Dai Francis (trade union leader)
Encyclopedia
Dai Francis was a Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 trade unionist, best remembered for his leadership of the South Wales Miners' Union during the 1970s. As a member of the Gorsedd
Gorsedd
A gorsedd plural gorseddau, is a community or coming together of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is occasionally spelled gorsedh , or goursez in Brittany....

 of the National Eisteddfod of Wales, he took the bardic name
Bardic name
A bardic name is a pseudonym, used in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement....

 Dai o'r Onllwyn. He was the father of MP Hywel Francis
Hywel Francis
Dr Hywel Francis is a Welsh Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Aberavon since 2001.-Background:...

.

Francis was born at Onllwyn
Onllwyn
Onllwyn is a small village in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, near Seven Sisters.-History:First developed by the Romans, local village Banwen is confined to the Roman Road of Sarn Helen. There are two Roman forts and the remains of a Roman Road within the community.Legend has it that St Patrick was born...

, near Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...

. He became the first officer of the South Wales Miners' Union in 1959, and in 1963 became its General Secretary. In 1974 he became the first chairman of the Wales TUC. He retired in 1976, and in the same year unsuccessfully challenged Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

, in the election for Chancellor of the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...

.

Further reading

  • Hywel Francis
    Hywel Francis
    Dr Hywel Francis is a Welsh Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Aberavon since 2001.-Background:...

     & Dai Smith
    Dai Smith
    Dai Smith was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer of the 1900s who at representative level played for Other Nationalities, and at club level for Salford, playing at , i.e...

    - The Fed: a History of the South Wales Miners in the Twentieth Century (1998)
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