S. O. Davies facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
S. O. Davies
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S. O. Davies in 1955
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| Member of Parliament for Merthyr Tydfil (Merthyr 1934–1950) |
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| In office 5 June 1934 – 25 February 1972 |
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| Preceded by | R. C. Wallhead |
| Succeeded by | Ted Rowlands |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Date uncertain; November 1886 or earlier Abercwmboi, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom |
| Died | 25 February 1972 (aged 85) Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Labour (Until 1970) Independent Labour Party (1970–72) |
Stephen Owen Davies (born around 1886 – died 25 February 1972) was a Welsh miner and a strong voice for workers. He was also a trade union leader and a Labour Party politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Merthyr Tydfil for almost 38 years, from 1934 to 1972.
In 1970, when he was over 80, his local Labour Party decided he was too old to be their candidate. But S. O. Davies didn't give up! He ran in the 1970 general election as an independent candidate. He won easily, which was very rare in British politics. It showed how much people in Merthyr Tydfil trusted and supported him.
Most records say Davies was born in November 1886, but some people believe he was born a few years earlier. He left school at 12 to work in coal mines. Later, he studied mining engineering and then earned a degree in Arts. He returned to the coal mines in 1913 and quickly became known for standing up for miners' rights.
In 1918, he was elected as a miners' agent for the Dowlais area. This meant he represented miners in their dealings with mine owners. In 1924, he became a top official for the South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF). After visiting Moscow in 1922, he became a strong supporter of the Soviet Union, a view he held for the rest of his life.
After becoming an MP in 1934, Davies always fought for the people of Merthyr Tydfil and for mining in Wales. He often disagreed with his own Labour Party's rules. He supported things like disarmament (reducing weapons) and Welsh nationalism (Wales having more control over its own affairs). Because he often went against his party, he was suspended several times. He was never given a job as a government minister.
However, he was incredibly popular in his local area. He won elections again and again with huge support. In 1966, after the terrible Aberfan disaster where 144 people died, Davies said something controversial. He claimed he had long thought the coal waste tip was unsafe. But he hadn't reported his worries because he feared it would lead to local mines closing. S. O. Davies died in 1972, at least 85 years old.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Growing Up in a Mining Community
There's some debate about when S. O. Davies was born. Most sources say November 1886, but he might have been born earlier. He was born at 39 John Street, Abercwmboi, in the coal-mining region of South Wales. He was the fourth child of Thomas and Esther Davies.
His father, Thomas, was a miner and a trade union activist. He wrote articles for a Welsh newspaper, criticizing mine owners and safety. Because of his strong views, mine owners sometimes refused to hire him. He eventually found work as an insurance agent.
Davies went to the local Cap Coch school. Like many children at the time, he left school at age 12 to start working in the Cwmpennar coal mine. He stayed there until the mine closed in 1905. Then he moved to Mountain Ash to work at Nixon's Navigation Colliery.
From Miner to Student
His bosses quickly noticed his intelligence and drive. They encouraged him to study mining engineering. He first studied locally in Aberdare, and then in London in 1907. In 1908, with help from a college, he passed his entrance exams. He began studying for a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree at University College, Cardiff. He planned to become a minister in a nonconformist church.
However, Davies's religious beliefs changed. He was influenced by a preacher who believed that socialism (a system where society controls production and wealth) was a practical way to live out Christian ideas. This new way of thinking was not accepted by the college that was funding him, so they stopped their support.
Despite losing his funding, Davies finished his studies and graduated in 1913. He decided not to become a minister. Instead, he focused on politics, especially helping working-class people. In 1913, while still a student, he ran for election to Cardiff's Board of Guardians, which managed local welfare. He lost by a small number of votes.
Championing Miners' Rights
Becoming a Union Leader
After graduating, Davies went back to working in the mines. In December 1913, he tried to become a miners' representative but wasn't successful. When World War I started in August 1914, he was against it. He believed wars brought "a lower standard of morality" and took away people's freedom.
In 1917, Davies started and led the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Trades and Labour Council. He was first chosen to be the Labour candidate for the Llanelli area in the 1918 election. But he stepped aside when the South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF) supported another candidate.
In 1918, Davies ran for the position of miners' agent for the Dowlais district of the SWMF. This was a tough competition, but Davies won. A miners' agent's main job was to represent miners in arguments with their employers. These arguments were usually about pay, job losses, working hours, and compensation for injuries. Davies's records show he often dealt with cases where mining companies refused to pay for injuries.
Fighting for Workers' Control
In 1919, Davies married Elizabeth Margaret Eley, and they had three daughters. The years after World War I were hard for coal miners in South Wales. This made Davies even more determined to fight for workers. He became known for his strong, sometimes radical, views.
Unlike the main Labour Party, Davies believed workers should control the mining industry, not just have it owned by the government. In 1921, he tried to get the main miners' union to join a radical international workers' group, but he failed. The next year, he went to a meeting of this group in Moscow. This trip made him feel very positive about the Soviet system. However, he did not join the Communist Party. He remained a member of the Labour Party.
In 1924, Davies was made the SWMF's chief organizer and legal adviser. He was also elected its vice-president. He also represented South Wales on the executive committee of the main miners' union from 1924 to 1934. During the general strike in May 1926, South Wales miners were very strong supporters. When the national strike ended after nine days, Davies led the Welsh miners in continuing their fight for months. They eventually had to give in in December.
After 1926, there were many disagreements between different groups in the coalfields. Davies tried to work with all left-wing groups. When Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, Davies argued that all left-wing groups should unite around the Labour Party. He believed that extreme left-wing views could lead to fascism. In 1931, Davies was elected to the Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council.
A Voice in Parliament
Winning the Merthyr Seat
When Richard Wallhead, the Labour MP for Merthyr, died in April 1934, Davies was chosen as the Labour candidate for the special election in June. Wallhead had held the seat since 1922 with strong support.
Davies faced candidates from the Liberal Party, the Communist Party, and the Independent Labour Party. There was no candidate from the ruling government, so Davies couldn't easily attack them. People thought the election would be very close.
Davies used the slogan "Peace, Prosperity, Security, Freedom." He promised to expand public ownership, get rid of the "means test" (which checked if people were poor enough for benefits), increase unemployment benefits, improve education, and work with other countries, especially Russia. He won easily on June 5, getting 18,645 votes. This gave him a big lead of 8,269 votes over his Liberal opponent.
Fighting for Merthyr and Miners
Davies gave his first speech in the House of Commons on June 21, 1934. He strongly criticized the government's policies for the mining industry. He said he came from a coalfield where "communities with a great industrial history dissolving and disintegrating." He promised to always fight for Merthyr Tydfil and the mining industry.
In December 1934, he spoke out against a Conservative MP who said Merthyr had "no social consciousness." Davies replied that he objected to "irresponsible and brutal charges coming from people whose knowledge is derived from the enjoyment of vast wealth."
In 1934, two years after his first wife Margaret died, Davies married Sephora Davies, a schoolteacher who shared his political views. They lived in Merthyr Tydfil and had two sons. In 1936, after winning re-election, Davies criticized the Prime Minister for refusing to meet unemployed workers marching from South Wales.
In 1938, Davies supported a bill to make the coal industry owned by the government. He argued that miners worked in terrible conditions for low pay. He believed private mine owners would never give fair wages or conditions. The bill was defeated.
Standing Up During Wartime
As Europe moved towards war in the late 1930s, Davies was against the government's policy of trying to avoid war by giving in to dictators. He believed the British ruling class wasn't serious about fighting fascism. After war started in September 1939, Davies wanted the government to clearly state its war goals.
