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Famous people of West Wales

Griffith Jones, writer from Carmarthenshire, Wales

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Griffith Jones Founder of the "Circulating Schools", Griffith Jones has been credited with making Wales "the most literate nation in the world". By Jones's death in 1761 it was estimated that 158,000 Welsh-folk of a population of 480,000 (33%) were literate and 3,500 schools had been established.

Imogen Thomas, media personality with a connection to Wales (Llanelli)

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Imogen Thomas She was MisSouth Wales in 2003, but shot to fame in 2006 on UK Channel 4 reality TV show big brother. Since leaving the Big Brother house Imogen has appeared on various television and radio shows including Pobal y Cwm, Wedi 7 Jonathan and Uned 5.

John Cale, musician with a Welsh connection!

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John Cale Innovative composer and musician. Has written music for cinema, ballet and other performance art. Has collaborated with many (other) influential musicians and composers in particular Lou Reed.

Josh Richards, from Tenby, Wales

Joshua Richards as Bear Wolf in Emmerdale. Image courtesy of ITV Studios.
  • Person's Name: Josh Richards
  • Fame as?: Actor
  • Fame Hilite: Tenby-born Royal Shakespeare Company actor, best known for his acclaimed one-man show Playing Burton, an evocation of Richard Burton's life
  • Birth info: Born and raised in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales; exact birth date not publicly documented
  • Body Text 2:

    Richards trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff before going on to work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including the filmed production RSC Live: Richard II. His screen work spans Hollywood epics - he appeared in Troy (2004) - through to genre films such as Panic Button (2011) and King Arthur: Excalibur Rising (2017), as well as television roles including a stint on the long-running soap Emmerdale.

    His signature stage work, Playing Burton, sees him single-handedly bring to life the story of fellow Welshman Richard Burton - a fitting connection for an actor whose own career, like Burton's, began on the stages of Wales before reaching a national audience.
  • Career Highlights:
    • Career Highlight: Trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff
    • Career Highlight: Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, including RSC Live: Richard II
    • Career Highlight: Created and performs the acclaimed one-man show Playing Burton, an evocation of Richard Burton's life
    • Career Highlight: Film credits include Troy (2004), Panic Button (2011) and King Arthur: Excalibur Rising (2017)
    • Career Highlight: Television work including a role in Emmerdale
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  • Connection: Born and raised in Tenby, educated at Greenhill School and the Welsh College of Music and Drama, Cardiff
  • Related Material:
  • Location String: Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales
  • Public Videos:
  • Connection Place Map: 51.6725,-4.7009
Josh Richards - billed professionally as Joshua Richards, and known to friends and family back home in Tenby by his given first name, Mark - is a stage and screen actor educated at Greenhill School in Tenby and the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. He has been a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in productions including RSC Live: Richard II. His best-known individual work is the one-man show Playing Burton, an evocation of the life of fellow Welsh actor Richard Burton, which he has performed...

Keith Allen, actor born in Gorseinon, Swansea

  • Person's Name: Keith Allen
  • Fame as?: Actor born in Gorseinon, Swansea
  • Fame Hilite: Welsh actor, comedian and broadcaster born in Gorseinon, known for Trainspotting, Twin Town and the BBC's Robin Hood; father of singer Lily Allen.
  • Birth info: Born Keith Howell Charles Allen, 2 September 1953, Gorseinon, Wales.
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    Allen settled the long-running question of how he identifies himself during a press panel for 'The Pembrokeshire Murders' in 2021, when he was asked directly and replied simply, 'I am Welsh.' Apprently his mother's family were from Llanelli.
  • Career Highlights:
    • Career Highlight: Played the drug dealer in Trainspotting (1996) and Emrys in the Welsh film Twin Town (1997), directed by his brother Kevin Allen
    • Career Highlight: Played the Sheriff of Nottingham in the BBC's Robin Hood (2006-2009)
    • Career Highlight: Co-wrote England's 1990 World Cup song World in Motion and the football anthem Vindaloo with his band Fat Les
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  • Connection: Born in Gorseinon, near Swansea
  • Related Material:
  • Location String: Gorseinon, Swansea, Wales
  • Connection Place Map: 51.6653,-4.0403
  • Comments:
    • Comment By: tinkerbelle , This Comment: Keith Allen is father of pop singer Lily Allen.
    • Comment By: RoyBoy , This Comment: Keith Allen was born in Hampshire but spent some of his younger years living with his mother's parents in Llanelli.
    • Comment By: garethhopkins , This Comment: Famous brother Kevin Allen, writer, director and actor, and daughter Lily Allen.
Keith Howell Charles Allen was born on 2 September 1953 in Gorseinon, near Swansea, Wales — though an older source instead names nearby Llanelli, where his mother's family lived. His father, Edward Charles Owen, was a Royal Navy petty officer submariner, and his mother was a Welsh waitress. He spent his early years near Swansea and in Malta before the family settled in Gosport, Hampshire, while his father was based at Portsmouth. At the age of eleven, when his father was posted to Singapore, Allen was sent to boarding...

Keith Hodge, Drummer born in Llanelli, Wales

Keith Hodge, Drummer born in Llanelli, Wales
  • Person's Name: Keith Hodge
  • Fame as?: Drummer and Session Musician
  • Fame Hilite: Touring and session drummer, including time with the band Clancy alongside a young Lemmy Kilmister.
  • Birth info: Born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales (exact birth date not publicly documented).
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    Hodge played in several local Llanelli-area bands during the 1960s before moving on to London and the United States to work as a touring and session drummer. Verified public detail on his full discography and later career is limited, but his time in Clancy, and the band's connection to the young Lemmy Kilmister, remains his most documented credit.
  • Career Highlights:
    • Career Highlight: Drummer with several Llanelli-area bands during the 1960s
    • Career Highlight: Played with the band Clancy, alongside a young Lemmy Kilmister
    • Career Highlight: Worked as a recording and session drummer on chart albums
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  • Connection: Born and raised in Llanelli before building a career as a session and touring drummer.
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  • Location String: Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, South Wales
  • Connection Place Map: 51.6789,-4.1592
Keith Hodge is a drummer born in Llanelli, South Wales, who went on to build a career as a touring and session musician through the 1960s, 70s and beyond, working in local bands before moving on to London and the United States. Detailed biographical records for Hodge are sparse compared with better-documented contemporaries, but his name has long been associated with the Welsh music scene of that era. Among his best-known credits, Hodge played drums with Clancy, the band that at one point featured a young Ian "Lemmy"...