VOLUNTEERS from Blaenavon Community Museum are mystified over the identity of a man whose portrait was found in the basement of the Workmen’s Hall.

Fourteen portraits were re-discovered in the cellar recently, many of them depicting people of note from within the Blaenavon community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Among them is Reginald McKenna, the former Liberal MP of North Monmouthshire from 1895 to 1918, as well as home secretary, first lord of the admiralty and chancellor of the exchequer, with former politicians and businessmen including Thomas William Ruther, William Edwards, Henry Morgan Davies and the Blaenavon-born William Lewis Cook OBE some of the others.

But another picture has left staff baffled and has prompted them to appeal to members of the public in an effort to identify him.

Nathan Matthews of the Blaenavon Community Museum said: “These beautifully produced photographs provide an important reminder of the individuals involved in the social and political life of Blaenavon during the early 20th century.

“They offer evidence of the social enterprise of the workers and the strength of Liberalism and political radicalism in the area before the First World War. It is great to see these portraits on display at the hall, where they belong.”

Most of the portraits were donated before 1918 and were on display before they moved for renovation work and forgotten about, only for volunteer Mike Parry to stumble across them earlier this year.

The portraits are on display in the Blaenavon Workmen’s Hall and museum, following restoration work from the volunteers and business Artie Craftie.