He criticized the Labour Party's decision to join Churchill's wartime government in May 1940. He opposed many of the government's policies, like holding foreign citizens without trial, limiting strikes, and closing a communist newspaper.
Unlike some, Davies didn't change his views when the Soviet Union joined the war in June 1941. He still believed that only through socialism could there be a fair and lasting peace. Even after Labour won the election in 1945, Davies remained independent. From 1945 to 1951, he opposed government policies on military service, NATO, nuclear weapons, and the Korean War. He believed he was fighting against "capitalist militarism." Despite his disagreements with the party, he remained very popular in South Wales and won re-election with large majorities. He also served as Merthyr Tydfil's mayor in 1945–46.
A Rebel in the Labour Party
S. O. Davies often went against the Labour Party's official policies. He believed in democracy and individual freedom, but he also strongly supported the Soviet Union without question. However, he was always consistent in some key areas: he disliked US foreign policy, opposed the party's defense policies (like American bases in Britain and nuclear submarines), and most importantly, he was dedicated to the people of Merthyr.
His strong beliefs often led to arguments with party leaders. He was suspended from the party several times in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1948, he wrote to the Labour Party's general secretary, saying: "Our movement embraces millions of men and women, and not merely a few hundred MPs... I am habitually inclined to give our millions my first thoughts and consideration." This meant he cared more about the ordinary people than the party bosses. The voters of Merthyr Tydfil loved him for it. He won over 75% of the vote in elections from 1955 to 1966.
In 1951, his wife Sephora was kicked out of the Labour Party because she was involved with a group that supported British-Soviet friendship. Davies was saved from the same fate because he had such strong support in Merthyr. In 1953, the head of the miners' union tried to get Davies removed as a candidate because he supported the Soviet Union's view on an uprising in East Germany. But the local Merthyr Tydfil party stood by him.
Davies also disagreed with his party about Welsh self-government. He had supported this idea for many years, which annoyed Labour's Welsh leaders. In 1955, he introduced a bill in the House of Commons to give Wales self-government, similar to what Ireland almost got in 1914. He said he had thousands of messages of support from Wales, but only 14 MPs voted for his bill. Still, he told MPs: "There is a movement in Wales, an uprising... that will not only support the bill but will continue to insist upon it until Wales is represented in the United Kingdom as something more than a mere region."
When Soviet troops stopped the Hungarian uprising in 1956, Davies was upset but didn't openly criticize the Soviets. He didn't want to help those who were against socialism. He was also quiet about the events in Prague in 1968, but he strongly criticized the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. In 1961, security services investigated Davies to see if he was a Communist Party member. Their report said he was "very close to it indeed."
The Aberfan Disaster
Davies's Merthyr constituency included the mining village of Aberfan. Above the village, coal waste had been piled up over many years to form large tips. On Friday, October 21, 1966, one of these tips collapsed. Thousands of tons of wet waste rushed down the mountain towards Aberfan. It hit Pantglas Junior School, where morning lessons were starting. The school was half buried, and 109 children and 5 teachers were killed. Another 7 children and 23 adults died in the streets or nearby houses.
Right after the disaster, Davies visited and comforted the grieving families in Aberfan. The next day, he led a group, including the Duke of Edinburgh, on a tour of the disaster site.
On October 24, the head of the National Coal Board said the collapse was caused by a hidden spring that had poured water into the tip. But local miners disagreed. They said the spring had been known about for 20 years. A special investigation was set up to find out what happened.
When Davies gave evidence to the investigation, he said he had long suspected the Aberfan tips were unstable. But he had kept quiet because he feared that if tipping stopped, the Coal Board would close the local mine. He added, "But if I had been asked to do so, I would have done it." The miners' union lawyer strongly questioned his statement. He said that if Davies was telling the truth, he carried "one of the largest personal burdens of responsibility for the disaster." However, the lawyer found it hard to believe that Davies, with his influence, wouldn't have told anyone in authority.
