A LEADING light in Abergavenny’s political and cultural life has sadly passed away at the age of 91.

Douglas Edwards was a former Councillor, Mayor, and Burgess of the town and was instrumental, alongside his wife, Edna, in ensuring the National Eisteddfod returned to Abergavenny in 2016.

Born in Ebbw Vale in 1933, Doug initially trained in accountancy before entering his family’s retail furnishing business.

He met Abergavenny girl Edna, a registered nurse and chartered midwife, at a Saturday night dance in the Town Hall.

Doug previously told the Chronicle, “I didn’t dance with her that night, but asked her if she was free in the week.”

The couple’s first date was as the cinema where they talked right through the film because they “hit if off straight away.”

The pair were married in March 1957, with Edna still in her nurse’s uniform, having just come off duty.

The newly-weds lived in Tredegar where their three children, Timothy, Peter, and Jane were born.

In 1964 they moved to Abergavenny and their new home in Chapel Lane.

In 1969, while still working in the furnishing business Doug became the secretary of the Nevill Hall Thrombosis and General Research fund, a position he would maintain for 10 years.

Yet it was politics that was to play a pivotal role in his later life.

He was first elected to the town council in 1991 and Monmouthshire County Council in 2004.

He served as Mayor from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2009 to 2010 and was well known locally for his work in both the Cantref and Grofield Ward.

Highlights of his political career include playing an integral part in the Park Street Community Centre and the modernisation of Abergavenny’s Nevill Street, High Street and St. John’s Square. He also campaigned strongly for the town hall to be used as a community hub.

As a deputy mayor, he represented the town at the 40th anniversary of the Abergavenny/Ostringen twinning in Germany where he was given the freedom of the town.

However, he’ll be most remembered for the role he played in promoting both the Abergavenny and National Eisteddfod.

His wife Edna, who was also a passionate politician and committed councillor, was instrumental in relocating the Gorsedd Stones, installed for the 1913 National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny, to Swan Meadows.

Edna hoped that the event could once again be held in Abergavenny on its 2013 anniversary, and she and Doug worked tirelessly to that end.

They just missed their target by three years, but when the National Eisteddfod did return in 2016, they were both invited to the Maes to receive the Certificate of Honour by the Society of Welsh Eisteddfods for their cultural contributions to the area and helping revive the local Eisteddfod in Abergavenny.

His daughter Jane told the Chronicle, “If Dad had been anything else it would have probably been a history teacher. He loved history and was the treasurer of the local history society for years. He was a great man and a great dad, and although he had mobility issues in his final years, that quicksilver mind of his remained as sharp as a tack to the very end. He will be missed.”

Douglas is survived by three children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

The family will announce the funeral arrangements at a later date.