Editing Billy Hughes (section)

===Wales===
Hughes's mother died in May 1869, when he was six years old. His father subsequently sent him to be raised by relatives in Wales. During the school term, he lived with his father's sister, Mary Hughes, who kept a boarding house in [[Llandudno]] named "Bryn Rosa". He earned pocket money by doing chores for his aunt's tenants and singing in the choir at the local church. Hughes began his formal education in Llandudno, attending two small single-teacher schools.{{sfn|Fitzhardinge|1964|p=3}} He spent his holidays with his mother's family in Llansantffraid. There, he divided his time between "Winllan", the farm of his widowed aunt (Margaret Mason), and "Plas Bedw", the neighbouring farm of his grandparents (Peter and Jane Morris).{{sfn|Fitzhardinge|1964|p=4}}

Hughes regarded his early years in Wales as the happiest time of his life.{{sfn|Fitzhardinge|1964|p=4}} He was immensely proud of his Welsh identity, and he later became active in the [[Welsh Australian]] community, frequently speaking at [[Saint David's Day]] celebrations.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hughes|first=Aneurin|author-link=Aneurin Hughes|date=2005|title=Billy Hughes, Prime Minister and Controversial Founding Father of the Australian Labor Party|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]| page=34|isbn=9781740311366}}</ref> Hughes called Welsh the "language of heaven", but his own grasp of it was patchy. Like many of his contemporaries, he had no formal schooling in Welsh, and had particular difficulties with spelling. Nonetheless, he received and replied to correspondence from Welsh-speakers throughout his political career, and as prime minister famously traded insults in Welsh with [[David Lloyd George]].<ref>Hughes (2005), p. 34.</ref>