David Rees Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore, PC, TD (22 November 1903 – 30 August 1976) was a British politician.
The Lord Ogmore | |
|---|---|
 Rees-Williams in 1947 | |
| President of the Liberal Party | |
| In office 11 September 1963 – 31 October 1964 | |
| Leader | Jo Grimond |
| Preceded by | Felix Brunner |
| Succeeded by | Roger Fulford |
| Minister of Civil Aviation | |
| In office 1 June 1951 – 26 October 1951 | |
| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Frank Pakenham |
| Succeeded by | John Maclay (Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation) |
| Under-Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations | |
| In office 4 July 1950 – 1 June 1951 | |
| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Angus Holden |
| Succeeded by | George Bingham |
| Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies | |
| In office 7 October 1947 – 2 March 1950 | |
| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Ivor Bulmer-Thomas |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Cook |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| In office 5 July 1950 – 30 August 1976 | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | Gwilym Rees-Williams |
| Member of Parliament for Croydon South | |
| In office 29 July 1945 – 3 February 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Herbert Williams |
| Succeeded by | Richard Thompson (Croydon West) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Rees-Williams 22 November 1903 Bridgend, Wales, UK |
| Died | 30 August 1976 (aged 72) |
| Party | Liberal (1959–1976) |
Other political affiliations | Labour (until 1959) |
| Spouse | Constance Wills |
| Children | 3, including Elizabeth Harris Aitken |
| Parent |
|
| Occupation | Solicitor |
Early life and career
editRees-Williams was born in Bridgend, Wales, the son of William Rees Williams,[1] of Garth-celyn, Bridgend, and Jennet, daughter of Morgan David, of Bridgend. William Rees Williams was a veterinary surgeon, and had served as a captain in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.[2][3] He qualified as a solicitor in 1929. Commissioned into the 6th (Territorial Army) Battalion, Welch Regiment, he was promoted Captain in 1936 and Major in 1938, by which time his battalion had become a searchlight unit. He transferred to the Royal Artillery in 1940, when all searchlight units did so, and ended the Second World War as a Lieutenant-Colonel.
Political career
editRees-Williams was elected Labour Member of Parliament for Croydon South in 1945, defeating the incumbent MP, Sir Herbert Williams. In the government he was a minister in the Colonial Office, travelling to East Asia to consider the movements towards independence. His seat was redistributed at the end of the Parliament and he narrowly lost the successor seat at the 1950 general election and was raised to the peerage as Baron Ogmore, of Bridgend in the County of Glamorgan, on 10 July 1950.[4] He served as Minister of Civil Aviation in 1951 and was made a Privy Councillor the same year. Lord Ogmore was President of the London Welsh Trust, which ran the London Welsh Centre, Gray's Inn Road, from 1955 until 1959.[5]
Lord Ogmore joined the Liberal Party in 1959 and served as Liberal Party President, 1963–1964.
Personal life
editIn 1930, Lord Ogmore married (Alice Alexandra) Constance, daughter of Walter Robert Wills, Lord Mayor of Cardiff from 1945 to 1946.[6] He had three children. His daughter, Elizabeth Rees-Williams, married the actors Richard Harris and Sir Rex Harrison, the businessman Peter Aitken, and Jonathan Aitken, the former Conservative MP. His grandsons are actors Jared Harris and Jamie Harris and director Damian Harris.[7][8]
Honours
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Foreign honour
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Myanmar :
Agga-Maha-Thayay-Sithu of the Order of the Pyidaungsu Sithu Thingaha (1956)
Malaya :
Honorary Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (P.M.N. (K)) - Tan Sri (1959)[10]
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References
edit- ↑ Per Burke's Peerage 2003 vol. 2 p. 2988, William was son of George Williams and Elvira Rees; David Rees-Williams was the first to use both names as a hyphenated surname.
- ↑ "WILLIAMS, DAVID REES (Later REES-WILLIAMS, DAVID REES), 1st BARON OGMORE (1903-1976), politician and lawyer | Dictionary of Welsh Biography".
- ↑ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 2988
- ↑ "No. 38968". The London Gazette. 14 July 1950. p. 3622.
- ↑ "Our Former Presidents: London Welsh Centre". London Welsh Centre website. London Welsh Centre. 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
- ↑ Europa Publications Limited (1974). The international who's who. Europa Publications. ISBN 9780900362729. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ↑ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 2988
- ↑ Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1999, vol. 1, p. 231
- ↑ Debrett's Peerage. 1985.
- ↑ "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1959" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2016.