William Geraint Oliver Morgan, QC (2 November 1920 – 2 July 1995) was a British Conservative Party politician, lawyer, champion of the Welsh language and a veteran of the Second World War.

Biography

Geraint Morgan was born in the Llandeilo area of Carmarthenshire, the son of dairy farmer Morgan Morgan (1888–1950) and Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Oliver (1893–1980). The family subsequently relocated to Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, where his father continued farming at Woad Farm, Lathbury. Morgan was educated at

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

. Bi-lingual from an early age in Welsh and English, he learnt French to a high standard at school and added German and Italian by his own efforts. He enlisted in the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment Line infantry, of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the World War I, First and ...

in 1939 and was commissioned in the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

. He landed on Gold Beach on D-Day and ended the war a Major. He became a barrister, called to the bar by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1947, and a

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 ...

. He practised on the Northern circuit. Geraint Morgan contested

Merioneth Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is an anglicisation of the Welsh placename ''Mei ...

in 1951 and

Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, Liverpool Built-up Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Merseyside, Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Netherley, Liverpool, ...

in 1955 against

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 ...

. He was Member of Parliament for

Denbigh Denbigh ( ; ) is a market town and a community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. It was the original county town of the Denbighshire (historic), historic county of Denbighshire created in 1536. Denbigh's Welsh name () translates to ...

(initially as a 'Conservative and National Liberal') from 1959 to 1983, when the seat was abolished in boundary changes. He was noted for very rarely making any speeches in the House during his 24 years as a member. His obituary in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (a British newspaper) recorded: :"Although not the most frequent of speakers in the Commons, his commitment to the North Wales constituency was unswerving - and totally fair to those he represented. He answered letters from Welsh-speakers in Welsh - and in his own meticulous handwriting. There were triumphs too small to register on the Westminster scale which were of importance to his constituents. Many householders living near the A55 - a road designated "a highway of opportunity" - thanked him for the compensation they received when the road was upgraded." Geraint Morgan was never one unquestioningly to troop through the lobby designated by the party whips. Soon after his election, he refused to support his own party over the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model ...

. In 1971, he voted against British entry to the

Common Market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of ...

, which is now known (in a significantly evolved form), as the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. This was contrary to party policy, since British entry to the Common Market was a central aim at that time for the Conservative leadership and notably for the Prime Minister,

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

. At the 1983 general election he attempted to be selected for the new seat of Clwyd North West, which was largely based on his old Denbigh constituency, with the addition of parts of the Flint constituency, but found himself in a heated selection battle between Sir Anthony Meyer and Miss Beata Brookes, the

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for North Wales. Conservative Party central office tried to parachute Beata Brookes in as candidate, although she lacked grassroots support in either Denbigh, or Flint. Anthony Meyer successfully sued in law to have the imposition of Brookes as the candidate declared unlawful. A new selection meeting was held, where the choice was between Meyer and Brookes, Geraint Morgan's application to be included being rejected, despite (according to eyewitnesses) his having considerable support from the floor of the public meeting (open to Conservative Party members, who were not permitted a general vote). After leaving Parliament, Geraint Morgan continued to practise law as a Crown Court Recorder. Geraint Morgan was married, with four children. An historian, as well as a linguist, Geraint Morgan liked to point out, when he knew he would be the last MP for

, that the first MP for Denbigh had occupied the adjacent (literal) seat in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

to the very last MP in Westminster for

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

References

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1955, 1966 & 1979 *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Geraint 1920 births 1995 deaths Members of Gray's Inn Welsh barristers British Army personnel of World War II Suffolk Regiment soldiers Royal Marines officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge People educated at Bedford School 20th-century British lawyers Royal Marines personnel of World War II Welsh King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Military personnel from Carmarthenshire