Who was David Lloyd-George?
Prime Minister.
Date and Place of Birth:
17th January 1863, Manchester, England.
Family Background:
Son of William George a Welsh Headmaster of a
Manchester Elementary School. His mother was the daughter of David
Lloyd a Baptist minister.
Education:
Village School in Llanystumdwy, Wales. Later
qualified as an Articled Clerk.
Chronology/Biography of David Llyod George:
1865: Death of his
father. He and his mother moved to Llanystumdwy near Cricieth in
Gwynedd, North Wales and lived with his uncle Richard Lloyd a shoemaker
and baptist Minister.
1879: Went to work
in a local Solicitor's office.
1890: Elected to
Parliament by Caernarvon Boroughs for the first time by the Liberal
party, a constituency he was to hold for 55 years.
1905: The Liberal
Party gained power and he was elected as the President of the Board
of Trade.
1906: He was responsible
for the passing of the Merchant Shipping Act.
1907: He was responsible
for the passing of the Patents Act.
1908: Appointed
as the Chancellor of the Exchequer and proposed the first Act allowing
Old Age Pensions.
1909: Presided over
the so called People's Budget which was rejected by the House of
Lords.
1911: Led the National
Insurance Act through Parliament. The Lords were stripped of their
power of veto after their performance in the previous year against
Lloyd George's budget.
1914: At the outbreak
of the First World War the Prime Minister Herbert Asquith had an
urgent reshuffle of his government and made Lloyd George Minister
of Munitions to try and combat the shortages that British troops
were then experiencing.
1916: After his
successes in galvanising war production in British factories he
was made Minister of War. He came into conflict with Asquith when
he proposed a war Committee of four Ministers to run the war effort.
Lloyd George didn't want Asquith to Chair this Committee as he felt
him to be an unsuitable war leader. The newspapers got hold of this
story and eventually Asquith resigned leaving the way for Lloyd
George to become Prime Minister.
1917: He stated
that it would be more efficient for the English and French armies
to fight under one leader.
1918: Eventually
everyone agreed to fight under the French General Foch and in November
the war finally came to an end.
1919: Went to Versailles
outside Paris to attend the Peace Conference where he warned about
the problems that revenge would cause and fought against some of
the more harsh penalties proposed in the Treaty.
1921: Negotiated
with Sin Fein and conceded the setting up of the Irish Free state.
1922: His unpopularity
about the Irish Question led to his downfall at the General Election.
1931: Following
defeat at the General Election he resigned as leader of the Liberal
Party and became the leader of a group of independent Liberal M.P's.
1945: He retained
his Parliamentary seat up until his death and was made an Earl in
his last few months.Written Works:
- 1933: "War
Memoirs"
- 1938: "The
Truth about War Treaties".
Marriage:
1888: To Margaret Owen.
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
Houses of Parliament
Westminister Abbey
WALES:
Ty-Newydd, Caernarvonshire
Date and Place of Death:
26th March 1945. Ty-Newydd, near Llanystumdwy,
Caernarvonshire, Wales.
Age at Death:
82.
Site of Grave:
North Aisle of the Nave, Westminster Abbey, London.
Memorial at David Lloyd George Memorial Site, Llanystumdwy on the
banks of the River Dwyfor, Caernarvonshire, Wales.
Westminster Abbey, London
(© A Blagg)
