Frederick Llewellyn-Jones
Encyclopedia
Frederick Llewellyn-Jones (18 April 1866 – 11 January 1941) was a Welsh solicitor
who became Coroner for the county of Flintshire
and a Liberal
, later Liberal National
politician.
. He received his education at Friars School, Bangor
and Bala
College. He then attended University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. He obtained BA degrees
from the Universities of Wales and London
and the law degree LLB
from London. Later in life he received the Honorary degree
of Doctor of Political Science from the University of Pécs
in Hungary
. In 1892 he married Elizabeth Roberts from Ruthin
. They had three sons and two daughters.
from 1912–39, the Grotius Society
of London from 1915–39, the American Society of International Law
, other English and foreign Peace and International Law Societies, the Society of Comparative Legislation and Société de Législation Comparée of Paris and the Medico-Legal Society of London, 1915–38.
He took a particular interest in National Insurance
and health matters. He was Chairman of Flintshire Insurance Committee, 1912–40; the President (1937–38) of the Association of Welsh Insurance Committees and President of the Federation of English, Scottish, and Welsh Insurance Committees, 1924–26, 1929–31, and 1934–37. He was appointed by the National Insurance Commissioners and Ministry of Health to be a member of successive Advisory Committees and of the Welsh Consultative Health Council. He also served as a member of the Central Council for Health Education, 1923–40. For many years he served as HM Coroner for Flintshire.
(MP) for Flintshire
at the 1929 general election
. However, in 1931 an economic crisis led to the formation of a National Government led by Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
. The government was initially supported by the Conservative
and Liberal parties, and a rump of National Labour MPs. However the Liberals were increasingly divided over the existence of the National Government, particularly over the issue Free Trade
. The official party led by Sir Herbert Samuel
, although agreeing to go into the 1931 general election
supporting the government became more and more worried about the government’s stance on Free Trade and concerned about the predominance of the Conservatives in the coalition. However a group of Liberal MPs led by Sir John Simon who were concerned to ensure the National Government had a wide cross-party base, formed the Liberal National Party
to more openly support MacDonald’s administration. Llewellyn-Jones was one of 22 Liberal MPs who met in ‘secret conclave’ on the evening of 5 October 1931. The meeting resolved to form itself into a body to give firm support to the prime minister as the head of a national government and for the purpose of fighting a general election. Sir John Simon wrote to the Prime Minister that night to give him the news and the decision was made to call the group Liberal Nationals. After that, Llewellyn-Jones sat in the House of Commons as a Liberal National. At the 1931 general election, when the official and Liberal National groups were still both supporting the government, Llewellyn-Jones was not opposed in Flintshire either by a Free Trade Liberal or Conservative candidate. However there was opposition to his decision to associate with the Liberal Nationals within the Flintshire Liberal Association. At the meeting held to discuss the general election, Llewellyn-Jones threw down the gauntlet to the Association proclaiming that whether or not they adopted him he would stand anyway, secure in the knowledge that the Conservatives had already agreed not to put up a candidate in the seat. The atmosphere at the meeting was reported as ‘stormy’ by The Times
but Llewellyn-Jones got the support of more than half those voting at the meeting. An interesting detail from the election was the public support offered to Llewellyn-Jones by Henry Neville Gladstone, the only surviving son of the great Liberal statesman William Ewart Gladstone
whose family home, Hawarden Castle
, was located in the constituency. On election day, Llewellyn-Jones found himself opposed only by the Labour Party
candidate Miss F Edwards and he was returned to Parliament with the massive majority of 24, 247 votes.
School Board
1898–1904, a member of Flintshire Joint Education Committee; a Member of the Court of Governors of the University Colleges of Wales, Aberystwyth and Bangor
as well as serving as a member of the Welsh University Court and the Court of Governors of the National Library of Wales
and of the Welsh National Museum
. He also served as the President of the Welsh League of Nations Union in 1933 and in support of Welsh language and culture, he was a member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
and of the Gorsedd
of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
.
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
who became Coroner for the county of Flintshire
Flintshire (historic)
Flintshire , also known as the County of Flint, is one of thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county, which mostly lies on the north east coast of Wales....
and a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, later Liberal National
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)
The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
politician.
Family and education
Frederick Llewellyn-Jones was born at Bethesda, CaernarfonshireCaernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....
. He received his education at Friars School, Bangor
Friars School, Bangor
Ysgol Friars is a comprehensive school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales.-1557 Establishment:The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn, Doctor of Laws, who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London....
and Bala
Bala, Gwynedd
Bala is a market town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, and formerly an urban district of the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies at the north end of Bala Lake , 17 miles north-east of Dolgellau, with a population of 1,980...
College. He then attended University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. He obtained BA degrees
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the Universities of Wales and London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and the law degree LLB
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
from London. Later in life he received the Honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of Doctor of Political Science from the University of Pécs
University of Pécs
The University of Pécs is the Hungarian university with the largest number of students and faculties.-History:...
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. In 1892 he married Elizabeth Roberts from Ruthin
Ruthin
Ruthin is a community and the county town of Denbighshire in north Wales. Located around a hill in the southern part of the Vale of Clwyd - the older part of the town, the castle and Saint Peter's Square are located on top of the hill, while many newer parts of the town are on the floodplain of...
. They had three sons and two daughters.
