William Geraint Oliver Morgan, QC (2 November 1920 – 2 July 1995) was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician, lawyer, champion of the Welsh language and a veteran of the Second World War.

Biography

Geraint Morgan was born in the Llandeilo area of Carmarthenshire, the son of dairy farmer Morgan Morgan (1888–1950) and Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Oliver (1893–1980). The family subsequently relocated to Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, where his father continued farming at Woad Farm, Lathbury. Morgan was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

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 = ...

and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. Bi-lingual from an early age in Welsh and English, he learnt French to a high standard at school and added German and Italian by his own efforts. He enlisted in the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

in 1939 and was commissioned in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

. He landed on Gold Beach on D-Day and ended the war a Major. He became a barrister, called to the bar by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1947, and a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. He practised on the Northern circuit. Geraint Morgan contested

Merioneth , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

in 1951 and

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in 1955 against

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

. He was

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 ...

for

Denbigh Denbigh (; cy, Dinbych; ) is a market town and a community in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly, the county town, the Welsh name translates to "Little Fortress"; a reference to its historic castle. Denbigh lies near the Clwydian Hills. History ...

from 1959 to 1983, when the seat was abolished in boundary changes. He was noted for very rarely making any speeches in the House during his 24 years as a member. His obituary in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (a British newspaper) recorded: :"Although not the most frequent of speakers in the Commons, his commitment to the North Wales constituency was unswerving - and totally fair to those he represented. He answered letters from Welsh-speakers in Welsh - and in his own meticulous handwriting. There were triumphs too small to register on the Westminster scale which were of importance to his constituents. Many householders living near the A55 - a road designated "a highway of opportunity" - thanked him for the compensation they received when the road was upgraded." Geraint Morgan was never one unquestioningly to troop through the lobby designated by the party whips. Soon after his election, he refused to support his own party over the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century Politics of the United Kingdom, British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative Party (UK), Conservative government, had an extramar ...

. In 1971, he voted against British entry to the

Common Market The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

, which is now known (in a significantly evolved form), as the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. This was contrary to party policy, since British entry to the Common Market was a central aim at that time for the Conservative leadership and notably for the Prime Minister,

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

. At the 1983 general election he attempted to be selected for the new seat of Clwyd North West, which was largely based on his old Denbigh constituency, with the addition of parts of the Flint constituency, but found himself in a heated selection battle between Sir Anthony Meyer and Miss Beata Brookes, the

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for North Wales. Conservative Party central office tried to parachute Beata Brookes in as candidate, although she lacked grassroots support in either Denbigh, or Flint. Anthony Meyer successfully sued in law to have the imposition of Brookes as the candidate declared unlawful. A new selection meeting was held, where the choice was between Meyer and Brookes, Geraint Morgan's application to be included being rejected, despite (according to eyewitnesses) his having considerable support from the floor of the public meeting (open to Conservative Party members, who were not permitted a general vote). After leaving Parliament, Geraint Morgan continued to practise law as a Crown Court Recorder. Geraint Morgan was married, with four children. An historian, as well as a linguist, Geraint Morgan liked to point out, when he knew he would be the last MP for

, that the first MP for Denbigh had occupied the adjacent (literal) seat in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

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 ...

to the very last MP in Westminster for

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1955, 1966 & 1979 *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Geraint 1920 births 1995 deaths Members of Gray's Inn Welsh barristers British Army personnel of World War II Suffolk Regiment soldiers Royal Marines officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge People educated at Bedford School 20th-century British lawyers Royal Marines personnel of World War II Welsh King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Military personnel from Carmarthenshire