223:, who from 1950 to 1970 was the local MP, described Conway as 'a likeable fellow, sincere, able and dedicated to the Society’s work, and overcame many difficulties which from time to time faced the Society. Differences of opinion would arise between committee-men.' He concluded that Conway was 'the embodiment of truth and integrity and of all that was good in the life of Tredegar.' At one stage, the Society employed five doctors, two dentists with a mechanic each, pharmacy dispensers and assistants and a nurse. Not only did the society see to the medical expenses but it also supplied good wages and conditions for its staff. The doctors were allowed some private work which again was a model followed within the
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122:. It was financed by contributions that were deducted at source from the earnings of its employees and administered by a committee which comprised members from each of the Company’s coal mines. In 1900 Conway was one of the eight members for the library on the committee for the Pochin No. 1 Pit. (The name 'Pochin' comes from
137:(ILP), which had been established in Bradford in 1893. The party had members in many parts of south Wales. However, a branch of the party was established in the town much later than in other parts of south Wales, in 1911, which might have reflected the traditional allegiance of the local working class to the
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Conway was a devout and very active
Presbyterian. According to Bryant (1998), he was a deacon of his local chapel, where he and his family attended three services on Sundays. A photograph of a class of the Chapel Sunday school seen in Tredegar Museum shows him in the centre, doubtless as the teacher.
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In 1915, Conway was elected by a ballot of the members of the
Tredegar Medical Aid Society as its secretary. He enabled the Society to provide medical services to the people of Tredegar. By the 1920s, it provided medical services to 95% of the local inhabitants, who in 1921 numbered 25,000. By 1925,
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On 19 December 1898, Conway married Mary
Elizabeth Morgan from Tredegar, who was three years his junior. His 'rank or profession' was 'coal miner'. They lived in Glyn Terrace, Tredegar. The couple had three daughters and one son. The eldest was Catherine Ann, who was born c.1900. The next eldest was
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Conway has a street named after him in
Tredegar. He died in February 1933 and is buried in what was then the new part of Cefn Golau Cemetery, Tredegar. A photograph of the lengthy funeral procession shows the mourners making their way on foot from the town up the hill to the cemetery. Conway never
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Conway described himself as a 'workhouse boy'. He obtained two benefits from his stay in the workhouse. First, from the Master, the formal head of the workhouse, he learnt the lesson 'to do everything well'. Second, he became acquainted with the world of books, which he described as being his best
79:, in the next valley. Perhaps his father decided to move to Tredegar to find work there. It had coal mines and an iron works, and was a boom town. While Conway was still a child, his father died. Consequently he was placed (with, presumably, his brother) in the care of the
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Christina, who was born c.1902. The next eldest was Mary
Elizabeth, who was born c.1904. The son died in the late 1980s. Catherine died when she was a young married woman. She is buried in what was then the new part of Cefn Golau Cemetery, Tredegar.
149:, which he had enthusiastically supported since at least 1909. He remained in office for the whole of his life. The following year, in addition to undertaking this role, he gave classes on social science under the auspices of the London-based
103:, like him a resident of Tredegar. Also, he helped Bevan to manage his stutter. The Medical Society was already employing doctors under its Medical Superintendent, but it went on to open offices and a dentists and a central surgery.
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In April 1915, while employed as a haulier in one of the local collieries, Conway was elected chairman of
Bedwellty Board of Guardians. Also in 1915, from more than fifty applicants, he was appointed Secretary of the
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Conway was also a prominent trade union leader and occupied important positions in workmen's organisations. Doubtless it was because of his ability that he came to hold at least three prestigious positions in
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The society purchased the redundant Palace cinema which they converted into an additional surgery as well as establishing space for their own dental mechanic. These surgeries liaised with the
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of the town’s workhouse, the
Bedwellty Union Workhouse, in which capacity he served more than twenty years. Some of his colleagues on the Board of Guardians were members of the new
201:. Other similar societies existed in the South Wales valleys and England. However, inevitably Bevan drew upon his local society as a model when, as Minister of Health in the
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The
Tredegar Medical Aid Society was run by a committee of thirty members. However, its success was largely due to Conway's outstanding talents as a health administrator.
338:
Thompson, Steven (2003). "A proletarian public sphere
Working-class provision of medical services and care in south Wales, c.1900-1948". In Borsay, Anne (ed.).
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and Walter Conway. Conway is in the middle of the picture. Aneurin is second from right on the back row and his brother Billy is second right on the front row.
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During the winter of 1920–1921, Conway, Bevan and other friends formed the Query Club, which was a radical debating society.
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83:, the town’s workhouse. The building was called 'Ty Bryn'. However, the workhouse was informally called 'The Spike’.
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From 1891, Tredegar had had a
Workmen's Institute Library that was run by the main employer in the town, the
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The 1881 census documents that Conway’s father had become a single parent, living with his two young sons in
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John Walter Conway, to give him his full name, was born in October 1872 to Thomas Conway,
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The health of a nation The history and background of the National Health Service
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126:, an English industrial chemist, who was one of the directors of the Company).
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153:(CLC), which had been established in 1909 with the financial help of the
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72:. He had one sibling, his brother Thomas, who was born four years later.
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The Society employed a Scottish doctor who later became a novelist,
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Medicine in Wales c.1800-2000 Public service or private commodity?
52:. This society contributed the model which established the British
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when it was established just over a decade after Conway died.
157:. The motto of the College was "Agitate Educate Organise".
68:, and Mary Conway (née Thomas), in Plantation Street,
44:(1872 – 1933) was the longstanding secretary of the
262:. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 202.
99:Conway became a mentor and teacher to the teenage
231:saw himself portrayed as "Owen" in the 1938 film
129:In 1908, Conway was elected as a guardian on the
16:For the Attorney General of South Dakota, see
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195:and in his 1952 fictionalised autobiography
260:Aneurin Bevan and the World of South Wales
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422:. Risca: Starling Press. p. 190.
397:. Risca: Starling Press. p. 162.
357:. Risca: Starling Press. p. 153.
287:. Risca: Starling Press. p. 153.
342:. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
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382:. Risca: Starling Press. p. 34.
327:. Risca: Starling Press. p. 34.
189:, who depicted it in his 1937 novel
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33:was started by friends including
173:The Tredegar Medical Aid Society
182:which had existed since 1904.
155:South Wales Miners' Federation
120:Tredegar Iron and Coal Company
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147:Tredegar Medical Aid Society
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353:Scandrett, Wyndham (1990).
308:Bryant, Kenneth M. (1998).
283:Scandrett, Wyndham (1990).
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203:post-war Labour government
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380:Memoirs of a Bedwellty MP
325:Memoirs of a Bedwellty MP
180:Tredegar General Hospital
81:Bedwellty Union Workhouse
198:Adventures in Two Worlds
135:Independent Labour Party
225:National Health Service
207:National Health Service
54:National Health Service
378:Finch, Harold (1972).
323:Finch, Harold (1972).
151:Central Labour College
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420:Old Tredegar Volume 1
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285:Old Tredegar Volume 1
237:, which was based on
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470:People from Tredegar
465:People from Rhymney
258:Smith, Dai (1993).
192:The Citadel (novel)
31:Tredegar Query Club
131:Board of Guardians
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418:—— (1990).
393:—— (1990).
234:The Citadel
114:Public life
50:South Wales
444:Categories
245:References
91:Adult life
60:Early life
87:friends.
163:Tredegar
77:Tredegar
70:Rhymney
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213:Legacy
167:Union
424:ISBN
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