David Rolfe Llewellyn (8 June 1907 – 21 October 1981) 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 ...

miner, trade unionist, and political activist, who also fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Llewellyn was born in

Blaengarw Blaengarw is the uppermost village in the river valley (Cwm Garw) of the River Garw, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. In the English language Blaengarw means the rugged 'front' or 'head' of the valley. The population of Blaengarw ward ...

, a remote mining village in South Wales, to Thomas Llewellyn, a coal miner, and his wife, Mary Ann.''1911 Wales Census'' He began working at a local colliery when he was sixteen, and became active in 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 (AA ...

(SWMF), and also in the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

(CPGB). In 1936, Llewellyn took part in a

hunger march Hunger marches are a form of protest, social protest that arose in the United Kingdom during the early 20th century. Often the marches involved groups of men and women walking from areas with high unemployment, to London where they would protest ou ...

of Welsh miners to London, and was elected as one of the leaders of the marchers. He next volunteered to fight for the Republicans in the

, and was elected as a political commissar. Back in South Wales, Llewellyn returned to mining, and in 1940 he moved a CPGB resolution at the SWMF's annual conference, opposing British involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The motion was lost, and the CPGB soon switched to support the war, and opposing strike action. Llewellyn believed that the

Bevin Boys Bevin Boys were young British men conscripted to work in coal mines between December 1943 and March 1948, to increase the rate of coal production, which had declined through the early years of World War II. The programme was named after Erne ...

, 18-year-olds conscripted to work in the mines without knowledge of mining, had a good case for industrial action, and argued that they should strike. This led to him leaving the CPGB. During the later part of the war, Llewellyn moved to work in Somerset, and in 1945 he was unanimously elected as agent and secretary of the Somerset Area of the National Union of Mineworkers, also serving on the executive of the National Union of Mineworkers. He joined the Labour Party, winning election to

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...

, and stood unsuccessfully for the party in

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

at the

1951 United Kingdom general election The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held twenty months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats. The Labour government called a snap election for Thursday 25 October 1951 ...

, and in

North Somerset North Somerset is a unitary authorities of England, unitary district in Somerset, South West England. Whilst its area covers part of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, it is administered independently of the non ...

at the

1955 United Kingdom general election The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election in 1951. It was a snap election: after Winston Churchill retired in April 1955, Anthony Eden took over and immediately ca ...

. The Somerset Area was merged into the

South Wales Area of the National Union of Mineworkers 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 (AA ...

in 1956, and Llewellyn returned to South Wales, finding work with the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...

as its director for industrial relations in the region. He died in 1981.''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llewellyn, David 1907 births 1981 deaths British people of the Spanish Civil War Communist Party of Great Britain members Councillors in Somerset Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Blaengarw Welsh trade unionists