He began attending fortnightly meetings of the local Plebs' League where he studied, among other things, Marxism. Thus, the responsibility for instituting a new and comprehensive National Health Service, as well as tackling the country's severe post-war housing shortage, was given to Bevan, the youngest member of Attlee's Cabinet in his first ministerial position at the age of 47. [7], Bevan became a well-known local orator and was seen by his employers, the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company, as a troublemaker. Aneurin Bevan Biography, Life, Interesting Facts The Aneurin Bevan, former Cross Inn, September 2018, This is a photo of the listed building number. Photo by Lesbardd Wikimedia Commons. Born in a modest family, Bevan's exposure to poverty and deprivation gave him a first-hand experience of unfortunate condition of . William Shakespeares Wife: Who Was Anne Hathaway? In 1957, Bevan, Richard Crossman and the Labour Party's General Secretary Morgan Phillips sued The Spectator magazine for libel, after one of its writers described them as drinking heavily during an Italian Socialist Party conference. Reciting long passages by William Morris with the help of an elocution tutor, Bevan gradually began to overcome the stammer that he had since childhood. [63] Having been a member of the Cottage Hospital Management Committee around 1928 and serving as chairman in 192930, Bevan had received an insight into the management of health services by local authorities, which proved to be a bedrock of his work in founding the National Health Service.[48]. In 1924, he found a job at the Bedwellty Colliery which would close down in just ten months. Bevan was not good academically and was at a time repeated for a year in school. Number 10, The Circle, was home to the Tredegar Medical Aid Society, which was used as a blueprint by Aneurin Bevan when he set up the National Health Service for the UK in 1948. [10] The Query club started in 1920 or 1921 and they met in Tredegar. Confrontation with the British Medical Association (BMA) was led by Charles Hill, who published a letter in the British Medical Journal describing Bevan as "a complete and uncontrolled dictator". [127], Bevan's most significant legacy is the National Health Service. He was the sixth of ten children born to Phoebe and David Bevan, of whom only eight survived infancy and only six to adulthood. Why this is so it is not difficult to understand, if you view everything from the angle of a strictly individualistic competitive society. Throughout World War II he was a vigorous critic of Winston Churchills coalition government but was equally critical of his own party. Photo by Howard Coster - Wikimedia Commons, Portrait of Aneurin Bevan. After Bevan left the Health ministry in 1951 he could never regain his level of success and feuded with fellow Labour leaders, using his strong political base as a weapon. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. full audio of Bevan's speech at the 4 November 1956 Trafalgar Square rally against British action in Suez. [115] Crossman later acknowledged that they had perjured themselves to do so.[116]. Photo by Kaihsu Tai on 2005-07-07 Wikimedia Commons. Here you can learn about the life and work of Aneurin (Nye) Bevan (1897-1960), founder of Britain's National Health Service and one of the Labour movement's greatest orators and thinkers. [28], He married fellow Socialist MP Jennie Lee in 1934, after they met in London. [4] Aneurin Bevan attended Sirhowy Elementary School, where he achieved little. Updates? Bevan shared a liberal ideology and was additionally a supporter of the Liberal party that had a change of ideology to socialism after reading Robert Blatchfords in the Clarion. Aged 14, he left school to start working in the mines, starting at 5:30am each day and returning home late in the evening. Bevan and Cripps had previously been threatened with disciplinary action by the party for sharing a stage with a Communist speaker, and all party members were threatened with expulsion if they were associated with the Popular Front. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aneurin-Bevan, British Broadcasting Corporation - Biography of Aneurin Bevan, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Aneurin Bevan. His influence waned after his departure, although a left-wing group (not under his control) within the party became known as "Bevanites". [19] With his success in 1928, he was picked as the Labour Party candidate for Ebbw Vale (displacing the sitting MP Evan Davies),[20] and easily held the seat at the 1929 General Election. Lee became a considerable influence upon Bevans career. Bevan was not good academically and was at a time repeated for a year in school. When the strike started on 3 May 1926, Bevan soon emerged as one of the leaders of the South Wales miners. He was adept at construction and added several modern features when the family moved to 7 Charles Street, installing the first gas stove in the street, an inside toilet and running hot water. Aneurin had a stammer as a child which he would later overcome and be recognised as a great public speaker. [72], Substantial bombing damage, with over 700,000 homes needing repair in London alone,[74] and the continued existence of pre-war slums in many parts of the country made the task of housing reform particularly challenging for Bevan. The Gaitskellites typically won most of the battles inside Parliament, but Bevanism was stronger among local Labour activists. He became a trades union activist and won a scholarship to study in London. Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a Welsh politician born on November 15, 1897. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [12], During the Second World War he was one of the main leaders of the left in the Commons, opposing the wartime Coalition government. Use the tabs above to learn about Nye Bevan's life, work and ideas, as well as the history of the NHS. [59] Bevan had clashed frequently with Attlee during his time as an MP, believing that the Labour leader failed to apply enough pressure on the Tory government during the war. He developed a severe stammer as a child and, according to his younger sister Myfanwy, became "a lonely chap", due to the need to shy away from the attention it brought him.