John Walter Conway was born on 30 October 1872 in Plantation Street, Rhymney, the oldest of 2 brothers. He lost his mother in childhood and the family moved to Tredegar. Sadly his father also died soon after moving to Tredegar leaving Walter and his brother Thomas to the care of the Bedwellty Union Workhouse. The master at Twyn Y Ddraenen encouraged all the boarders to get a sound education. While here, Walter developed his love of books, that he often referred to as his best friend and was taught to ‘do everything well’, a mantra that stayed with him throughout his life.
After leaving the workhouse, he moved into ‘digs’ and became a coal miner at Pochin No. 1 Pit. Walter was an early member of the Independent Labour Party, initially joining and later becoming an inaugural member of the Tredegar branch in 1911.
Walter married Mary Elizabeth Morgan on 19th December 1898 and the couple had 3 daughters and a son. The family worshiped at Park Place Presbyterian Church where Walter was a Deacon and Sunday School Teacher.
In 1908 he was elected to the Bedwellty Board of Guardians, the organisation that was responsible for his early care in the workhouse.
In 1915, Walter was appointed secretary to the Medical Aid Society, which over the next 18 years grew under his stewardship into one of the best societies, attracting membership from a wider area. The Tredegar Workmen’s Medical Aid Society provided medical services to 20,000 local people, about 95% of the population of the town. The society operated surgeries which employed 5 doctors, 2 dentists, nurses and support staff.
Walter was also a mentor to the young Aneurin Bevan. In 1920 Walter, his friends, including a young Aneurin Bevan, formed the Query Club, which was a socialist debating society. Club members also paid a weekly subscription to create an insurance fund for its members if they found themselves in financial difficulty.
When Bevan rose to Minster for Housing and Health in the post war Labour government, he returned to the influence of Walter, the Query Club and the Tredegar Workmen’s Medical Aid Society for inspiration in the creation of the National Health Service.
Sadly, Walter died on13 February 1933 and while he saw his pupil elected as MP he never saw the creation of the NHS, based on his legacy of the Tredegar Workmen’s Medical Aid Society. However, Walter’s memory still lives on in his home town where he is recognised in Walter Conway Avenue, the Tredegar Museum, the Heritage Centre, and in a statue on a bench alongside Nye Bevan.