The investigation agreed that Davies hadn't fully understood how serious his admission was. They said that if they had believed he fully understood, he would have been blamed. The investigation's findings, published in July 1967, put the blame firmly on the National Coal Board for not having a proper policy for the tips.
Later Years and Legacy
Breaking with the Labour Party
In December 1966, Davies introduced a bill to give more money to miners suffering from lung diseases caused by dust. This bill was accepted by the Labour government and became law in 1967. This was one of the few times Davies and the Labour government worked together during this period.
After the Coal Board refused to pay the full cost of removing the remaining Aberfan tips, Prime Minister Harold Wilson suggested using money from the disaster fund (set up to help Aberfan) to pay for it. Davies was furious. He told Wilson, "I have never known a prime minister to behave so disgracefully in all my 34 years in the House of Commons." Later, Davies opposed the Merthyr Tydfil Council's decision to honor Wilson.
While many people in Merthyr supported Davies's attacks on government policies, the local Labour Party became worried. Many younger members didn't understand the hardships of the 1920s and 1930s. They were angry that Davies seemed disloyal to the Labour government. There was also the issue of his age; in 1970, he was supposedly 83, but many thought he was older. In March 1970, the local party decided to replace him as their candidate, mainly because of his age. On May 10, he was officially removed as their candidate.
The 1970 Election Victory
Davies responded by saying that the people of Merthyr, not the local Labour Party, would decide his future. He announced he would run as an Independent Socialist if he was healthy enough. His friends told him not to risk it, saying he wouldn't get many votes.
But then, Prime Minister Wilson called a sudden general election. This gave the Merthyr Labour Party little time to find a new candidate. They chose Tal Lloyd, a union official and former mayor.
Davies's campaign was very simple at first. His election leaflet just said, "You Know Me, I've Never Let You Down." But as election day got closer, he started gaining a lot of support, especially from young people. This was ironic, as he had been removed because of his age! In the last week, Davies's young supporters toured the area with songs and slogans. The official Labour campaign struggled.
On election day, June 18, Davies won with a big lead of 7,467 votes. He thanked the voters, saying he never thought they would let him down. Two weeks later, Davies and his main campaign workers were kicked out of the Labour Party for running against their official candidate.
Final Years and Passing
Even after being expelled, the Labour-controlled Merthyr council offered Davies an honor in July 1970. He politely declined, saying the trust of the people was enough. He returned to parliament as an independent. He didn't speak much in debates, preferring to help his constituents from home. He strongly opposed Britain joining the European Economic Community (EEC), which is now the European Union.
On February 22, 1972, Davies went to parliament to vote against the government on an EEC issue. He returned to Merthyr with a chest infection and died on February 25, 1972, at Merthyr General Hospital. His funeral was held on February 29. Many people from different political backgrounds attended, showing how widely respected he was. In the special election to fill his seat, the Labour candidate won, but with a small lead.
Remembering S. O. Davies
A BBC reporter said Davies "looked as if he belonged to a different age" in his formal hat, silk scarf, and suit. Friends described him as "a tall man who walked tall and never bowed to anyone, but treated everyone alike." The Times newspaper said he seemed mild on the outside, but "underneath, fires were forever smouldering."
Many people remembered Davies for his dedication to Merthyr and the Welsh mining communities. The mayor of Merthyr said he was "an individualist who followed the teaching of 'Love thy neighbour as thyself'." He was respected by everyone, even those who disagreed with him. A parliamentary colleague said that if Davies had been more willing to compromise, he might have become a government minister. But he "always was a lone figure... and seemed to like being in isolation."
In April 2013, a special plaque honoring Davies was put up at Penydarren Park in Merthyr Tydfil. In August 2015, his work in parliament was celebrated as part of a project marking 750 years since an early English parliament.
The minister who led Davies's funeral said: "He had a great love for man... and it was these words, sinking deep into his heart, which made him 'take up the cudgels for the common man'" (meaning he fought for ordinary people).
