JONES, WILLIAM ELWYN EDWARDS (1904-1989), Labour politician

Name: William Elwyn Edwards Jones
Date of birth: 1904
Date of death: 1989
Spouse: Dyddgu Jones (née Davies)
Parent: Elizabeth Jane Jones
Parent: Robert William Jones
Gender: Male
Occupation: Labour politician
Area of activity: Politics, Government and Political Movements
Author: John Graham Jones

He was born on 4 January 1904 [some sources cite 1905], the son of the Reverend Robert William Jones, a minister with the Calvinistic Methodists at Bootle, and Elizabeth Jane, his wife. He was educated at Bottle Secondary School and Ffestiniog Grammar School and the University College of North Wales, Bangor and the University of London.

He qualified as a solicitor in 1927, was appointed clerk to the Bangor magistrates in 1934 and town clerk of Bangor in 1939. Jones was a member of the Caernarfonshire County Council, 1945-69. He served as a member of the National Parks Commission, 1966-68, and of the Countryside Commission for Wales from 1968-71, and was a member of the court and council of the UCNW, Bangor from 1943, serving as treasurer from 1970, and then vice-president from 1977 until 1982. He published a large number of articles in the press in both Welsh and English.

He stood as the Labour candidate for Caernarfonshire in 1931 and 1935, Caernarfon District of Boroughs in 1945, before securing election as the Labour MP for Conway in 1950. Here he was defeated in 1951 and 1955. He was knighted in 1978, and was awarded the honoray degree of Ll.D. by the University of Wales in 1979.

Jones married in 1936 Dyddgu, the daughter of Reverend Dr E. Tegla Davies, and there were three children of the marriage, one son and two daughters. They lived at 23 Glyngarth Court, Glyngarth, Menai Bridge. He died 4 July 1989.

Author

Published date: 2011-06-23

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography is provided by The National Library of Wales and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. It is free to use and does not receive grant support. A donation would help us maintain and improve the site so that we can continue to acknowledge Welsh men and women who have made notable contributions to life in Wales and beyond.

Find out more on our sponsorship page.