John Davies (Welsh miners' agent)
John Davies (died 25 July 1918) was a Welsh miner, trade unionist, and the Mayor of Merthyr.
He was born in Hirwaun and left school at eight to study in Newchurch. Four years later he returned to live with his father in Hirwaun and began working in a local coal mine. He became active in the Aberdare, Merthyr and Dowlais Miners’ Association and, at 27, was elected to its executive committee.
In October 1888 he was proposed as a labour candidate in the Merthyr by-election, but he declined the nomination. In 1895 he was elected to represent the Aberdare miners on the Sliding Scale Committee, which decided miners’ wages. He acted as deputy to the local miners’ agent, David Morgan.
During the Welsh coal strike of 1898, Davies collected donations from miners in North Wales and South Staffordshire. At the end of the strike, he was one of four miners’ representatives who refused to sign the agreement.
After the strike, the South Wales Miners’ Federation (SWMF) was formed and the local union split into three districts. Davies was elected to the first SWMF executive committee. He soon became a full-time miners’ agent for the Dowlais District and moved to that area, remaining in the post until his death.
Davies also served in public life. In the late 1890s he spent eighteen months on the Aberdare School Board. In 1899 he was elected to Glamorgan County Council to represent Dowlais as a Liberal-Labour candidate. He became an alderman in 1905 but stood down in 1908 when Merthyr became a county borough. He was later elected to Merthyr’s first council, again for Dowlais, and in 1914/15 he served as Mayor of Merthyr, the second worker to hold the position after Enoch Morrell.
A deacon at the Bethania Congregational Chapel, Davies was a strong advocate of abstinence from alcohol. An obituary in the Merthyr Pioneer said he was a courageous, straightforward, and simple leader who spoke for his class.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:52 (CET).