IN A corner of a Welsh museum lies two monuments to the lost story of a Gwent politician whose enterprise and zest for advancement improved the lives of millions.

The 12-year-old Isaac Hayward who walked apprehensively with this coal miner father to the Blaenavon Colliery, had no idea that his faltering steps were destined one day to lead him to become a national figure as a law maker and champion of social justice.

His achievements include: A knighthood; becoming General Secretary of Britain's biggest engineering union; being a pioneer of comprehensive education; transforming the outdated Poor Law into a modern welfare system; expanding patronage of the arts.

Born in King Street, Blaenavon, on November 17 1884, one of five brothers, Isaac Hayward entered a world with a rapidly changing political landscape as the Reform Act of that year had gone some way to following up the earlier demands of the Chartists, giving six million more people the vote.

Raised as a Baptist and a non-drinker, he grew up in a town which had 60 pubs and 22 chapels.

Acquiring an early perception of the harsh working conditions in Gwent's eastern valley, his work as a blacksmith's striker forged an irrepressible desire for advancement, giving him the opportunity of an apprenticeship as a machine fitter with an engineering company in Tredegar.

Through membership of the Labour Party he nurtured a keen interest in trades union affairs at a time when workers were locked in a fierce struggle with management to improve pay and working conditions.

It was his innate sense of fairness which characterised negotiations in which he adopted the style of moderate reformer, rather than that of fiery radical.

Local government beckoned for this young man with a zest for progress and he was soon a councillor on Blaenavon Urban Council, followed by a seat on Monmouthshire County Council.

As if this were insufficient to satisfy an eager mind, he was appointed a magistrate while still enhancing his connections with the National Union of Electrical Workers to the stage where he became branch secretary.

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By now he had married Alice Mayers, daughter of a local builder, and they were to have four sons, the eldest of whom was killed in action the Second World War in 1944.

In June 1917 Hayward's work was recognised with the honour of becoming president of the Amalgamated National Union of Enginemen, Firemen, Mechanical and Electrical Workers.

The year 1922 saw a meteoric rise from branch official to London as general secretary of the electrical union.

With boundless energy and a renewed zeal for a further challenge, Hayward rekindled his passion for local government, winning a seat for Bermondsey and Rotherhithe on London County Council in 1928, to begin a new career.

Herbert Morrison, a former minister of transport who lost his seat and became leader of London County Council, immediately recognized Hayward's ability as an astute motivator, appointing him Chief Whip to the Labour group and when Labour won power in 1934, he promoted him to the crucial job of chairman of the public assistance committee.

Records show that he guided an antiquated Poor Law into a modern system of welfare with assistance for rents and fuel for the poor, the building of more homes and crucially, the abolition of the despised Victorian workhouses.

By 1945, as chairman of the education committee, his desire for equality reflected his own ambitions when he championed the controversial move towards comprehensive education despite stern opposition.

Two years later, as leader of London County Council, once described as the most powerful city government, he began a reign which was to last for a record 36 years.

Local historian E J Davies, writing in The Blaenavon Story, says: "Planners and social workers came from all over the world to observe the socialist machine in action. He was London's 'Prime Minister' for 17 years."

Throughout his service procedures were strictly observed, casting him as a man of integrity.

Invited by the government to organise the building of a hall for the Festival of Britain in 1951, his leadership ensured the contract was finished on time and within budget. Honours were showered on him: Knighted by the Queen in 1959, awarded an honorary degree of LLD by London University, and Freeman of two London boroughs.

When reaching his 80th birthday in 1964 and planning retirement, he was persuaded to continue for another year while local government was being restructured.

In uncharacteristic vein he opposed the move in an aggressive manner, refusing to co-operate with the Royal Commission. It proved to be one battle he was destined to lose.

Always a passionate believer that local councils should do more to promote cultural activities, he expanded patronage of the arts and with a progressive outlook commissioned contemporary works.

He presided over a council which made generous grants to opera, ballet, sculpture and painting. As a permanent tribute he was invited to unveil a plaque commemorating the name of the Hayward Art Gallery on the South Bank in 1968.

Today, it is a world renowned contemporary art gallery, attracting influential artists from across the globe.

His death on January 3 1976 at the age of 92, marked the end of a momentous journey.

No-one even with the keenest prescience could have foretold how a young boy's steps would one day lead to national acclaim.

Tucked away in a corner of Blaenavon Community Museum - in the town's Workmen's Hall - stands a bust of Sir Isaac Hayward, sculpted by Polish artist Fredda Brilliant, standing proudly in front of a portrait in oils painted by Herbert Ponsford, which is on loan from the family.

It is debatable whether Sir Isaac's place in history has been eclipsed by Aneurin Bevan in politics, Alexander Cordell in literature, or Ken Jones in sport - but his legacy lives on in London, and is nowhere more fervently remembered than in the welcoming Welsh heartland of Blaenavon.