Leifchild Stratten Leif-Jones, 1st Baron Rhayader, PC ( Leifchild Stratten Jones; 16 January 1862 – 26 September 1939), known as Leif Jones before his elevation to the peerage in 1932, was a British

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

leader and

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 ...

politician.

Background and education

Born Leifchild Stratten Jones on 16 January 1862 in St Pancras,

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 ...

, the fifth of the six children of Thomas Jones (1819–1882), an Independent clergyman, formerly of Morriston,

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, and Jane Jones, daughter of John Jones of Dowlais. His older siblings were David Brynmor (b. 1851), Annie, John Viriamu (b. 1862) and Irvonwy; his younger brother was Morlais Glasfryn. His brothers David Brynmor Jones and John Viriamu Jones would both achieve prominence in public life. In 1867, when Leifchild was five years old, his mother died, and, in 1869, his father left London, for health reasons, moving firstly back to Swansea (1870–1877) and afterwards to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia (1877–1880), where Leifchild was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, from 31 July 1877 to December 1878. Afterwards Leifchild became a student at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

.thepeerage.com Leifchild Stratten Leif-Jones, 1st and last Baron Rhayader
/ref>

Member of Parliament and temperance campaigner

From 1905 to January 1910 Leif Jones served as

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 Appleby, in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. Whilst an MP he voted in favour of the 1908 Women's Enfranchisement Bill. From December 1910 to 1918 he served as

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

for

Rushcliffe Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 111,129. Its councilRushcliffe Borough Council Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. In 1917 he was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. From 1923 to 1924 and from 1929 to 1931 he served as

for Camborne, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. On 25 January 1932 Jones was elevated to the peerage as Baron Rhayader, of Rhayader in the County of Radnor. So that he might continue to be known by the familiar name of 'Leif Jones' he had earlier that month changed his surname by deed poll from 'Jones' to 'Leif-Jones'. Despite his long political career Leif Jones is best remembered as a temperance leader. He was President of the

United Kingdom Alliance The United Kingdom Alliance (UKA) was a temperance movement in the United Kingdom founded in 1853 in Manchester to work for the prohibition of the trade in alcohol in the United Kingdom. This occurred in a context of support for the type of law ...

(UKA), the leading British prohibitionist organisation, between 1906 and 1932. He had earlier been private secretary to the Countess of Carlisle, a prominent prohibitionist campaigner.Entry on Leif Jones in ''Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History: Volume I''
As a temperance campaigner Leif Jones was sometimes referred to as 'Tea-leaf Jones'. Lord Rhayader died in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London, in September 1939, aged 77, when the barony became extinct. Photographic portraits of Lord Rhayader may be seen at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

References

External links

* *

ODNB The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

article by David M. Fahey, 'Jones, Leifchild Stratten, Baron Rhayader (1862–1939)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online edn, Oxford University Press, May 200
accessed 1 July 2010

Background and education

Member of Parliament and temperance campaigner

References

External links

Further reading