[5]. Attlee and Labour were ousted from power in a snap election held six months after Bevan's resignation, but Attlee continued on as Labour Party Leader. The new Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, appointed Bevan as Minister of Health, with a remit that also covered housing. The pair went to work at Whitworth Colliery, but fell foul of management when Bevan refused to use cheaper second-hand timber as he deemed it unsafe. Bevan was the sort of principled politician we seem to lack these days. "[56], The 1945 general election resulted in a landslide victory for the Labour Party, giving it a large enough majority to allow the implementation of the party's manifesto commitments and to introduce a programme of far-reaching social reforms, that were collectively dubbed the "Welfare State". In the coming decade, his support grew, particularly through the Great Depression. His dad was a miner and the poor working class family in which Bevan grew up gave him first-hand experience of the problems of . His father was a miner and the poor working class family in which Bevan grew up gave him first-hand experience of the problems. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15 November 1897 in Tredegar in Wales. But the lowest paid a tax rate of 1%, up from 0.2% in 1938, the middle income brackets paid 14% to 26%, up from 10% to 18% in 1938, the higher earners paid 42%, up from 29%, and the top earners 77%, up from 58% in 1938. multi-national defence organisation in Asia and the Pacific, subsequent Anglo-French military response, Political history of the United Kingdom (1945present), "Aneurin Bevan, stormy petrel of the Labour left", "Dying father inspired Nye Bevan's NHS dream", "Britain's near-brush with Fascism: The politician who rooted for Hitler", "Play tells the inspiring story of political couple Aneurin Bevan and Jennie Lee", "How Jennie Lee helped Aneurin Bevan shape political change", "70 years of the NHS: How Aneurin Bevan created our beloved health service", "Let Us Face the Future: A Declaration of Labour Policy for the Consideration of the Nation", "NHS 70: Aneurin Bevan Day celebrations in Tredegar", "Housing owned by the people for the people Nye would have approved", "Bevan's speech to the Manchester Labour rally", "Major John Freeman: Soldier who became an MP, diplomat and broadcaster best known for his series of interviews, Face to Face", "In Place of Fear A Free Health Service 1952", "Mr. Bevan and Others Awarded 2,500 Each", "Did you know NHS founder Aneurin Bevan lived in Bucks? Corrections? 70 years of the NHS: How Aneurin Bevan created our beloved health [46] Historian Max Hastings described Bevan's role in Parliament during the war as "his figures were accurate but his scorn was at odds with the spirit of the momentfull of gratitude, as was the prime minister". His remains were cremated at Gwent Crematorium in Croesyceiliog in a private family ceremony. Discover Walks contributors speak from all corners of the world - from Prague to Bangkok, Barcelona to Nairobi. Lesser-known, perhaps, is Bevans own personal background. His appointment came with great displeasure from political opponents and members of his party. Bevans role as Minister for Health was hugely important given Labours pledge to create a welfare state that included sick pay, unemployment benefits, pensions and free healthcare for all, irrespective of wealth or background. BBC Wales - History - Themes - Aneurin Bevan [98], Out of office, Bevan soon exacerbated the split within the Labour Party between the right and the left which weakened the party in the 1950s. Bevan Festival - Home - Facebook [80], At a party rally in 1948, during a speech, Bevan stated: "That is why no amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party that inflicted those bitter experiences on me. After an overwhelming victory for the Labour Party in the 1945 General Election,Aneurin Bevanwas appointed Minister for Health also responsible for housing by Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Did the Wars of the Roses End at the Battle of Tewkesbury? What does Aneurin Bevan's legacy mean today? - Cardiff University Aneurin Bevan. David Bevan was born in Tredegar but his family had originally hailed from Carmarthenshire, and he followed his own father into the mines, starting work at 5:30am each day and returning home late in the evening. [93] In 1952 Bevan published In Place of Fear,[94] "the most widely read socialist book" of the period, according to a highly critical right-wing Labour MP Anthony Crosland. Image Credit: Peter Aylmer / Nye Bevan stones / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons. "[49], Dunbar had been recommended for a commission, but rejected it himself to remain with his unit. Though described as an outstanding back-bench critic and an excellent debater, Bevan had long clashed with Attlee, even before being in his cabinet, because he thought he hadnt held the Tory party to account properly throughout World War Two. With the support of the Miners' Federation, the case was judged as one of victimisation and the company was forced to re-employ him. [121] In May 1960 Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, while in England visited Bevan at his home in Asheridge Farm (where Bevan was a keen amateur farmer, keeping cattle and pigs).