George Morgan Trefgarne, 1st Baron Trefgarne (né George Garro-Jones; 14 September 1894 – 27 September 1960), was a Welsh
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 ...
and later
Labour
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* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
politician, barrister, businessman and editor of the ''Daily Dispatch''.
Background
George Garro-Jones was born in Haverfordwest, Wales, on 14 September 1894. He was a "child of the Manse" as his father was the
Congregationalist Minister at Zion's Hill Chapel, Spittal. His father, Reverend David Garro-Jones, trained for the ministry at
Brecon College
Brecon Congregational Memorial College was a Congregational college in Brecon, Powys, Mid Wales. The college graduated ministers and missionaries who were posted to Africa and India. There were classes in biblical literature, chemistry, classic ...
and served Congregational churches across Wales. The walk from the Manse in Spittal towards Zion's Hill chapel has views across a deep gorge to Treffgarne Rocks and it is understood this is where the titled name of Lord Trefgarne originated.
Political career
Garro-Jones was private secretary to
Sir Hamar Greenwood from 1919 to 1922 while Greenwood was firstly
Secretary for Overseas Trade
The Secretary for Overseas Trade was a junior Ministerial position in the United Kingdom government from 1917 until 1953, subordinate to the President of the Board of Trade. The office was replaced by the Minister of State for Trade on 3 Septembe ...
and then
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...
. Greenwood was a Liberal Minister in the Coalition Government led by
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 ...
.
This close association led Garro-Jones into standing as a candidate for
National Liberals at the
1922 general election. He was selected to contest
Bethnal Green North East, where the sitting Liberal member, who also supported the Coalition Government, was retiring. However, Garro-Jones's task of holding the seat became harder when the National Liberals coalition partners, the Unionists, decided to end the coalition and he found a Unionist intervening against him. To make matters worse, he could not count on the support of the local Liberal Association when an opposition Liberal supporter of
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
also entered the contest. As a result, he was listed last in the election results.
After the election, the divisions in the Liberal ranks between the supporters of Asquith and Lloyd George was healed. Garro-Jones was chosen as Liberal candidate at the
1923 general election for the Unionist seat of
Hackney South. No Liberal candidate had fought in the constituency at the previous election, so it was not considered a particularly good prospect. The Labour candidate won, but Garro-Jones was still able to poll more votes than the sitting member who came third.
Garro-Jones only had to wait another year for the opportunity to stand for parliament again. Once again, he was chosen as Liberal candidate for Hackney South. However, this time, there was no Unionist candidate and he was able to gain the seat from his Labour opponent.
His victory was rare in an election which saw a very many Liberals lose their seats. He stood down at the
1929 election and shortly afterwards joined the Labour Party. He was elected Labour MP for
Aberdeen North at the
1935 general election, holding the seat until 1945.
Garro-Jones was raised to the peerage as Baron Trefgarne, of Cleddau in the
County of Pembroke
Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park occu ...
, on 21 January 1947. In 1954, he assumed by
deed poll
A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party.
Et ...
the surname of Trefgarne in lieu of his patronymic.
He was succeeded by his son
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, a Conservative government minister.
Electoral history
Arms
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Trefgarne, George, 1st Baron Trefgarne
1894 births
1960 deaths
Hackney Members of Parliament
Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Aberdeen constituencies
Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians
Scottish Labour MPs
UK MPs 1924–1929
UK MPs 1935–1945
Barons created by George VI