in the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area. ...

in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

after the death of sitting MP

Llywelyn Williams Llywelyn Williams (22 July 1911 – 4 February 1965) was a Welsh Labour Party politician. Born in Llanelli, Williams was educated at Llanelli Grammar School and Swansea University, after which he became a Congregational minister. He serv ...

. He was re-elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

at the 1966 general election but stood down in 1970. After the end of his Parliamentary career, Williams served on the Sports Council for Wales (now Sport Wales) from 1972 to 1975. He also became a member of the Welsh National Water Development Authority.

References

* Who's Who of British MPs, Vol. IV, Harvester Press, 1981. {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Clifford Welsh Labour Party MPs Welsh miners Welsh trade unionists Councillors in Wales National Union of Mineworkers-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 Recipients of the British Empire Medal 1905 births 1987 deaths