Career
Llewellyn-Jones was admitted as a solicitor in 1891. Over the years he was a member of a number of domestic and international organisations connected to the law, including the International Law AssociationInternational Law Association
The International Law Association is a non-profit organization based in Great Britain that — according to its 2004 constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international understanding and respect for international law."The ILA...
from 1912–39, the Grotius Society
Grotius Society
The Grotius Society was a British society founded in 1915 during World War I. In 1958, it was dissolved on the merger with the Society of Comparative Legislation, founded in 1895, to form the British Institute of International and Comparative Law....
of London from 1915–39, the American Society of International Law
American Society of International Law
The American Society of International Law is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational membership organization, based in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1906, and was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950...
, other English and foreign Peace and International Law Societies, the Society of Comparative Legislation and Société de Législation Comparée of Paris and the Medico-Legal Society of London, 1915–38.
He took a particular interest in National Insurance
National Insurance
National Insurance in the United Kingdom was initially a contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment, and later also provided retirement pensions and other benefits...
and health matters. He was Chairman of Flintshire Insurance Committee, 1912–40; the President (1937–38) of the Association of Welsh Insurance Committees and President of the Federation of English, Scottish, and Welsh Insurance Committees, 1924–26, 1929–31, and 1934–37. He was appointed by the National Insurance Commissioners and Ministry of Health to be a member of successive Advisory Committees and of the Welsh Consultative Health Council. He also served as a member of the Central Council for Health Education, 1923–40. For many years he served as HM Coroner for Flintshire.
Politics
Llewellyn-Jones was elected Liberal Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Flintshire
Flintshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Flintshire was a parliamentary constituency in North-East Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election.- Boundaries :...
at the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
. However, in 1931 an economic crisis led to the formation of a National Government led by Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
. The government was initially supported by the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Liberal parties, and a rump of National Labour MPs. However the Liberals were increasingly divided over the existence of the National Government, particularly over the issue Free Trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
. The official party led by Sir Herbert Samuel
Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel
Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel GCB OM GBE PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Early years:...
, although agreeing to go into the 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
supporting the government became more and more worried about the government’s stance on Free Trade and concerned about the predominance of the Conservatives in the coalition. However a group of Liberal MPs led by Sir John Simon who were concerned to ensure the National Government had a wide cross-party base, formed the Liberal National Party
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)
The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
to more openly support MacDonald’s administration. Llewellyn-Jones was one of 22 Liberal MPs who met in ‘secret conclave’ on the evening of 5 October 1931. The meeting resolved to form itself into a body to give firm support to the prime minister as the head of a national government and for the purpose of fighting a general election. Sir John Simon wrote to the Prime Minister that night to give him the news and the decision was made to call the group Liberal Nationals. After that, Llewellyn-Jones sat in the House of Commons as a Liberal National. At the 1931 general election, when the official and Liberal National groups were still both supporting the government, Llewellyn-Jones was not opposed in Flintshire either by a Free Trade Liberal or Conservative candidate. However there was opposition to his decision to associate with the Liberal Nationals within the Flintshire Liberal Association. At the meeting held to discuss the general election, Llewellyn-Jones threw down the gauntlet to the Association proclaiming that whether or not they adopted him he would stand anyway, secure in the knowledge that the Conservatives had already agreed not to put up a candidate in the seat. The atmosphere at the meeting was reported as ‘stormy’ by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
but Llewellyn-Jones got the support of more than half those voting at the meeting. An interesting detail from the election was the public support offered to Llewellyn-Jones by Henry Neville Gladstone, the only surviving son of the great Liberal statesman William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
whose family home, Hawarden Castle
Hawarden Castle
Hawarden Old Castle is a medieval castle near Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales.Its oldest origins are indeterminate and the oldest fortifications on this site may date back to the Iron Age, later being used as a Norman Motte-and-bailey castle which was reportedly destroyed and replaced in a short...
, was located in the constituency. On election day, Llewellyn-Jones found himself opposed only by the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate Miss F Edwards and he was returned to Parliament with the massive majority of 24, 247 votes.
Changing back and resignation
While he gained election as a Liberal National with Conservative assent and joined the Liberal National group in the House of Commons, Llewellyn-Jones was not mere coalition lobby-fodder. In 1932 he resigned from the Liberal National group and re-took the Liberal whip. In November 1932 a vote of no confidence in him was passed by the Flintshire Conservatives, for persistently voting against the government on fiscal matters, including the Ottawa Agreements. In February 1934, Llewellyn-Jones issued a statement to the effect that he would not stand again at the next general election on the grounds of age and the need for new blood in the constituency.Welsh education and culture
Llewellyn-Jones was closely associated with Welsh life and in particular the promotion of education and culture. He was Chairman of the HolywellHolywell
Holywell is the fifth largest town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying to the west of the estuary of the River Dee.-History:The market town of Holywell takes its name from the St Winefride's Well, a holy well surrounded by a chapel...
School Board
Elementary Education Act 1870
The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between ages 5 and 12 in England and Wales...
1898–1904, a member of Flintshire Joint Education Committee; a Member of the Court of Governors of the University Colleges of Wales, Aberystwyth and Bangor
Bangor University
Bangor University is a university based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales-United Kingdom.It was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales...
as well as serving as a member of the Welsh University Court and the Court of Governors of the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
and of the Welsh National Museum
National Museum Wales
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, formerly the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, comprises eight museums in Wales:* National Museum Cardiff* St Fagans: National History Museum, Cardiff* Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon...
. He also served as the President of the Welsh League of Nations Union in 1933 and in support of Welsh language and culture, he was a member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion was founded in 1751 as a literary society devoted to the preservation of the Welsh language. It was founded by two brothers, Lewis Morris and Richard Morris, natives of Anglesey...
and of the Gorsedd
Gorsedd
A gorsedd plural gorseddau, is a community or coming together of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is occasionally spelled gorsedh , or goursez in Brittany....
of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
.