Owen John Thomas (born 3 October 1939) is a former
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.
Plaid wa ...
politician who was a
Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for the
South Wales Central
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
region from 1999 to 2007.
Early life and education
Owen John Thomas was born in Albany Road,
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, where his father, John Owen Thomas, had a pharmacy.
John Owen Thomas was from
Treorchy
Treorchy ( cy, Treorci; ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 ...
and the brother of the
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...
Reverend Degwel Thomas, the Chairman of
Glamorgan Council for 19 years. On his paternal side both his grandparents spoke Welsh and came from a prominent family of
Welsh Baptists in North
Pembrokeshire, including the poet preacher
Myfyr Emlyn. Thomas' mother, Evelyn Jane Thomas, came from
Marros in
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
, and her father was Welsh speaking.
Despite having Welsh speaking grandparents Thomas' parents did not speak
Welsh as adults, and therefore, he and his two sisters were raised in an English language home.
Thomas was a pupil at Marlborough Road School, Cardiff, and at
Howardian Grammar School. He left school at sixteen to work in the docks, and had various other jobs including as an analytical chemist. Thomas later attended the
Glamorgan College of Education and the
University of Wales, Cardiff, where he completed an MA in the history of the Welsh Language.
This formed part of his chapter in the book ''
Iaith Carreg fy Aelwyd'', published in 1998, and its English language version.
Thomas was deputy headteacher of Gladstone Primary School before being elected to the
National Assembly for Wales
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...
. He is a former chairman of the Cardiff region of the
UCAC
Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru ( Welsh, the sole official name, meaning 'National Union of Teachers of Wales') commonly referred to as UCAC, was formed in Wales from a split from the NUT in the late 1940s over the issue of the Welsh language ...
trade union. Thomas has been active in
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.
Plaid wa ...
since his teens, filling a variety of posts from branch secretary to vice president. At the 1981 Plaid Cymru Conference, he succeeded in having 'socialism' included amongst the party's main aims. He is a longstanding champion of the campaign for leasehold reform and a founder member of
Clwb Ifor Bach
Clwb Ifor Bach (, meaning ''Little Ivor's Club'') is a Cardiff nightclub, music venue, Welsh-language club and community centre. It is known to the Cardiff Welsh-speaking community as Clwb ( en, Club, italic=yes) and is often known by others on t ...
(Cardiff's Welsh Language night club), whose president he was from 1983 to 1989. He learned Welsh in his late twenties and played a key role in promoting Welsh medium education in the city, naming several of the schools with historic
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
Welsh names.
Political career
From 1999 to 2007 Thomas was a member of the
National Assembly for Wales
The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...
, representing the
South Wales Central
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
region for Plaid Cymru. He was Shadow Minister for Culture at the National Assembly for Wales. Thomas was a firm supporter of
Dafydd Wigley
Dafydd Wynne Wigley, Baron Wigley, (born David Wigley; 1 April 1943) is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament (MP) for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He w ...
's leadership and resisted the challenges against Wigley. Despite his strong convictions that Plaid Cymru had made a mistake in losing Wigley as party leader, Thomas remained loyal to the party whip and its new leader
Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones (born 22 May 1949) is a Welsh politician who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Government from 2007 to 2011. He was the Member of the Senedd for the Ynys Môn constituency from 1999 to 2013, and he was also leader of P ...
. Thomas faced a strong challenge for the 2003 regional seat selection, but comfortably won the membership vote.
A strong supporter of the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...
and
Welsh history, he wrote in the
''Western Mail'' that "The language is a national asset and its revitalisation can play a central part in the larger process of nation building and economic and social regeneration." He also complained that Welsh children are taught "the history of England, not the history of Britain".
His proudest achievements as an AM include an unsuccessful campaign to have
St David's Day recognised as a
bank holiday, his role in the creation of the
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...
, his campaigns for the Allied Steel and Wire pension fund, and to bring
brachytherapy
Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. ''Brachy'' is Greek for short. Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, prost ...
, a cancer treatment, to Wales.
Thomas was the Plaid Cymru candidate for the
Cathays
Cathays ( ; Welsh: officially ''Cathays'' but also , 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is very densely populated and contain ...
ward in the
May 2008 Cardiff local elections, increasing the vote and receiving the highest vote that Plaid Cymru has achieved in that ward. He also ran for that ward in the
1983 local election.
Later life
Following retirement at the age of 67, Thomas remained active within Plaid Cymru, serving as the party's chair in
Cardiff Central and in Cardiff. He is the longest serving trustee of
Tŷ'r Cymry, a house given to the Welsh speakers of Cardiff in 1936.
In November 2020, his book, ''The Welsh Language in Cardiff : A History of Survival'' was published by
Y Lolfa
Y Lolfa (Welsh for ''The Lounge'', ) is a Welsh printing and publishing company based in Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, in Mid-Wales. It publishes a wide variety of books in Welsh and English. It also provides a commercial print service. Y Lolfa was es ...
. The book is an attack on the myth that Cardiff has been an English speaking town since the
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
* Anglo-Norman language
**Anglo-Norman literature
* Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...
conquest of Cardiff in 1100, emphasising instead that a very significant element of its population have been Welsh speaking throughout history.
Personal life
Thomas has been married to Siân Wyn Evans, a former headteacher of Ysgol Glan Morfa,
Splott
Splott ( cy, Y Sblot) is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Spl ...
, since 1985. The couple have twin sons. Thomas has three sons and a daughter from a previous marriage.
His youngest son,
Rhys ab Owen, also a
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.
Plaid wa ...
politician, was elected on the
South Wales Central
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
regional list in the
2021 Senedd election
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
, the same seat Thomas had represented fourteen years earlier. Another son, Rhodri ab Owen, is the Chief Executive of the Cardiff Bay lobbying firm Positif.
In 2020, it was reported that Owen John Thomas was now resident in a care home for people living with
dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
.
References
External links
Guardian Unlimited Article 7 March 2007, giving details of Assembly Members who were not seeking re-election
Offices held
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Owen John
1939 births
Living people
Alumni of Cardiff University
Plaid Cymru members of the Senedd
Wales AMs 1999–2003
Wales AMs 2003–2007
Politicians from Cardiff