John Hughes

HUGHES, John. b. Dowlais, Glamorgan, 22 November 1873; d. Llantwit Fardre, Pontypridd, Glamorgan, 14 May 1932. Like so many of the leading musicians in Wales, John Hughes, the composer of CWM RHONDDA, worked in the coal industry. He started work at the age of twelve at the Glynn Collery at Llanilltud Faerdref. In 1905 he was appointed clerk at the Great Western Railway, Pontypridd, at the southern end of the Rhondda Valley, where he remained for over forty years. He was active as a deacon and precentor /‘leader of the singing’ with the Baptists throughout his life, and a number of his compositions had some circulation. In one version of the history of the tune (originally called RHONDDA) it...