Wynne Islwyn Samuel (15 October 1911 – 3 June 1989) was a Welsh politician. Born in Ystalyfera, Samuel became an orphan at an early age. He studied at Ystalyfera Grammar School and then a deacon and

lay preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presidi ...

in the

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

. Although he was given an opportunity to play with

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club ( cy, Criced Morgannwg) is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Glamorgan ( cy, Morgannwg). Founded in 1888, ...

, he was dissuaded by his aunt, and instead became a clerk for

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Town Council.Dr John Graham Jones,
SAMUEL, WYNNE ISLWYN
, ''Welsh Biography Online'' In the Second World War he was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

. Samuel joined Plaid Cymru in the early 1930s, and became active in the party when he lost his job, following its policy of neutrality in World War II. He was the party's South Wales organiser from 1940 until 1950, also editing ''The Welsh Nation'', its English-language magazine, and gaining election to

Pontardawe Rural District Pontardawe () is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. With a population of 6,832, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the c ...

Council. He established a base in Ystalyfera, recruiting sufficiently that it was home to the party's largest branch in South Wales, and he was the party's first Parliamentary candidate in the south, taking second place in the

1945 Neath by-election The 1945 Neath by-election, was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Neath in South Wales. Neath was considered a safe seat for the Labour Party and had been held by William Jenkins since the 1 ...

. Samuel stood for the party on several further occasions:

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

at the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

at a 1946 by-election and the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

and general elections, and Pembroke in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, but was never elected. In 1954, Samuel was the Secretary of the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, 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 Eur ...

in Ystradgynlais, although this was not a success, due to heavy rain.''A militant muse, Harri Webb: selected literary journalism 1948-80'', p.143 In 1960/1, he was President of the Baptist Union of Wales. In later life, he studied law with the University of London External System, and then obtained a doctorate from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) ( ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann) is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called ''university college, constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under t ...

, following which he became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and law lecturer at

Chester Technical College Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. He also set up Cymdeithas Bro a Thref Cymru, an organisation bringing together the town and community councils of Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, Wynne 1911 births 1989 deaths Alumni of the National University of Ireland Councillors in Wales Members of Gray's Inn People associated with University of London Worldwide People from Neath Port Talbot Plaid Cymru parliamentary candidates Welsh Baptists Welsh conscientious objectors Welsh barristers 20th-century Baptists