Stories of Solidarity

A collection of writings and speeches by historian, political activist and former MP Hywel Francis. He celebrates the struggles of the working class of the South Wales Valleys and asks about the continuing relevance of the miners' strikes and the NHS. An essential and inspiring book for all interested in recent Welsh social and general history. ~Publisher: Y Lolfa

The well-known author has combined a successful career as a prolific left-wing, Marxist historian with that of an inspiring university teacher, specialising mainly in adult education, based at Swansea, and also as a prominent political activist and Labour MP for the Aberavon division from 2001 until 2015. He has researched and published throughout his adult life and is well known as one of the founders of the South Wales Coalfield Archive and Miners' Library, and of the Bevan Foundation. He still remains closely involved with adult education and archive preservation at Swansea University.



This attractive little volume conveniently brings together in one place twenty-one of the author's rather shorter pieces, most of them previously published elsewhere over a time-span of almost half a century. The collection's over-arching theme is a celebration of 'the struggles of the working class of the south Wales valleys', notably the indefatigable coal miners and their families.



Professor Francis's compelling subject is the future survival of the solidarity and collective memory of these coalfield valley communities. Another pertinent theme is the legacy of the several miners' strikes, predominantly against the Thatcher government in 1984–85, the strong sense of internationalism which characterised the coalminers (most notably during the period of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s, a subject on which the author is a widely published authority), and the present challenge to the core values of the NHS as established by Nye Bevan in 1948.



The essays are brought together in three discrete groups, each comprising seven short pieces. The first is focussed primarily on the Onllwyn-Cwm Dulais area where the author spent his childhood and formative years, and there is a strong personal dimension here. He is still a resident of that area, a true formative crucible of the long-term coal mining experience.



It includes writings on the largely forgotten anthracite coal miners' strike of 1925 (a potent prelude to the General Strike in May the following year), and now of course well beyond living memory. Also covered here the key role of oral history, the solidarity of the miners of the south Wales pits in 1984-85 and the hugely supportive role of the LGBT community at that time, the Seven Sisters Rugby Football Club, with which both the author and his late father Mr Dai Francis enjoyed personal links, and the growth of adult education in twentieth-century Wales.



The second group of seven essays drew its inspiration mainly from Jim Brewer, the secretary of the International Brigades Association (Cymru). It includes worthy tributes to figures like Will Lloyd, Eirie Pugh (sister of an International Brigader), Carega James and Paul Robson, whose vital legacy is very well-assessed here. The final contribution here discusses the broader theme of 'the connectedness of local and global struggles' in rather provocative fashion.



The final group of essays are overtly and immediately political, stimulated by Hywel Francis's experiences as a left-wing Labour MP. He tells us that these contributions 'mirror many of my lifelong concerns around the inter-relationships between memory, culture, education and caring'. They stem primarily from his preoccupation with the Carers' Act of 2004, and his role as the chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights from 2010 until his retirement from parliament five years later. The over-riding theme here is the necessity for a sense of fellowship and compassion 'close to home', particularly during the closing stages of an individual’s life-cycle.



A most stimulating and highly readable introductory section draws these compelling themes together with clarity and sets the scene for the revealing reading which follows on. One can but regret the decision not to include an index to these essays and the total lack of photographs and illustrations which would undoubtedly have added to the appeal of this fascinating work. ~J Graham Jones @ www.gwales.com