Huw Robert Jones (1894 – August 1930), known as H. R. Jones, was a Welsh nationalist

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

. Jones was born in Ebenezer in

Caernarfonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

,John Davies et al, ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales'', p.424 where he worked in the quarries from the age of thirteen,Meic Stephens, ''The New Companion to the Literature of Wales'', p.382 and later as a travelling grocery salesman. He led a campaign to rename his home village as "Deiniolen", which was successful. Always a strong proponent of

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...

for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, in 1924 he founded the Welsh Home Rule Army and, as one of its three most prominent leaders, he attended the founding meeting of

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 ...

.D. Hywel Davies, ''The Welsh Nationalist Party, 1925-1945'', p.61

Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis (born John Saunders Lewis) (15 October 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Welsh politician, poet, dramatist, Medievalist, and literary critic. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist, supporter of Welsh independence and was a co-found ...

referred to Jones as the only Welsh nationalist who "would have received a post from

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...

". Plaid was founded in a hotel in

Pwllheli Pwllheli () is a market town and community of the Llŷn Peninsula ( cy, Penrhyn Llŷn) in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011 of whom a large proportion, 81%, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plai ...

, while the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitor ...

was underway. Jones was chosen as its first general secretary, but the other party founders convinced him to avoid

non-violent direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to othe ...

in their cause. In 1928, he stood for election to the county council in Upper Deiniolen, the party's only candidate, but he was not elected.Forming Plaid Cymru
, ''National Library of Wales Journal'' (1983) Although popular with party members, he was not regarded as an effective organiser.D. Hywel Davies, ''The Welsh Nationalist Party, 1925-1945'', p.212 He contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

and in 1928, he became aware that he did not have long to live. He was compelled to scale back his role until his death in 1930. After Jones' death,

Gwenallt David James Jones (18 May 1899 – 24 December 1968), commonly known by his bardic name Gwenallt, was a Welsh poet, critic, and scholar, and one of the most important figures of 20th-century Welsh-language literature. He created his bardic n ...

composed "Breuddwyd y Bardd" in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Huw Robert 1894 births 1930 deaths 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis People from Caernarfonshire Plaid Cymru politicians Tuberculosis deaths in the United Kingdom British political party founders