Today marks 91 years since the birth of iconic Welsh cartoonist Grenfell “Gren” Jones, who was born in Hengoed, Rhymney Valley, on 13 June 1934.

Who Was Gren?

Gren, the son of a coalminer (Harry Jones), began drawing and developing his caricature style from the age of 8 years old after being inspired by then-Daily Mail cartoonist, Ronald “Neb” Niebour. His earliest cartoons were inspired by “what I know”, according to Gren, which included “rugby and the valleys”.

Gren would eventually go on to become Cymru’s arguable best-known and longest-serving newspaper cartoonist while also maintaining a distinctly Welsh tone, creating an annual rugby calendar along while also drawing the cover for ‘We All Had Doctors’ Papers’ (1975) by Max Boyce.

He was recognised for his work over the decades, being voted best provincial cartoonist in Britain in 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1987; being honoured for his charity work by Variety Club and receiving an honorary degree from the University of Glamorgan in 2004. He was also made an MBE for his service to newspapers in 1987.

Gren sadly passed away on 4 January 2007 in Cardiff. His legacy remains as strong as ever.

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Niklas George

Niklas is the founder, owner, manager, editor, writer, video creator, voice over artist, and so forth, of Welsh Histories. He is passionate about the preservation of Welsh culture; the rejuvenation of the Welsh language and the promotion of Welsh history. Niklas currently resides in Pune, Maharashtra, with his beloved wife.