John Weston Thomas (25 January 1921 – 1992) revived the tradition of Welsh

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

making. Thomas was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. After spells in the merchant navy, and teaching

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. C ...

, he began making harps, originally with the aid of old instruments and illustrations, as there was no existing harp maker to teach him. Although the harp is firmly associated with Wales, at the time he was the only harp maker in Wales, and one of three in the whole of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. John Weston Thomas had three students, these were Alun Thomas (his son), Bryan Blackmore (in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

) and Allan Shiers (in

Llandysul Llandysul, also spelt Llandyssul, is a town and Community (Wales), community in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. As a community it consists of the townships of Capel Dewi, Llandysul, Capel Dewi, Horeb, Pontsian, Pren-gwyn, Tregroes, Rhydowen and ...

); all three are still working as harp makers. John Weston Thomas died in Pembrokeshire in 1992 having worked until shortly before his death.

External links

Alun Thomas

References

*Rosser A., ''So Long To Learn - John W. Thomas 1921 - 1992''. The Pembrokeshire Press, Fishguard 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John Weston 1921 births 1992 deaths Businesspeople from Cardiff Harp makers British musical instrument makers 20th-century Welsh businesspeople