Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1878-1929 (accumulated [c. 1900]-1929) / (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.086 cubic metres (3 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
David Thomas (1880-1967), educationalist, author and Labour Party activist, was born in Llanfechain, Montgomeryshire, and became a pupil-teacher in Llanfyllin, 1895-1899. He became a qualified teacher in 1905, and worked in several schools in Caernarfonshire. Thomas worked to establish labour unions and branches of the Independent Labour Party in North Wales, assisting in the foundation of the Caernarfonshire Labour Council in 1912 and the North Wales Labour Council in 1914. Thomas was an effective speaker and radio broadcaster and wrote many articles, pamphlets and books on political, historical and literary subjects. His works include Y Werin a'i Theyrnas, Y Blaid Lafur a Dinasyddiaeth y Gwiethiwr (1912), Y Cynganeddion Cymreig (1923) and Y Ddinasyddiaeth Fawr (1938). He had a keen interest in adult education and was a tutor at the Worker's Educational Association in Caernarfonshire from 1928-1959. He recieved an MA from the University of Liverpool in 1928.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by David Thomas's son, Mr Arial M. Thomas, Llanwnda, 1969
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Correspondence of David Thomas, 1907-1929, together with pamphlets, reports and other printed items relating mainly to socialism, the Independent Labour Party, workers' unions, agricultural wages, publication of Y Werin a'i Theyrnas, local committees in North Wales for improvement of social conditions, the Caernarfonshire parliamentary election, 1922, and miscellaneous unspecified subjects; incomplete copies of David Thomas's printed works, articles and parts of his thesis, 1928; account books, [c. 1878]-1910, belonging chiefly to John Williams, Bwlchgwyn, Denbighshire; a small notebook containing literary adjudications in connection with an eisteddfod at Tal-y-sarn, 1908, and translations of six stories from French into Welsh by Morfudd' [Miss H. Jones, Porth] andNehushtan' [N. El. Thomas, Swansea], entered at the Barry National Eisteddfod 1920.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Action: All records deposited at the National Library of Wales have been retained..
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged into the following: files of correspondence and printed and duplicated items; unnumbered files; and other items.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright regulations apply.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Welsh, English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue is available at the National Library of Wales.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title compiled from content of fonds. Some account books collected by David Thomas pre-date his birth.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru (1920 : Barri) (Subject)
- Independent Labour Party (Great Britain) (Subject)
- Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru (1920 : Barri) (Subject)
- Thomas, David, 1880-1967 -- Archives (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.;AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
April 2003
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by Richard Burman for the ANW Project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: National Library of Wales, Catalogue of David Thomas (Bangor) Papers; Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941-1970 (London, 2001).