Frederick Llewellyn-Jones,
MP (18 April 1866 – 11 January 1941) was a Welsh
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
who became
Coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
for the county of
Flintshire
, settlement_type = County
, image_skyline =
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and a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
, later
Liberal National politician.
Family and education
Frederick Llewellyn-Jones was born at
Bethesda,
Caernarfonshire
, HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon
, Map=
, Image= Flag
, Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd)
, year_start=
, Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...
. He received his education at
Friars School, Bangor
Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales.
History
1557 Establishment
The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A friary ...
and
Bala College. He then attended
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
, mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all
, established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'')
, former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth
, type = Public
, endowment = ...
. He obtained
BA degrees from the Universities of Wales and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and the law degree
LLB
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...
from London. Later in life he received the
Honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
of Doctor of Political Science from the
University of Pécs
The University of Pécs (UP; Hungarian: ''Pécsi Tudományegyetem''; PTE) is an institution of higher education in Hungary. The modern university was established in 1912 but has its roots in the medieval university founded in Pécs in 1367 by ...
in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
. In 1892 he married Elizabeth Roberts from
Ruthin
Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...
. They had three sons and two daughters.
[''Who was Who'', OUP 2007]
Career
Llewellyn-Jones was admitted as a solicitor in 1891. Over the years he was a member of a number of domestic and international organisations connected to the law, including the
International Law Association
The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...
from 1912 to 1939, the
Grotius Society
The Grotius Society was a British society founded in 1915 during World War I. In 1958, it was dissolved on the merger with the Society of Comparative Legislation, founded in 1895, to form the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.
...
of London from 1915 to 1939, the
American Society of International Law
The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...
, other English and foreign Peace and International Law Societies, the Society of Comparative Legislation and Société de Législation Comparée of Paris and the Medico-Legal Society of London, 1915–38.
He took a particular interest in
National Insurance
National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...
and health matters. He was chairman of Flintshire Insurance Committee, 1912–40; the president (1937–38) of the Association of Welsh Insurance Committees and president of the Federation of English, Scottish, and Welsh Insurance Committees, 1924–26, 1929–31, and 1934–37. He was appointed by the National Insurance Commissioners and Ministry of Health to be a member of successive advisory committees and of the Welsh Consultative Health Council. He also served as a member of the Central Council for Health Education, 1923–40.
For many years he served as HM Coroner for Flintshire.
[The Times, 18.1.41]
Politics
In 1914 he was selected as the Liberal party prospective parliamentary candidate for Preston. However, by early 1918 he had relinquished that role and announced his intention to contest the University of Wales as a Labour candidate.
Llewellyn-Jones was elected Liberal
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
Flintshire
, settlement_type = County
, image_skyline =
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, image_flag =
, image_shield = Arms of Flint ...
at the
1929 general election. However, in 1931 an economic crisis led to the formation of a
National Government led by Labour Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
. The government was initially supported by the
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
and Liberal parties, and a rump of
National Labour MPs. However the Liberals were increasingly divided over the existence of the National Government, particularly over the issue
Free Trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
. The official party led by Sir
Herbert Samuel
Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935.
He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to beco ...
, although agreeing to go into the
1931 general election supporting the government became more and more worried about the government's stance on Free Trade and concerned about the predominance of the Conservatives in the coalition. However a group of Liberal MPs led by
Sir John Simon
John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954), was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of only three peop ...
who were concerned to ensure the National Government had a wide cross-party base, formed the
Liberal National Party to more openly support MacDonald's administration. Llewellyn-Jones was one of 22 Liberal MPs who met in ‘secret conclave’ on the evening of 5 October 1931. The meeting resolved to form itself into a body to give firm support to the prime minister as the head of a national government and for the purpose of fighting a general election. Sir John Simon wrote to the Prime Minister that night to give him the news and the decision was made to call the group Liberal Nationals. After that, Llewellyn-Jones sat in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
as a Liberal National. At the 1931 general election, when the official and Liberal National groups were still both supporting the government, Llewellyn-Jones was not opposed in Flintshire either by a Free Trade Liberal or Conservative candidate. However, there was opposition to his decision to associate with the Liberal Nationals within the Flintshire Liberal Association. At the meeting held to discuss the general election, Llewellyn-Jones threw down the gauntlet to the Association proclaiming that whether or not they adopted him he would stand anyway, secure in the knowledge that the Conservatives had already agreed not to put up a candidate in the seat. The atmosphere at the meeting was reported as ‘stormy’ by
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
but Llewellyn-Jones got the support of more than half those voting at the meeting. An interesting detail from the election was the public support offered to Llewellyn-Jones by Henry Neville Gladstone, the only surviving son of the great Liberal statesman
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
whose family home,
Hawarden Castle, was located in the constituency. On election day, Llewellyn-Jones found himself opposed only by the
Labour Party candidate Miss F Edwards and he was returned to Parliament with the massive majority of 24, 247 votes.
Changing back and resignation
While he gained election as a Liberal National with Conservative assent and joined the Liberal National group in the House of Commons, Llewellyn-Jones was not mere coalition lobby-fodder. In 1932 he resigned from the Liberal National group and re-took the Liberal whip. In November 1932 a vote of no confidence in him was passed by the Flintshire Conservatives, for persistently voting against the government on fiscal matters, including the
Ottawa Agreements. In February 1934, Llewellyn-Jones issued a statement to the effect that he would not stand again at the next general election on the grounds of age and the need for new blood in the constituency.
[The Times, 16.2.34]
Welsh education and culture
Llewellyn-Jones was closely associated with Welsh life and in particular the promotion of education and culture. He was Chairman of the
Holywell
Holywell may refer to:
* Holywell, Flintshire, Wales
* Holywell, Swords, Ireland
* Holywell, Bedfordshire, England
* Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England
* Holywell, Cornwall, England
* Holywell, Dorset, England
* Holywell, Eastbourne, East Susse ...
School Board
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
1898–1904, a member of Flintshire Joint Education Committee; a Member of the Court of Governors of the University Colleges of Wales, Aberystwyth and
Bangor as well as serving as a member of the Welsh University Court and the Court of Governors of the
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...
and of the
Welsh National Museum
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
. He also served as the President of the Welsh League of Nations Union in 1933 and in support of Welsh language and culture, he was a member of the
Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion ( cy, Anrhydeddus Gymdeithas y Cymmrodorion), often called simply the Cymmrodorion, is a London-based Welsh learned society, with membership open to all. It was first established in 1751 as a social, cultural ...
and of the
Gorsedd
A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton.
When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...
of the
National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...
.
Awards
Llewellyn-Jones was made a member of the Royal Hungarian Order of Merit.
Death
Llewellyn-Jones died at Isfryn,
Mold, Flintshire
Mold ( cy, Yr Wyddgrug) is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the county town and administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, as it was of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2011 UK Census, it had ...
on 11 January 1941.
See also
*
List of Liberal Party (UK) MPs
This is a list of Liberal Party MPs. It includes all Members of Parliament elected to the British House of Commons representing the Liberal Party from 1922. This includes all those elected as National Liberals supporting David Lloyd George in ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llewellyn-Jones, Henry
1866 births
1941 deaths
People educated at Friars School, Bangor
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
UK MPs 1929–1931
UK MPs 1931–1935
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians
Alumni of the University of Wales
Alumni of the University of London