Sir Edgar Rees Jones (27 August 1878 – 16 June 1962) was a Welsh barrister and Liberal Party politician. He was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

from 1910 to 1918, and then for

Merthyr Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

from 1918 to 1922. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served as head of the Priorities Division of the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis of ...

Biography

Early life and background

Edgar Rees Jones was born on 27 August 1878, the son of the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister Morgan Humphrey Jones and Margaret Ann Jones of Gorwel, Rhondda. A Welsh speaker, he was educated in law at the University of Wales and

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

College, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1900 and Master of Arts degree in 1903; his MA thesis was on "Political theories in England in the Seventeenth Century". In September 1919, he married Lillian Eleanor May, daughter of George Brackley. He was known to reside at 28 Westminster Mansions, Great Smith Street,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

Career

Jones came to prominence during

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

's education revolt campaign in 1903, and was elected at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. The government called the election in the midst of a constitutional crisis caused by the rejection of the People's Budget by the Conservative-dominat ...

as one of the two Members of Parliament for

. He held that seat until the constituency was abolished at the 1918 general election, when he was elected as a Coalition Liberal for the new Merthyr division. He did not stand for re-election in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, and although he stood in Salford South in

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

and Gower in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, he never returned to the House of Commons. He was once a civil servant in the Ministry of Munitions and served as head of the Priorities Division of this ministry during

. He was chairman of the National Food Canning Council (NFCC). Along with fellow Coalition Liberal Lewis Haslam of the

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

constituency, Jones played a minor role in the discussions behind the Government of Ireland Bill. Haslam in particular was strongly opposed to giving the Irish Parliament control of its own taxes.

References

External links

* * *
Sir Edgar Rees Jones
at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Edgar Rees 1878 births 1962 deaths Welsh barristers UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Alumni of the University of Wales People from Rhondda Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire