William
Abraham was born in Cwmavon, Glamorgan in 1842. Educated at the Cwmavon
National School, he became a collier at the age of ten.
In 1873 he became a Miners Agent and in the 1885
General Election became the Lib-Lab MP
for the Rhondda. Abraham was a marvellous public speaker and the miners
gave him the nickname Mabon (the Bard). He also had a remarkable singing
voice and would often entertain the miners at conferences and demonstrations.
Abraham remained active in the trade union movement and by 1907 was
President of the South Wales Miners' Federation and Treasurer of the
Miners Federation of Great Britain. Abraham
won Rhondda in seven successive parliamentary elections and remained
an MP until he retired in 1920. William Abraham died on 14th May,
1922.
(1)
In his book My Life for Labour, Robert
Smillie described how William Abraham restored order at union
meetings.
If
any friction arose and pandemonium threatened - so easy to rouse,
so difficult to quell - 'Mabon' never tried to restore order in any
usual way. He promptly struck up a Welsh hymn, or that magical melody,
"Land of my Father". Hardly had he reached the second line,
when, with uplifted arms, as though drawing the whole multitude into
the circle of his influence, he had the vast audience dropping into
their respective "parts", and accompanying him like a trained
choir. It was wonderful, almost magical and the effect was thrilling.
When the hymn or song was finished he raised a hand, and instantly
perfect silence fell. The storm had passed.
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