Jack Jones (novelist)
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Jack Jones (24 November 1884 – 7 May 1970) was a Welsh miner, Trade Union official, politician,
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
and
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
.


Background

Jack Jones was born in 1884 at Tai-Harri-Blawdd in
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...
, the eldest of nine surviving children of David Jones, a coal miner, and his wife Sarah Ann. He was educated at St David’s Elementary School, Merthyr Tydfil,
Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...
. He married Laura Grimes Evans in 1908. They had four sons (two died young) and one daughter.‘JONES, Jack’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 3 April 2014
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Career

In 1896 he joined his father to work in the mines aged 12. In 1901 at the age of 17 he joined the army and was posted to South Africa with his regiment the Militia Battalion of the Welch. However he was very unhappy there and ended up deserting. Once recaptured, he was transferred to India. When he eventually returned to Wales he went back to working in the coal mines. In 1914 Jones was summoned back to his regiment and sent to the
front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...
s in France and later on Belgium. After suffering
shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
wounds he was invalided home and appointed as recruiting officer for Merthyr Tydfil. He became honorary secretary of his local miners lodge. In 1923 he was appointed as the full-time secretary-representative of the miners at
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 ...
. In 1926 during the
General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
as part of his job as a miners agent, he travelled around South Wales urging miners to continue supporting the strike. In 1927 he resigned from his full-time post with the miners union. In early 1928 he was employed by
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
headquarters as a speaker. He continued in this job until 1930. By 1934 he had started to earn a living as a writer. He went on two lecture tours in America and the European battlefronts during the Second World War (1939-1945).


Politics

In 1920 Jones became a member of the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
. He attended a convention in Manchester on behalf of his local miners lodge with the purpose of establishing the party; at this meeting he was chosen to be Corresponding Secretary for the South Wales Region. He later founded a branch at Merthyr Tydfil. In 1923 he left the Communist Party and joined the Labour Party. He undertook a number of speaking engagements for the party including speaking in support of Labour leader
Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
at
Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...
. In 1927 he produced his first article for the press entitled "The Need for a Lib-Lab Coalition". He was becoming disenchanted with the Labour party and its support for nationalisation. He was drawn to support the Liberal Party through its new policies on coal and power. and had joined by the beginning of 1928. Liberal leader
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
who had been impressed by his rhetoric, recruited him to the Liberal headquarters speaking staff. He travelled around Britain speaking in support of the Liberal party's new industrial policies. In May 1928 he was selected by Neath Liberal Association to be their prospective parliamentary candidate. Neath was a safe Labour seat that the Liberals last won in 1918; at the last election in 1924 the Liberals had not run a candidate. He stood as Liberal candidate for
Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) 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 po ...
at the 1929 General Election and polled nearly 30%; He did not stand for parliament again.British parliamentary election results 1918–1949, Craig, F.W.S. He was retained by Liberal headquarters as a speaker for another 12 months after the election. During the 1930s he made another political change and was a speaker for
Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
's New Party. In the 1945 election he supported '
National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...
' candidate Sir
James Grigg Sir Percy James Grigg, KCB, KCSI, PC (16 December 18905 May 1964), better known as Sir James Grigg, was a British civil servant who was unexpectedly moved, at the behest of then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, from being the Permanent Under ...
.


