Aled Eames


Aled Eames was a Welsh historian and author, primarily on Welsh maritime history.

Life and career

Eames, born in Llandudno, attended a local grammar school. He joined the Royal Navy in the Second World War, reached the rank of lieutenant and was twice mentioned in despatches. He then read history at the University College of North Wales and obtained a first class degree. The college was the forerunner of Bangor University, whose staff he joined as an education lecturer and as warden of Neuadd Reichel hall of residence for twenty years.
In 1955 Eames was awarded the Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Prize for his thesis "Sea Power and Welsh History during the Reign of Charles I". His research interests focused on Welsh merchant shipping in the 18th and 19th centuries. He visited the Canadian Maritime Provinces and parts of the United States on a study trip in 1981.
Eames was one of the founders of the annual Cymru a'r Mor/Maritime Wales in 1976 and was one of the editors of the Journal of the Merioneth Historical and Record Society. He also worked on television, for instance on the BBC2 series Tradewinds and several Welsh-language programmes.
Eames was married first to Hazel Phillips, with whom he had two daughters, but the marriage was dissolved. He later married Freda Gale, with whom he had a son and two daughters. He lived for many years at Moelfre.
Eames died on 7 or 8 March 1996, aged 74, after a long illness. The biennial Aled Eames Memorial Lecture was instituted in his memory at Moelfre.

Book publications

Bibliographic information augmented from British Library catalogues: