David Davies, 1st Baron Davies (11 May 1880 – 16 June 1944) was a Welsh

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician and public benefactor who was MP for

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

from 1906 to 1929. He was a grandson of the great Welsh industrialist David Davies. As a philanthropist, he established the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association to combat

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in Wales, as well as the Wilson Chair of International Politics at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Early life and education

Davies was born in Llandinam,

, the first child of Edward Davies and May Jones. His father was the only son of David Davies, often known as David Davies Llandinam, who was the greatest Welsh industrialist of the Victorian era, having made his fortune in the coal mines. He was educated at Merchiston Castle School and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, graduating in 1903. His family's wealth allowed the young Davies to travel extensively to exotic locations, where he enjoyed game hunting. He visited Africa, Asia and the United States, including Alaska. His two younger sisters, Gwendoline and

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, became renowned patrons of the arts.

Career

Politically and personally, Davies followed the lead set by his grandfather. In 1906, at just 26, he was elected the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Montgomeryshire constituency. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he commanded the 14th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers until 1916, when he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to

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. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

. He accompanied Lord Milner on his trip to Russia, and he was a member of The Garden Suburb. According to Lord Riddell, Davies was the only member of the Russian mission to foreshadow the Russian revolution. Following the war, Davies became an active supporter of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

. In 1929, Davies stood down prior to the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

to focus on international affairs. Despite this, Davies continued to support the official Liberal Party. He became President of Montgomeryshire Liberal Association and was at odds with his successor as MP,

Clement Davies Edward Clement Davies (19 February 1884 – 23 March 1962) was a Welsh politician and leader of the Liberal Party from 1945 to 1956. Early life and education Edward Clement Davies was born on 19 February 1884 in Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire, ...

. In 1931, Clement Davies became a Liberal National and continued to support the National Government after the official Liberal Party moved into opposition in 1933. In 1932, he established the

New Commonwealth Society The New Commonwealth was an international organisation created in London in 1932 with branches in France, Germany and the United States. It advocated pacifism, disarmament and multilateral resolution of conflicts through political lobbying and a var ...

for "the promotion of international law and order," writing several books on the right use of force, notably ''The Problem of the Twentieth Century'' (1930), which was translated into German and other languages. His ideas influenced the writing of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its United Nations System#Six ...

, especially with regards to sanctions and the transition of national armies to an international police. On 24 June

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

, he was created Baron Davies of Llandinam, in the County of Montgomery, for public services. In 1938, with a general election likely to occur in the near future, Lord Davies put pressure on Clement Davies by persuading the Montgomeryshire executive to seek clarification from their MP on his views regarding the National Government and appeasement. The MP shortly after avowedly opposed appeasement and resigned the Liberal National whip.

Philanthropy

Like his sisters, Davies was a significant philanthropist who donated to a number of good causes both locally and nationally. In 1910, he contributed £150,000 (£ as of ) to the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial, which was formed with the aim of eradicating

in Wales. He endowed perhaps the world's first Chair in

International Politics International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

, established in honour of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

in 1919 at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, which also hosts the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies. He was also the president of the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in 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 books and periodicals, and the l ...

. The Welsh Temple of Peace in Cardiff was his brainchild, and was funded by Davies, to a great extent, pledging £58,000 in 1934 (equivalent to £ million in ) towards the erection of a building.

Family and issue

In 1910, Davies married his first wife Amy Penman, daughter of Lancelot Tulip Penman of Broadwood Park, and had two children: * Maj. David Michael Davies, 2nd Baron Davies (16 January 1915 – 25 September 1944) married Ruth Eldrydd Dugdale, daughter of Maj. William Marshall Dugdale, and had two sons * Marguerite Elizabeth (26 April 1917 – 18 December 1930) Four years after Amy's death in 1918, he remarried to Henrietta Margaret Fergusson, daughter of James Grant Fergusson of Baledmund, Perthshire, and had four more children: *Hon. Edward Davies (30 January 1925 – 26 October 1997) *Hon. Islwyn Edmund Evan Davies (10 December 1926 – 5 October 2002) *Hon. Mary Myfanwy (20 November 1923 – 21 September 2001) *Hon. Gwendoline Rita Jean Davis Cormack (1 May 1929 – 4 June 2011) In 1944, while launching a new X-Ray mobile scanning unit at Sully Hospital (which the Temple of Peace in Cardiff had funded), Davies volunteered to undergo the first routine chest scan. The scan revealed advanced

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

from which he died from a few months later in June 1944. His eldest son and heir, Major Hon. David Michael Davies, was serving in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers when he was killed in action in September 1944, only a few months after inheriting the title. The latter's eldest son succeeded as the third Baron Davies, days prior to his fourth birthday. A statue commissioned in honour of his Grandfather stands in Llandinam in Powys on the A470. The Llandinam Building at

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

was named in his honour.

Arms

References

External links

*
Article about Davies by Dr J Graham Jones in Journal of Liberal History, Issue 29, Winter 2000-01
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, David Davies, 1st Baron Davies, David, 1st Baron Davies, David, 1st Baron Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs who were granted peerages Parliamentary private secretaries to the prime minister Davies, David, 1st Baron Alumni of King's College, Cambridge People educated at Merchiston Castle School People from Montgomeryshire 1 Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society 20th-century British philanthropists National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians Barons created by George V 1916 in London