Debating club influenced NHS founder Aneurin Bevan's political path

In 1921, a group of working-class men, mostly coal miners, gathered in a café in Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, to discuss how to improve their community's conditions, BBC reported.

This gathering marked the start of the Query Club, a semi-secret society that explored socialist ideas and eventually influenced both local and national change, according to BBC.

Among the members was Aneurin Bevan, who later became the architect of the National Health Service and implemented housing reforms as minister for health and housing.

Bevan's background as the son of a miner and his experience working underground gave him firsthand knowledge of the hardships faced by ordinary people, which fueled his political drive, BBC noted.

MI5 reportedly monitored Bevan for about 20 years, viewing him as a left-wing firebrand with communist connections during his early political career.

The private coal and iron industries held significant power in local institutions, limiting the influence of workers, a situation the Query Club sought to challenge, BBC added.