Born in Hetton-le-Hole, Hughes moved to North Wales with his family in 1887, where his father Edward Hughes worked for the Point of Ayr Colliery Company and became a checkweighman.
The young Hughes left school around the age of thirteen, as his father was unwell; to assist him in his job.
In 1898, he moved to Wrexham with his parents, his father having become General Secretary of the Denbighshire and Flintshire Miners' Federation, again becoming a blacksmith, then moved to Liverpool to work for the Docks Board.
[1] By 1915, the Denbighshire and Flintshire Miners' Federation had become the North Wales Miners' Association (NWMA), and Hughes was elected as its financial secretary, working once more alongside his father.
When his father died, in 1925, Hugh was elected as the new secretary of the NWMA, and served until his own death on Christmas Day 1932.