Gwilym Elfed Davies, Baron Davies of Penrhys (9 October 1913 – 28 April 1992) was a Welsh Labour Party politician. Born in

Pontygwaith, Rhondda Pontygwaith (Welsh language: "Bridge of work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a small village located in the Rhondda#Rhondda Fach, Rhondda Fach valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, in the community of Tylorstown. History ...

to Welsh-speaking parents, David and Miriam Elizabeth Davies, Elfed was educated at the Tylorstown Rhondda Elementary School before becoming a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

. Davies joined 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 ( ...

, and was chair of its Tylorstown Lodge from 1934, then treasurer from 1940, and secretary from 1954. From 1958 to 1959, he was the chair of the Aberdare and Rhondda District of the

National Union of Mineworkers (UK) The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is an active albeit minor trade union for coal workers in Great Britain, formed in 1945 out of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB). The NUM took part in three national miners' strikes, in 197 ...

. Davies was active in the Labour Party, serving on the executive of the Rhondda East Divisional Labour Party, and the Rhondda Borough Labour Party. From 1954 to 1961, he served on

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 ...

. He was elected as member of parliament (MP) for

Rhondda East Rhondda East was a parliamentary constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1974. Along with Rhondda West it was formed by dividing the old Rhondda ...

at the 1959 general election, and from 1964 until 1968, was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ray Gunter, the Minister of Power. Davies served in Parliament until his constituency was abolished at the February 1974 general election. He was subsequently created 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 ...

as Baron Davies of Penrhys, ''of

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

in the County of

Mid Glamorgan Mid Glamorgan () is a preserved county of Wales. From 1974 until 1996 it was also an administrative county with a county council. Mid Glamorgan was formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It consisted of part of the former adminis ...

'' on 8 July 1974. In retirement, he served on the South Wales Electricity Board, and the National Sports Council for Wales.

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* 1913 births 1992 deaths Welsh Labour MPs Davies of Penrhys National Union of Mineworkers-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs who were granted peerages Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Wales-Labour-UK-MP-stub