Student campaigns for statue of a ‘titan’
CAMPAIGNERS are calling on county leaders to recognise the contribution made to public life by former MP and Welsh Secretary, Jim Griffiths, by erecting a statue of him in Llanelli.
James “Jim” Griffiths was the MP for Llanelli from 1936-70 and the first-ever Secretary of State for Wales from 1964-66.
Behind the campaign is 20-year-old Oxford University student Theo Davies-Lewis, who was brought up, educated and still lives in Llanelli.
He said the initiative is long overdue and has started a petiton along with a hashtag #CofioJim on social media.
Mr Davies-Lewis has written to Llanelli’s MP Nia Griffiths and AM Lee Waters, as well as the leaders of both Llanelli Town Council and Carmarthenshire Council, asking for their support in the campaign.
Mr Davies-Lewis argues there is hardly anything to commemorate the man he describes as a “titan” of Welsh public life and wants a statue erected in Llanelli town centre.
He said: “It is a disgrace that we have not recognised Jim on such a scale as figures such as Nye Bevan. Jim arguably changed the political structures of Wales far more than most politicians of his era and there is enthusiasm, I truly believe, to commemorate him accordingly.
“Now, more than ever, Jim’s work and career should be an example as to what politicians can achieve. A statue, a physical representation of Jim and his might, is the least we should do to remember this titan of modern Welsh history.”
Mr Davies-Lewis added: “I grew up hearing about some of Llanelli and Wales’ political and cultural heroes. My grandparents, Meriel and Raymond Lewis, were ingrained in their community in Llanelli as the local florists of the town for several decades, and therefore had many stories to tell.
“And it is with my late grandmother Meriel where the main source of inspiration behind getting this campaign going. She spoke passionately about recognising Jim in Llanelli, and I hope I am not only honouring Jim’s legacy with this campaign, but also my grandmother’s.”
Growing up in Ammanford and leaving school at 13 to work in the Gwaith Isa’r Betws colliery, James Griffiiths never forgot his roots. He was a key figure in the trade union movement and served as president of the South Wales Miners’ Federation in west Wales’ anthracite district from 1934-36.
Elected in 1936 as an MP, Mr Griffiths was a significant figure in the Labour movement, becoming party chairman in 1948 and deputy leader eight years later.
He is remembered most for his role in the formation of the Wales Office in Whitehall and was appointed by the then Labour prime minister Harold Wilson as Secretary of State for Wales in 1964.
Mr Davies-Lewis said Mr Griffiths made a huge contribution over several decades to improving workers’ rights and opportunities for people across Wales.
The petition is online at www. cofiojim.com