Idris Davies

Who was Idris Davies?

Idris Davies was a Welsh poet. Born in Rhymney, near Caerphilly in South Wales, Davies was the Welsh-speaking son of colliery chief winderman Evan Davies and his wife Elizabeth Ann. Davies became a poet, originally writing in Welsh, but later writing exclusively in English. He was the only poet to cover significant events of the early 20th century in the South Wales Valleys and the South Wales coalfield, and from a perspective literally at the coalface.

He is now best known for the verses Bells of Rhymney from his 1938 Gwalia Deserta, which were later adapted into a popular folk song.