John Cledwyn Hughes (1920–1978), who wrote under the name Cledwyn Hughes, was an Anglo-Welsh writer of novels, children's books, and literary-topographical books about Wales. He was also a prolific short-story writer who was published in a wide range of popular and literary magazines including The New Yorker, Argosy and Woman and Home.
The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales[1] cites The Civil Strangers[2] (Phoenix House, 1950) as his most distinguished work and notes the fineness of his topographical writing, and of his writing for children.
Hughes was born at Llansantffraid-ym-Mechain in Montgomeryshire, and died at Arthog, Merionethshire, where he and his wife Alyna lived from 1947.[3] An archive of his papers is held at the National Library of Wales.[4]
Over 250 short stories are known to have been published by Cledwyn Hughes. The first recorded published story being in 1943 ('Their Secret Sorrows'[15] in the Weekly Telegraph). The manuscripts of the majority of stories are available to researchers in the National Library of Wales archives.
| The Confession | Selected Writing, No. 3, Nicholson and Watson 1946 | |
| The Housekeeper | Stories for All Moods, Pendulum Publications | |
| The Necessity | Moore (ed.), Modern Reading 11-12, Wells Gardner, Darton, 1945 | |
| The Unqualified | Aistrop & Moore (eds.), Bugle Blast: A Third Anthology From the Services, Allen & Unwin, 1945 | |
| Open up Them Pearly Gates | Tattoo | |
| The Basket | BBC Midland/Welsh Home Service, 20 Dec 1946 | |
| The Fifteen Shilling Marvel | Argosy, Nov 1946, | |
| The Heart of Mr Thomas | Our Time, December | |
| The Hedghog | Vaughan (ed.), Celtic Story, Pendulum, 1946 | |
| The Miracle | Life and Letters, March 1946 | |
| A Well Sung Carol | John Bull Magazine, Christmas Issue, 1947 | |
| Geekie's First Christmas | BBC Children's Hour, 21 December 1947, all regions | |
| Life After Death | Cronos' [?] Ohio State University Review | |
| Love Lit with Paraffin | John Bull Magazine, March? 1947 | |
| Pritchard's Bees | Wyatt (ed.), English Story 7th Series, Collins, 1947 | |
| Reece the Poles | John Bull Magazine, 15 November 1947 | |
| The Man who once Grew Christmas Trees | Harper's Bazaar Xmas Issue 1947 | |
| The Stepping Stones | Virginian Quarterly Review, June 1947 | |
| A Bucketful of Roses | Argosy, Oct 1948 | |
| An Armful of Wasps | John Bull Magazine, 26 June 1948 | |
| Cras and his Lucky Christmas | Lilliput Magazine, December 1948 | |
| Geekie's Wonderful Christmas | BBC Children's Hour, Welsh Home Service, 16 December 1948 | |
| How Shone the Tinker Retired | John Bull Magazine, 16 October 1948 | |
| Mr Pugh's Marmalade | Womans Magazine, April 1949 | |
| None so Blind | John Bull Magazine, 26 March 1948 | |
| Poaching the Ungodly Way | Strand Magazine, accepted September 1947, Published April 1948 | |
| Preece and his Duty | John Bull Magazine, 17 June 1948 | |
| Salty Jones | BBC Midland Region, 26 November 1948 | |
| The Best Dressed Horse | Argosy, April 1948 | |
| The Bright Gentleman | John Bull Magazine, 4 September 1948 | |
| The Christmas Acceptance | Weldons Ladies Journal, December 1948 | |
| The Circus | John Bull Magazine, 21 Feb 1948 | |
| The Leaf which Never Died | BBC Children's Hour, 14 April 1949 | |
| The Little Bishop | Argosy, Aug 1948 | |
| The New Shearer | John Bull Magazine, 17 April 1948 | |
| The Poachers | The Strand, 115(688), April 1948 | |
| The Remarkable Cider | John Bull Magazine, 16 December 1948 | |
