Geograph - photograph every grid square

Aneurin (Nye) Bevan was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire, the son of a coal miner and served as MP for Ebbw Vale between 1929 and his death in 1960. As Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's 1945 government he was responsible for overseeing the creation of the National Health Service which he accomplished in the face of intense opposition not only from Conservative politicians but also from much of the medical establishment. Nevertheless, he was from all accounts a difficult colleague and he resigned from government in 1951 in a row over the introduction of prescription charges for dental care and spectacles. This statue stands at the western end of Queen Street in the heart of Cardiff's shopping district.