Sir Tom Jones 'is English'

Source: The Times
10 Jun 2009

Sir Tom Jones, dubbed the Voice of the Valleys and Wales' most famous export after coal, is actually English.

The singer was born Thomas Woodward in Pontypridd on June 7, 1940, and boasts of growing up as a "proud, proud Welshman". He changed his name to Jones before finding fame.

Public records of the 1911 census for Wales show that Sir Tom, 69, is actually three-quarters English, with three of his grandparents hailing from the West Country.

Lifelong fan and South Wales historian Margaret Owen, 54, said: "I can't believe it. Tom is the symbol of Welsh manliness around the world and has been for decades.

"It is quite a shock to discover he has more English blood in his veins than Welsh. But we still love him - he's lovely."

Official census records show his paternal grandparents James Woodward was an ironmongers haulier born in Gloucestershire and Anne Woodward was from Wiltshire.

His maternal grandmother, Ada Jones, was born in Sir Tom's hometown in Pontypridd, but her parents came from Somerset and Wiltshire.

The only Welsh blood came from great-grandfather Albert Jones, a miner from Cardiff.

Miss Owen added: "A lot of people moved from around Britain to South Wales at the end of the century because of the boom in the mining industry."

Sir Tom, knighted in 2006, now lives in Bel Air, Los Angeles, with his wife Linda, although he regularly visits family and friends home.

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