Gwynfor Pierce Jones

Gwynfor Pierce Jones
Official positions held:
WHR Ltd Director	2009
FR People | WHR People

Current staff details policy
Gwynfor Pierce Jones is either a current or recent Director, Staff member or Volunteer on the railways or associated support groups. This entry only appears as a matter of record.

Dr Gwynfor Pierce Jones (1953-2013) was a historian and school teacher from the village of Tal-y-sarn. He was an expert on the history of the slate industry in North Wales, and Nantlle Valley in particular. While still a schoolboy, he visited a number of the local quarries that had closed down, rescuing many small relics and records that would otherwise have been lost. For years they have been deposited in Caernarfon Archives, where the collection fills a gap in the record of quarrying in the Nantlle valley.

He obtained his degree in a scientific subject and for many years was a Chemistry teacher at Pwllheli High School, before retiring early due to ill health. He received a Doctor's degree for an essay on the history of the Valley's quarries. From then on, he worked as a freelance consultant in the field of geology and quarrying. He became a popular lecturer in his field, and published two short volumes - although he could have written much more extensively on his chosen subject.

He supported the rebuilding of the Welsh Highland Railway and was one of the directors of the Welsh Highland Railway Society, 2009-2013.

He was also a keen supporter of brass bands - he played with Menai Bridge Band on the Sunday night before his death on Christmas Eve 2013, and that at a carol service in Y Felinheli.

Bibliography

• Cwm Gwyrfai: The Quarries of the North Wales Narrow Gauge and the Welsh Highland Railways (together with Alun John Richards; 2004)
• Chwareli Dyffryn Nantlle (2008)

See also

• WHR Personalities