The council has approved commemorations for Oscar‑winning actor Ray Milland, Archdruid Dafydd Helsin Rowlands, and David Thomas — dubbed the “Father of the American Iron Industry.”
Ray Milland: Neath’s Hollywood star
Born in Dalton Street, Neath, Milland became the first Welsh actor to win an Oscar in 1946 for The Lost Weekend. He also scooped the Cannes Film Festival award the same year — a double first.
His career spanned more than 50 years, starring alongside Hollywood greats and appearing in TV hits like Columbo, Hart to Hart and Battlestar Galactica. Milland died in 1986 aged 79, but his legacy lives on with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
David Thomas: Swansea Valley innovator
Educated in Alltwen near Pontardawe, Thomas revolutionised iron production with a method to smelt anthracite in blast furnaces. His breakthrough transformed industry in the Swansea Valley and later across America.
In 2023, he was immortalised in the American Iron and Steel Hall of Fame. His plaque will be funded by Cilybebyll Community Council.
Dafydd Helsin Rowlands: Archdruid of Wales
Pontardawe‑born Rowlands was a literary powerhouse, winning both the Crown and Prose Medal at the 1969 Eisteddfod, and a second Crown in 1972.
He authored volumes of poetry and prose, wrote for TV, and inspired generations of Welsh writers. He served as Archdruid of Wales between 1996 and 1999.
Council hails heritage boost
Cllr Cen Phillips, Cabinet Member for Nature, Tourism and Wellbeing, said:
“The three people to be commemorated in the next series of Neath Port Talbot Blue Plaques will help raise awareness of the county borough’s rich culture, heritage, language and history.”
The plaques for Milland and Rowlands will be the first funded by Neath Port Talbot Council, while Thomas’s will be community‑funded. The scheme, launched in 2024, promises two plaques a year for the next decade, with options for businesses and individuals to self‑fund.
Already, plaques honouring Richard Burton, his mentor Phillip Burton, and Port Talbot’s oldest pub The Somerset Arms have been installed.