| The Saint's Well | John Bull Magazine, 7 August 1948 | |
| The Tomato Plant | John Bull Magazine, 3 February 1949 | |
| Thomas at the Fair | John Bull Magazine, 18 November 1948 | |
| Miss Rees | ||
| A Little Rehearsal | John Bull Magazine, 15 April 1950 | |
| A Night Among the Roses | John Bull Magazine, 10 November 1949 | |
| A Tin Whistle at Christmas | John Bull Magazine, 23 December 1949 | |
| A Windmill and Twelve Cherry Trees | ||
| Black Maggie | Argosy, Dec 1949 | |
| Counting his Sundays | Weldons Ladies Journal, July 1949 | |
| Geekie and the Cuckoo Clock | Woman's Illustrated, [dates?] 1949 | |
| Geekie, Father Christmas, and the Remarkable Snowman | Womans Illustrated, 24 December 1949 | |
| Grower of lavender and professor of magic | English Story' edited by Woodrow Wyatt, London, Collins | |
| The Black Horse | Pudney (ed.), The Pick of Today's Short Stories, Odhams, n.d. | |
| The Carnival | John Bull Magazine, 9 September 1949 | |
| The Christmas Mattress | Sketch, 21 December 1949 | |
| The Curious Captain of the Golden Rhubarb | BBC Special Children's story for Xmas morning, | |
| The Extraordinary Mr Ambrose | John Bull Magazine, 30 June 1949 | |
| The Visitation | Argosy, Jan 1949 | |
| Women from Distant Places | John Bull Magazine, 4 June 1949 |
| A First Marvel | Weldons (accepted 11 September 1950] | |
| Five Good Dogs with Cold Noses | Home Magazine | |
| How Geekie Became a Chimney Sweep | Weldons, May 1955 | |
| Jenkins One Eye | John Bull Magazine, 21 January 1950 | |
| Miss Pugh and the Bishop | Lilliput Magazine, February 1951 | |
| The Atishoo Symphony Orchestra | Woman's Illustrated, [accepted 8 September 1950] | |
| The Lamb with the Tongue of Gold | Woman's Illustrated, March 1956 | |
| The Return of Meri | John Bull Magazine, 1 November 1950 | |
| The Seller of Sunshine and Controller of Rainbows | Home Journal, February 1956 | |
| The Two Musicians | John Bull Magazine, 9 September 1950 | |
| Towzer's Toothache | Woman's Illustrated | |
| All Tomorrow's Flowers | Argosy | |
| Emma and the Strong Man | John Bull Magazine, Summer Pie, 12 June 1952 | |
| Geekie and the Firework Factory | Woman's Illustrated, [published 1956?] | |
| Samuel Pugh's Bullfight | Lilliput Magazine, May 1951 | |
| The Dance | Pudney (ed.), The Pick of Today's Short Stories 3rdSeries, Odhams n.d. | |
| Moses and the Policeman | John Bull Magazine, 15 November 1952 | |
| The Old Fashioned Farm | Good Housekeeping, November 1953 | |
| The Ploughing Match | John Bull Magazine, 9 May 1953 | |
| A Wheel for a Queen | John Bull Magazine 22 April 1953 | |
| An Umbrella from the Sea | John Bull Magazine 10 June 1953 | |
| The Last Thatcher | John Bull Magazine, 28 October 1953 | |
| The Almond Tumblers | woman's journal, August 1956 | |
| The Corn Harvest | John Bull Magazine, 25 August 1954 | |
| The First Snow | Woman, 26 February 1955 | |
| The girl who wanted to dance | Brittania and Eve Magazine, October 1954 | |
| The Gramophone with the Green Horn | Pudney (ed.), The Pick of Today's Short Stories 5, Putnam, 1954 | |
| The Great Ash of Glas Coed | Argosy, June 1954 | |
| The Master of the Golden Game | John Bull Magazine, 5 May 1954 | |
| The Venerable Dog Event | Woman's Journal, August 1957 | |
| The White Pony | John Bull Magazine, 10 February 1954 | |
| Time to Visit the World | Weldons Ladies Journal, February 1954 | |
| How Geekie Saved Maurice the Mole | Woman and Home, September 1955 | |
| The Eternal Goddess | BBC Welsh Home Service, Tuesday 3, September 1957 | |
