The celebrated Welsh poet Idris Davies (1905–1953) was born in Rhymney. After leaving school at the age of 14 he worked as a miner in the nearby Abertysswg and Rhymney Mardy Pits. After participating in the failed General Strike of 1926, Davies moved to London where he worked as a teacher at various schools. Four volumes of his poetry were published during his lifetime: "Gwalia Deserta" (1938), "The Angry Summer: A Poem of 1926" (1943), "Tonypandy and other poems" (1945), and "Selected Poems" (1953). He returned to Rhymney in 1947 and died of cancer on 6 April 1953.