David Davies, 1st Baron Davies (11 May 1880 – 16 June 1944) was a Welsh Liberal politician and public benefactor who was MP for

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

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 The King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association or WNMA was a Welsh voluntary association set up to combat tuberculosis. The lord mayor of Cardiff, alderman John Chappell, convened a meeting in Shrewsbury on 30 September 1910 to decide w ...

to combat

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

in Wales, as well as the Wilson Chair of International Politics at the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

Early life and education

Davies was born in Llandinam,

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

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

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelle ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, 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 Gwendoline is a feminine given name, a variant of Gwendolen. Notable people called Gwendoline * Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo (1879–1955), a British interior decorator * Gwendoline Butler (born 1922), an English writer of mystery fiction *Gwen ...

and

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

, 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 A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the Montgomeryshire constituency. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, 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. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

. Following the war, Davies became an active supporter of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) 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 th ...

. In 1929, Davies stood down prior to the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

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 and Germany. It advocated pacifism, disarmament and multilateral resolution of conflicts through political lobbying and different publications. ...

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 (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...

, 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: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hir ...

, 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), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

, established in honour of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

in 1919 at the

, 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 ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), 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 ...

. 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 abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

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 , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

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 Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society 20th-century British philanthropists National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians Barons created by George V