| The Young and the Old Victorias | John Bull Magazine, 12 November 1955 | |
| A Maythorn for a Monument | Brittania and Eve Magazine, February 1956 | |
| A Yellow Ribbon | John Bull Magazine | |
| The Skipper's Wife | John Bull Magazine, 11 April 1956 | |
| A Relic of the War | Evening Standard, 27 November 1957 | |
| Champion at the Golden Eagle | John Bull Magazine, 10 August 1957 | |
| The Mountain Main | Lilliput Magazine, November 1957 | |
| The Singing Football Match | John Bull Magazine, 19 January 1957 | |
| A Final Danger | Argosy/Woman's Journal [author's own query], | |
| A Punch on the Nose for London | Evening Standard, 5 November 1958 | |
| The Cockle Gatherer | Argosy, Sept 1958 | |
| The Perfect Canary | John Bull Magazine, 1 March 1958 | |
| A Song Before Winter | BBC Home Service, London, 18 November 1959, 10.30 pm | |
| Only a Green Shutter | Home (Fleetway Publications), Month? 1959 | |
| The Stock Car Race | Good Housekeeping, January 1961 | |
| The Strong Room | Suspense, October 1959 | |
| The Sugar Enchantress | Homes and Gardens |
| Johnny's Miracle | BBC, Morning Story, Wales Region, 26 February 1960 | |
| A Dance on the Lawn | Saturday Evening Post, June 1961? | |
| Jericho and the Jumble Sale | Woman's Journal, June 1961 | |
| The White Stranger | The Evening News, 27 July 1961 | |
| A Journey for a Fragment of Snow | ||
| Our Miss Juliet | Housewife or Woman's Realm, September 1963 | |
| The Answer is not the echo | ||
| Just a few Bees | Modern Caravan, June, 1964 | |
| An Emotion of the Sea | Homes and Gardens, October 1965 | |
| Jazz Pony | Homes and Gardens, October 1964 | |
| Mary will Answer the Puppet | Woman's Day, USA, December 1964 | |
| The Coming of the Honey | Homes and Gardens, August 1966 | |
| The Green Eye in the Window | Homes and Gardens, August 1965 | |
| The Pony with the Strong Voice | Woman's Realm, 20 March 1965 | |
| A Day by the Ocean | Parents' Magazine, February, 1965 | |
| A Talent for Devotion | Woman's Realm, 18 October 1965 | |
| An Occasion for Music | She Magazine, December 1965 | |
| A Remembrance of Innocent Days | Woman's Mirror, accepted 2 August 1966 | |
| A Sort of Weather from the Seasons of Love | Woman's Realm, 30 September 1967 | |
| A Little White Powder, as Important as Life Itself | Men Only, May 1967 | |
| Longing for the Glorious Years | Argosy, June 1967 | |
| Taking a Bird on Honeymoon | Argosy, Oct 1967 | |
| There's a Cow Outside | Homes and Gardens, August, 1967 | |
| A Universe of Roses and Dreams | ? Accepted 23 November 1968 | |
| The Gentle Harpist [?] | Weekend, 13 August 1969 | |
| The Old Strollers' Carol Party | Argosy, Jan 1969 | |
| The Race for the White Rose | Argosy, May 1973 | |
| The Yard Man | Argosy, March 1973 | |
| Crying Off and On for a Fortnight | Rostrum, November/December 1972 | |
| A Handful of Leaves | Rostrum, March 1973 | |
| When the World is Calling | Anglo-Welsh Review, Spring (May), 1975 | |
| Night of the Summer Storm | Argosy, Aug 1973 |
Hughes's writing had an international reach and received attention in a wide range of literary and popular publications. His writing is described in contemporary reviews as poetic, showing whimsy and melancholia, or at times a darker sentiment.[44] [45] The Spectator (7 February 1947) welcomed the first longer works by Hughes (The Inn Closes for Christmas and The Different Drummer) describing them as 'Two vivid short novels by a brilliant young Welshman whose short stories have already established his reputation'.[46]