Llewellyn Heycock, Baron Heycock

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(12 August 1905 – 13 March 1990) was a Welsh local politician, who became a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 1967. Heycock was born in

Margam Margam is a suburb and community (Wales), community of Port Talbot in the Wales, Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being l ...

and began his career as an engine driver with the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

. He subsequently rose to a powerful position in South Wales local politics through his

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

connections and membership of the Labour Party, a "personality of transcendent authority". Despite having himself received little formal education, he became Chairman of the Glamorganshire Education Committee. He was first elected to

Glamorgan County Council Glamorgan County Council was established in 1889 together with the administrative county of Glamorganshire under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections to the council were held in January 1889. The council was abolished under the Loca ...

in 1937 at a by-election following the re-election of long-serving miners' agent John Thomas of Pontrhydyfen as an alderman. Heycock was chosen as Labour candidate at the expense of Joe Brown, a former mayor of Port Talbot and a close associate of

Ramsay Macdonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

when he was MP for Aberavon. Brown resigned from the Labour Party in protest and stood as an Independent. However, Heycock held the seat by 569 votes. In April 1967 he was elected as a county councillor to

for the Port Talbot East ward. In 1973 he was elected unopposed as councillor for Margam Central on the new West Glamorgan County Council. He became a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1959, a Commander of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (CStJ) in April 1967, and a life peer on 10 July 1967 as Baron Heycock, of

Taibach Taibach, also spelled as , is a community and suburban district of Port Talbot, Wales. It is a settlement centered on the main A48 road, sandwiched between the river Ffrwdwyllt and Margam. Parts of Margam are within the community boundaries. Hi ...

in the Borough of

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heycock, Llewellyn Heycock, Baron 1905 births 1990 deaths Councillors in Wales Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Order of St John Members of Glamorgan County Council