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Memorial of Professor A. W. Hughes (1861-1900), Corris
Alfred William Hughes (1861-1900), professor and surgeon, was born in Aberllefenni, near Corris, the son of the quarry supervisor. After leaving school, Hughes was apprenticed to a draper in Dolgellau but he soon left and worked at the quarry as a clerk. He began his medical career with a local doctor and went to Edinburgh University when he was 18 years old. He graduated in 1885 and in 1889 became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS). After a short period in Flintshire, Hughes returned to Edinburgh where he was appointed Professor of the medical college. In 1893 he was appointed Professor at Cardiff University and then in 1897 at King's College, London. In the 1895 election he stood as a Conservative candidate in the constituency of Caernarfonshire. During the Boer War he established a Welsh hospital in South Africa and spent some time there supervising its work. On his return he fell ill with enteric fever and died at his home in London in 1900. He was buried at Corris.
