[2][3] Thomas taught school as a young woman, competed in eisteddfodau, and was a reader at her church in Cardiff.

She came to wider attention when her voice was heard on a BBC radio broadcast in 1933, reading from the Bible.

In 1954 she was part of the original BBC Radio cast of Dylan Thomas' radio play Under Milk Wood, playing the roles of Rosie Probert, Mary Ann Sailors and Mrs. Willy Nilly.

[6] She received a special BAFTA Cymru award for her body of work in 1991, and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Music and Drama in Cardiff in 1993.

[2] Rachel Thomas died two days before her 90th birthday, following a fall in her home in Cardiff.