Writing career

During his 20s Jack Jones began to educate himself and develop his love of the
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
and writing, often taking part in local dramatic productions. In 1926 he successfully entered a short play he had written entitled ''Dad's Double'' into a competition in Manchester. He began writing seriously during a period of unemployment. His first novel, ''Saran'', was never published, but a reduced version of it appeared as ''Black Parade'' (1935). By 1939, he had written the novels ''
Rhondda Roundabout ''Rhondda Roundabout'' (1934) was the first published novel by the Welsh writer Jack Jones.''Rebirth of a Nation: Wales 1880-1980'', Kenneth O. Morgan, Oxford University Press, 1981 Plot The story is set in the Rhondda Valley in the early 1930 ...
'' (1934), and ''
Bidden to the Feast ''Bidden to the Feast'' (1938) is a novel of historic fiction by the Welsh writer Jack Jones.''Rebirth of a Nation: Wales 1880-1980'', Kenneth O. Morgan, Oxford University Press, 1981 It was published by Hamish Hamilton in the UK and by G. P. Pu ...
'' (1938), a play, ''Land of my Fathers'' (1937), and his first autobiography, ''Unfinished Journey'' (1937). The London stage version of Rhondda Roundabout was acclaimed. He wrote the dialogue for the film ''
The Proud Valley ''The Proud Valley'' is a 1940 Ealing Studios film starring Paul Robeson. Filmed in the South Wales coalfield, the principal Welsh coal mining area, the film is about a seaman who joins a mining community. It includes their passion for singing ...
'', in which he also had a minor acting role. During the
Second World War 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 ...
he was a speaker for the Ministry of Information and the
National Savings Movement The National Savings Movement was a British mass savings movement that operated between 1916 and 1978 and was used to finance the deficit of government spending over tax revenues. The movement was instrumental during World War II in raising f ...
. He wrote ''The Man David'' (1944), a life of
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
. After the war he wrote two volumes of autobiography, ''Me and Mine'' (1946) and ''Give Me Back My Heart'' (1950), three novels, ''Off to Philadelphia in the Morning'' (1947) made into a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
drama of the same name in 1978, ''Some Trust in Chariots'' (1948), and ''River Out of Eden'' (1951), and a play ''Transatlantic Episode'' (1947). His later works, ''Lily of the Valley'' and ''Lucky Year'' (1952), ''Time and the Business'' (1953), ''Choral Symphony'' (1955) and ''Come, Night; End, Day'' (1956) were less well received. In 1954, he married his second wife, Gladys Morgan. He was elected first President of the English section of
Yr Academi Gymreig Literature Wales is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language and English-language literature in Wales. It offers bursaries for writing projects, runs literary events and lectures ...
. Until his death in May 1970 he continued writing; these works remained unpublished, including a
biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fiction ...
, ''A Burnt Offering'', based on the life of Dr William Price (1800–1893), Llantrisant, pioneer of
cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...
.


Honours

In 1948 he was made a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
for his services to the community and to literature. In February 1970 he won an award from the
Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...
for `his distinguished contribution to the literature of Wales'. Jack Jones died on 7 May 1970.


Writings

* Film ** ''
The Proud Valley ''The Proud Valley'' is a 1940 Ealing Studios film starring Paul Robeson. Filmed in the South Wales coalfield, the principal Welsh coal mining area, the film is about a seaman who joins a mining community. It includes their passion for singing ...
'' (1940) * Plays ** ''Land of my Fathers'' (1937) ** ''Rhondda Roundabout'' (1934) ** ''Transatlantic Episode'' (1947) * Books ** ''Saran'' (unpublished) ** ''
Rhondda Roundabout ''Rhondda Roundabout'' (1934) was the first published novel by the Welsh writer Jack Jones.''Rebirth of a Nation: Wales 1880-1980'', Kenneth O. Morgan, Oxford University Press, 1981 Plot The story is set in the Rhondda Valley in the early 1930 ...
'' (1934) ** ''Black Parade'' (1935) ** ''Unfinished Journey (autobiography)'' (1937) ** ''
Bidden to the Feast ''Bidden to the Feast'' (1938) is a novel of historic fiction by the Welsh writer Jack Jones.''Rebirth of a Nation: Wales 1880-1980'', Kenneth O. Morgan, Oxford University Press, 1981 It was published by Hamish Hamilton in the UK and by G. P. Pu ...
'' (1938) ** ''The Man David'' (1944) ** ''Me and Mine: Further Chapters in the Autobiography of Jack Jones'' (1946) ** ''Give Me Back My Heart'' (1950) ** ''Off to Philadelphia in the Morning'' (1947) ** ''Some Trust in Chariots'' (1948) ** ''River out of Eden'' (1951) ** ''Lily of the Valley'' (1952) ** ''Lucky Year'' (1952) ** ''Time and the Business'' (1953) ** ''Choral Symphony'' (1955) ** ''Come, Night; End, Day'' (1956) ** ''A Burnt Offering'' (unpublished)


References


External links


Archives Network Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jack 1884 births 1970 deaths Welsh novelists Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Communist Party of Great Britain members 20th-century Welsh novelists Welch Regiment soldiers British Army personnel of World War I Welsh miners Welsh trade unionists