Huw Thomas Edwards 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 union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 leader and politician.

Edwards was trade unionist who was for many years was the most influential figure in the Labour Party in north Wales. He was appointed the first chair of the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire in 1949

1949 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1949 to Wales and its people.-Incumbents:*Prince of Wales - vacant*Princess of Wales - vacant*Archbishop of Wales - John Morgan*Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales - Wil Ifan...

. He was in favour of a Welsh Parliament but initially did not support the Parliament for Wales campaign in the early 1950s although later he joined the campaign. He opposed the decision to flood the Tryweryn valley to create a reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 to service Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

. In 1956

1956 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 1956 to Wales and its people.-Incumbents:*Prince of Wales – vacant*Princess of Wales - vacant*Archbishop of Wales - John Morgan*Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales - Dyfnallt...

 he bought the Welsh-language periodical, Y Faner, in order to save it from liquidation. In 1958 he resigned from the Council for Wales and in 1959 he left the Labour Party

Wales Labour Party

Welsh Labour is the part of the United Kingdom Labour Party that operates in Wales. Labour is the largest and most successful political party in modern Welsh politics, having won the largest share of the vote at every UK General Election since 1922, every Welsh Assembly election since 1999, and...

 to join Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

 although he returned to the Labour fold in 1965. He was the first President of the Welsh Language Society

Welsh Language Society

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, , often abbreviated to Cymdeithas or Cymdeithas yr Iaith is a pressure group in Wales campaigning for the future of the Welsh language...

.

He published two autobiographical volumes in his native Welsh, Tros y Tresi (1956) and Troi'r Drol (1963). He was also a poet.