John Graham Jones, ma, phd, frhists
Formerly Senior Archivist, National Library of Wales

John Graham Jones lived at 14 Broniestyn Terrace in Trecynon. He was the only child of the late John Emrys Jones (who worked at Lloyds Bank in Canon Street, Aberdare) and Mary Mordina Jones, née Davies. The family attended Carmel Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Old Hirwaun Road, Trecynon and throughout his boyhood and youth Graham attended Sunday school and chapel there. (The chapel was directly behind the old grammar school, and it was one of the venues for many of the School’s Carol Services.) He received his primary education at Ysgol Y Comin, (Park School) and from there he entered ABGS in 1967. In the sixth form he took advanced levels in English, Welsh, Latin and History. His teachers were Noël Thomas (English), Charles Morris (Latin), Ken Morgan (History), and Dyfrig Davies and Euros Jones Evans (Welsh), from whom Graham gained much inspiration. In 1974, his final year at school, he was awarded the Evan Morgan Entrance Scholarship to read history at UCW Aberystwyth, and, on the basis of the strength of his A level grades, he was awarded The Rees Llewellyn Memorial Scholarship by the school, tenable for the three years of his university course.

He left for Aberystwyth in 1974, where he pursued his studies for six years. He gained a first class degree in ‘History and Welsh History’, (1974-77); a postgraduate Diploma in Librarianship at the College of Librarianship, Wales (1977-78); and in his final two years he undertook research work for the MA degree in Welsh History (1978-80). The thesis title was ‘The General Election of 1929 in Wales’; the thesis was awarded the Prince Llewelyn ap Gruffydd Memorial Medal by the University of Wales as the best Welsh History research thesis of its year, (1980).

On 1 May 1980 he took up employment as an archivist in the Department of Manuscripts and Records at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he was employed until the summer of 2013. His final position was as Senior Archivist and Head of the Welsh Political Archive which was established at the Library back in the spring of 1983. He was seconded from the NLW in 1984-85 to study for the Diploma in Archives Administration and Palaeography at UCW, Aberystwyth.

In the summer of 2001 he was awarded the PhD degree of the University of Wales for his research work on the theme ‘Lloyd George and Welsh Liberalism’. Later in that same year he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS).

Quite apart from his extensive academic work and publications, Graham regularly reviews new books for various journals and newspapers and for Gwales (a website of the Welsh Books Council). He also occasionally delivers public lectures and has broadcast on television and radio on historical and political themes, especially on Lloyd George and his family - his perennial interest.

He is the author of A Pocket Guide: The History of Wales1; of the Lloyd George Papers at the National Library of Wales and other repositories; and of David Lloyd George and Welsh Liberalism.2 He has also written a large number of the entries for the Welsh Biography Online3.

Graham is a longstanding resident of Waunfawr, Aberystwyth,