T. E. Ellis
Encyclopedia
Cymru Fydd
The Cymru Fydd movement was founded in 1886 by some of the London Welsh, including J. E. Lloyd, O. M. Edwards, T. E. Ellis , Beriah Gwynfe Evans and Alfred Thomas. Initially it was a purely London-based society, later expanding to cities in England with a large Welsh population...
, a movement aimed at gaining home rule for Wales.
Life
T. E. Ellis was born ar CefnddwysarnCefnddwysarn
Cefnddwysarn is a small village in Gwynedd, Wales.It is located on the A494 road approximately 3 miles east of the town of Bala and 8 miles west of Corwen. The village is situated within the traditional county of Merionethshire.- External links :*...
near 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...
and attended Bala Grammar School, where his fellow pupils included Owen Morgan Edwards
Owen Morgan Edwards
Owen Morgan Edwards was a Welsh historian, educationalist and writer. He is often known as O. M. Edwards....
. He attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...
from 1875 to 1879, then went to New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, graduating in history in 1884.
On leaving Oxford, Ellis briefly went into journalism and also acted as a private tutor to the son of a South Wales shipping magnate. He then became private secretary to Liberal Party
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...
MP
Member 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,...
, John Brunner
John Brunner
John Brunner may refer to:* Sir John Brunner, 1st Baronet , a.k.a. John Tomlinson Brunner, British industrialist and Liberal Member of Parliament* John L...
. This took him to London and drew him closer to a political life.
In 1886 he was selected as the Liberal Party
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...
candidate for the Merionethshire constituency, and was elected the same year at the general election
United Kingdom general election, 1886
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
.
Ellis quickly became prominent as a spokesman for Welsh concerns, and in a speech in Bala in 1890 called for a legislative assembly for Wales. He became the leader of the Cymru Fydd movement which sought to gain home rule for Wales, cooperating closely with David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, and also played a prominent part in the campaign for Welsh disestablishment. In 1892 when 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...
formed a new administration, Ellis accepted the post of second whip, which meant that he had to withdraw from the movement, whose leadership was taken over by Lloyd George and John Herbert Lewis
Herbert Lewis
Sir John Herbert Lewis GBE, PC was a British Liberal politician.-Background and education:Born at Mostyn Quay, Flintshire, Lewis was one of five sons of Enoch Lewis and Elizabeth Roberts. He was educated at McGill University and Exeter College, Oxford.-Political career:Lewis was the first Chairman...
(MP for Flint Boroughs). In 1894 Ellis was appointed Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
.
Ellis also published the first volume of the collected works of the 17th century Welsh Puritan writer Morgan Llwyd
Morgan Llwyd
Morgan Llwyd , was a Welsh Puritan preacher, poet and prose writer.- Biography :...
, a work completed after his death by his brother in law, J. H. Davies. He died in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
in 1899. His son, the academic Thomas Iorwerth Ellis
Thomas Iorwerth Ellis
Thomas Iorwerth Ellis OBE was a Welsh classicist, who wrote many books on Welsh literature and Welshmen, , including a biography of his father, Thomas Edward Ellis.-Life:...
, wrote a two-volume biography of him, the volumes being published in 1944 and 1948 respectively.