TOM JONES PAPERS

Papers of Tom Jones, 1874-1990, comprising photographs and papers relating to his parents and early life, 1874-1936; letters, documents and other papers relating to the Spanish Civil War, [1930s]-1989; letters and papers concerning Frank Ryan, 1940-1989; papers relating to the Second World War and the Home Guard, 1940-1944; TGWU correspondence, 1951-1971, and papers, 1948-1974; papers relating to other bodies, 1949-1981; personal papers and photographs, 1940-1990; and press cuttings and pamphlets, [c.1914]-1986.

Tom Jones (1908-1990), or 'Tom Spain' as he was usually known, was born in Lancashire of Welsh parents, but moved back to Wales as a child. He was brought up in Rhosllanerchrugog, Denbighshire and worked for 14 years as a miner in Hafod, Vauxhall and Bersham collieries, Denbighshire, and became associated with the Labour Party from 1928.

He served in the International Brigade in Spain, 1936-1938. He was captured by Franco's forces in1938, and held prisoner in Saragossa and Burgos, until his release in 1940. In Burgos, he was imprisoned with an IRA man, Frank Ryan, who later died in Germany.

He worked in the chemical industry, for Monsanto, during the Second World War, and in 1945 became general trades organizer for the Transport and General Workers' Union at Shotton, Flintshire, and later was made district officer in Wrexham. He was appointed TGWU regional secretary in Shotton in 1953 by Arthur Deakin, and remained with the union becoming regional secretary for Wales in 1969, until his retirement in 1973. He played a leading role in setting up the Welsh TUC.

In his retirement he served on the Welsh Council, the Prince of Wales Committee and many other bodies, including Clwyd County Council's Records Advisory Panel. He died in 1990.

Arranged into the following: ancestry and early life; Spanish Civil War; Frank Ryan; War years and Home Guard; Transport and General Workers' Union; other bodies; personal papers and cuttings; and press-cuttings and pamphlets.

Data Protection Act restrictions will apply to any items less than 100 years old that contain personal information as defined by the Act.

Please order documents using the alternative reference number (where provided).

Compiled by Rhys Jones for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Flintshire Record Office, Tom Jones MSS; Pugh, Jane, A Most Expensive Prisoner: Tom Jones, Rhosllanerchrugog's Biography (Llanrwst, 1988).

Hard copies of the catalogue are available at Flintshire Record Office and the National Register of Archives.

Compiled by Rhys Jones for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Flintshire Record Office, Tom Jones MSS; Pugh, Jane, A Most Expensive Prisoner: Tom Jones, Rhosllanerchrugog's Biography (Llanrwst, 1988).

Input by William.

Usual copyright regulations apply

Usual Copyright Restrictions Apply.

All records have been retained.

Accruals are not expected.

Further papers of Tom Jones are in Flintshire Record Office; D/DM/416 and 442 (relating mainly to Tom Jones' work on the Welsh Council) and D/DM/624 (copies of items relating to the Spanish Civil War).

Further items relating to Spain and the International Brigade are in the library of University College Swansea and in the Marx Memorial Library, London.

For an account of Tom Jones' early life, see Jane Pugh's 'A Most Expensive Prisoner' (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 1988).