[122]. Additionally, he was a brilliant spontaneous debater and a colorful public personality. Image Credit: Anenurin Bevan, Minister of Health, on the first day of the National Health Service, 5 July 1948 at Park Hospital, Davyhulme, near Manchester / Wikimedia Commons. His father was a coal miner and his mother worked as a seamstress. Shortly afterwards he resigned from the government in protest at the introduction of prescription charges for dental care and spectacles. A poll in 2013 conducted on behalf of British Future found that the NHS was more popular then than at its creation, and was more popular than the monarchy, BBC and British Armed Forces. The memorial stones of Aneurin Bevan in Tredegar, 2011. In 1955, he stood as one of the candidates for party leader but was defeated by Hugh Gaitskell. After a Labour landslide victory in 1945, Clement Attlee appointed Bevan Minister of Health, with a remit that also covered housing, given the severe post-war shortage. His father was a miner and the poor working class family in which Bevan grew up gave him first-hand experience of the problems of poverty and disease. Photo by University of Liverpool Faculty of Health & Life Sciences from Liverpool, United Kingdom Wikimedia Commons. [120], After a lengthy period in hospital, on 14 February 1960 Bevan returned home and announced he would not be returning to politics in the near future, so as to be able to recuperate and plan an extended holiday. This club was aimed at helping members in monetary terms in their times of need. [47] His fierce opposition made him unpopular with some portions of the public at the time, his wife later described how the couple would frequently receive parcels filled with excrement at their home.[48]. 3. As a result of this success, he was picked as the Labour Party candidate for Ebbw Vale, then easily held the seat in the 1929 General Election, receiving more than twice the number of votes as the Liberal candidate. He often quoted an 1855 passage from Karl Marx that was published in The New York Times in 1865: "The redeeming feature of war is that it puts a nation to the test. Aneurin Bevan | Biography & Facts | Britannica His nomination received a severe blow on the same day it was announced, when two unions that traditionally sided with the left, the National Union of Mineworkers and the Amalgamated Engineering Union, pledged their support for his opponent. Bevan had said "I would rather be kept alive in the efficient if cold altruism of a large hospital than expire in a gush of warm sympathy in a small one". When Bevan was made a minister in 1945, he envisaged the social housing sector as a housing service similar to the National Health Service, ensuring that everyone had access to decent and affordable homes, with people still having the option to live in owner occupation or the private sector if they so chose (with grants made available to owner-occupiers and private landlords to bring dwellings up to decent standards). He published the bookIn Place of Fear in 1952, which became the most read socialist book at the time. [2] He was a member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and wrote his own poems, one of which won an inter-chapel eisteddfod. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15th November 1897 in Tredegar, Monmouthshire (now in Blaenau Gwent). They criticised the right-wing "Gaitskellites" high defence expenditure (especially for nuclear weapons), called for better relations with the Soviet Union, and opposed the party leader, Clement Attlee, on most issues. [43] Bevan was relieved that the country had united against Nazi Germany in the fight against fascism to provide a common enemy away from the working class. [70][71] The aim was to create new homes and communities with a place for all sections of society: We should try to introduce in our modern villages and towns what was always the lovely feature of English and Welsh villages, where the doctor, the grocer, the butcher and the farm labourer all lived in the same street. Born into a working class family in Monmouthshire, Wales, Bevan worked in a coal mine as a teenager, and it was through a miners union that he first became interested in politics. In the speeches section, we will be building an archive of Bevans greatest oratory including archive recordings. [15] Apart from a six-week period as a labourer for Tredegar Council, he did not find work until 1924 and his employer, the Bedwellty Colliery, closed down ten months later. After the landslide Labour victory in the 1945 general election, Bevan was appointed minister of health, responsible for establishing the National Health Service. In 1929, Bevan was elected as the Labour member of parliament for Ebbw Vale. [31] In 1936 he joined the board of the new socialist newspaper Tribune. His parents had ten children togetherfour died in infancy and one died at the age of eight. Get out! The manager of the colliery found an excuse to have him dismissed; however, with the support of the Miners Federation, Bevans case was judged to be one of victimisation and the company was forced to re-employ him. [134][135] Numerous institutions bear Bevan's name, including the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, and Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan, a hospital located within his old Ebbw Vale constituency. [45] Bevan also feared that allowing Churchill to continue unopposed and unchallenged in Parliament during the war would leave him almost unbeatable for the Labour Party in future elections. Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health, on the first day of the National Health Service, 5 July 1948 at Park Hospital, Davyhulme, near Manchester. A free health service is pure Socialism and as such it is opposed to the hedonism of capitalist society. There he earned around ten shillings per week with most going to his parents to help support the family. Bevan was not academically sharp Aneurin Bevan with his eye on the Ball. Aneurin Bevan was born on 15 November 1897 in Tredegar in Wales. 105 Facts About Aneurin Bevan | FactSnippet [52] An administrative committee voted 71 to 60 in favour of retaining Bevan as an MP,[53] although it was announced that party discipline was to be strengthened in future. Bevan Festival. Bevan appeared in court but was cleared when he produced confirmation that he suffered from nystagmus. At the age of 13, in his last months of schooling, he worked as a butcher's boy at a local store. Use the tabs aboveto learn about Nye Bevans life, work and ideas, as well as the history of the NHS. Bevan was as critical of Nasserist Egypt's seizure of the Suez Canal on 26 July 1956 as he was of the subsequent Anglo-French military response. [27] Mosley broke from the Labour Party in early 1931 to form the New Party, but Bevan refused to defect and instead announced that he had no intention of leaving the Labour Party.
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