Frederick Elwyn Elwyn-Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones,
(24 October 1909 – 4 December 1989), commonly known as Elwyn Jones, was a Welsh
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
and
Labour politician.
Background and education
Elwyn Jones was born in
Llanelli
; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...
,
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...
, and read history for a year at the
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University () is a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 students studying across three academic facul ...
, and then at
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...
. He spent time in Germany in the 1930s.
An acting
bombardier in the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
(
Territorial Army), he was commissioned as a
second lieutenant on 23 December 1939. He ended his service as a
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
.
Legal career
Jones became a barrister and
Recorder of
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
. He was also a broadcaster and journalist. He served as junior British Counsel during the
Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
, and led for the prosecution (Leading Prosecutor) at the
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
trial of Marshal
Erich von Manstein
Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a Germans, German Officer (armed forces), military officer of Poles (people), Polish descent who served as a ''Generalfeld ...
in 1948. He was appointed
Queen's Counsel
A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
in 1953.
In 1966, he led the prosecution of the
Moors murderers,
Ian Brady
The Moors murders were a series of child killings committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in and around Manchester, England, between July 1963 and October 1965. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesl ...
and
Myra Hindley
The Moors murders were a series of child killings committed by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in and around Manchester, England, between July 1963 and October 1965. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesl ...
.
Political career
At the
1945 general election, he was elected as
Labour Member of Parliament for
Plaistow, east London. In
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...
, he became MP for
West Ham South, serving until 1974. In 1964, Elwyn Jones was sworn of the
Privy Council and appointed
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
(receiving the customary
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
) by
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
, a post he held until 1970.
In February 1974, he was once again elected to Parliament, now for
Newham South, but left the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
soon afterwards when he was made a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
. On 11 March, he was created ''Baron Elwyn-Jones, of
Llanelli
; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...
in the
County of Carmarthen
Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as the "Garden of Wale ...
and of
Newham
The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...
in
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
'', with a change of his surname to ''Elwyn-Jones''.
The resulting
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
allowed
Nigel Spearing to re-enter Parliament as he had lost the
Acton seat in the February election. He served as
Lord Chancellor
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
from 1974 to 1979, under Harold Wilson and
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...
. In 1976 he was made a
Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire.
The orde ...
.
Personal life
In 1937, Jones married
Pearl "Polly" Binder, an artist from Manchester. The couple had three children: Josephine, Lou and
Dan. Josephine became a researcher on
Jacob Bronowski
Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to science, and as the presenter and writer of the thirteen-part 1973 BBC television ...
's TV series ''
The Ascent of Man
''The Ascent of Man'' is a 13-part British documentary television series produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films first broadcast in 1973. It was written and presented by Polish-British mathematician and historian of science Jacob Bronowsk ...
'' and married Francis Gladstone (a great-grandson of Prime Minister
William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...
). Dan Jones is an artist, collector of children's playground songs and
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
campaigner.
Elwyn-Jones's brother
Idris
Idris may refer to:
People
* Idris (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
* Idris (prophet), Islamic prophet in the Qur'an, traditionally identified with Enoch, an ancestor of Noah in the Bible
* Idris ...
(1900–1971) was captain of the
Wales rugby union team in 1925, and was an industrial chemist who became Director General of Research Development for the
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...
.
Elwyn-Jones died in December 1989, aged 80.
Arms
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
*
Llanelli Community Heritage Elwyn-Jones Blue PlaqueLord Elwyn-Jones' appearance on Desert Island DiscsLord Elwyn-Jones Papersat 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 ...
*
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elwyn-Jones, Elwyn Jones, Baron
1909 births
1989 deaths
20th-century British lawyers
20th-century King's Counsel
Alumni of Aberystwyth University
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Attorneys general for England and Wales
British Army personnel of World War II
Fellows of King's College London
Knights Bachelor
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Labour Party (UK) life peers
Lord chancellors of Great Britain
Members of Gray's Inn
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970
People educated at Llanelli Boys' Grammar School
People from Llanelli
Presidents of the Cambridge Union
Royal Artillery officers
Royal Artillery soldiers
UK MPs 1945–1950
UK MPs 1950–1951
UK MPs 1951–1955
UK MPs 1955–1959
UK MPs 1959–1964
UK MPs 1964–1966
UK MPs 1966–1970
UK MPs 1970–1974
UK MPs 1974
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Welsh barristers
Military personnel from Carmarthenshire