Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones

The Lord Elwyn-Jones
The Right Honourable; The Lord Elwyn-Jones; CH PC
	Elwyn Jones in 1976
Shadow Lord Chancellor
	In office; 2 October 1983 – 9 January 1989
Leader	Neil Kinnock
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	The Lord Mishcon
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
	In office; 4 March 1974 – 4 May 1979
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson; James Callaghan
Preceded by	The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone
Succeeded by	The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone
Attorney General for England and Wales
	In office; 16 October 1964 – 19 June 1970
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	John Hobson
Succeeded by	Peter Rawlinson
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal
	In office; 11 March 1974 – 4 December 1989; Life Peerage
Member of Parliament; for Newham South; (West Ham South, 1950-1974); (Plaistow, 1945-1950)
	In office; 5 July 1945 – 11 March 1974
Preceded by	Will Thorne
Succeeded by	Nigel Spearing
Personal details
Born	24 October 1909; Llanelli, Wales
Died	4 December 1989 (aged 80); Brighton, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Pearl Binder (m. 1937)
Alma mater	Aberystwyth University; Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge; City Law School

Frederick Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones, CH, PC (24 October 1909 – 4 December 1989), known as Elwyn Jones, was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician.

Lord Elwyn-Jones's arms, displayed in the House of Lords[1]

Background and education

Elwyn Jones was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, and read History for a year at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He spent time in Germany in the 1930s.

An acting bombardier in the Royal Artillery (Territorial Army), he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 23 December 1939.[2] He ended his service as a major.

Legal career

He became a barrister and Recorder of Merthyr Tydfil. He was also a broadcaster and journalist. He served as junior British Counsel during the Nuremberg Trials,[3] and led for the prosecution (Leading Prosecutor) at the Hamburg trial of Marshal Erich von Manstein in 1948.

In 1966, he led the prosecution of the Moors murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

Political career

At the 1945 general election, he was elected as Labour Member of Parliament for Plaistow, east London. In 1950, he became MP for West Ham South, serving until 1974. In 1964, Elwyn Jones was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Attorney General (receiving the customary knighthood[4]) by Harold Wilson, a post he held until 1970.

In February 1974, he was once again elected to Parliament, now for Newham South, but left the House of Commons soon afterwards when he was made a life peer, as Baron Elwyn-Jones, of Llanelli in the County of Carmarthen and of Newham in Greater London.[5] The resulting by-election allowed Nigel Spearing to re-enter Parliament as he had lost the Acton seat in the February election. He served as Lord Chancellor from 1974 to 1979, under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In 1976 he was made a Companion of Honour.[6]

Personal life

In 1937, Elwyn Jones married Pearl "Polly" Binder, an artist from Manchester. The couple had three children: Josephine, Lou and Dan. Josephine became a researcher on Jacob Bronowski's TV series The Ascent of Man and married Francis Gladstone (a relative of Prime Minister William Gladstone).[7] Dan is an artist, collector of children's playground songs and human rights campaigner.

Elwyn Jones's brother, Idris (1900–1971), was captain of the Wales rugby union team in 1925, and was an industrial chemist who became Director General of Research Development for the National Coal Board.[8][9]

Lord Elwyn-Jones died in December 1989, aged 80.[10]

References

"Lord Chancellors, printed paper office corridor (6)". Baz Manning. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
"No. 34758". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 December 1939. p. 8535.
The Trial of German War Criminals, Part I. His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1946. p. vii.
"No. 43498". The London Gazette. 24 November 1964. p. 10025.
"No. 46236". The London Gazette. 14 March 1974. p. 3303.
"No. 46916". The London Gazette. 1 June 1976. p. 7823.
Elwyn-Jones, Frederick Elwyn-Jones, Baron, 1909-1989. (1983). In my time : an autobiography. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-78159-6. OCLC 10265408.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
James, Mary Auronwy. "JONES, WALTER IDRIS (1900-1971)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
"Wales' rugby captains". BBC. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
Charles Roger Dod; Robert Phipps Dod (1990). Dod's Parliamentary Companion. Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Limited. p. 348. ISBN 9780905702162.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Will Thorne	Member of Parliament for Plaistow 1945–1950	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for West Ham South 1950–1974	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Newham South 1974	Succeeded by Nigel Spearing
Political offices
Preceded by John Hobson	Attorney General for England and Wales 1964–1970	Succeeded by Peter Rawlinson
Preceded by The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone	Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 1974–1979	Succeeded by The Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone
New office	Shadow Lord Chancellor 1983–1989	Succeeded by The Lord Mishcon

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[1] "Lord Chancellors, printed paper office corridor (6)". Baz Manning. Retrieved 28 January 2021.

[2] "No. 34758". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 December 1939. p. 8535.

[3] The Trial of German War Criminals, Part I. His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1946. p. vii.

[4] "No. 43498". The London Gazette. 24 November 1964. p. 10025.

[5] "No. 46236". The London Gazette. 14 March 1974. p. 3303.

[6] "No. 46916". The London Gazette. 1 June 1976. p. 7823.

[7] Elwyn-Jones, Frederick Elwyn-Jones, Baron, 1909-1989. (1983). In my time : an autobiography. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-78159-6. OCLC 10265408.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[8] James, Mary Auronwy. "JONES, WALTER IDRIS (1900-1971)". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 20 November 2014.

[9] "Wales' rugby captains". BBC. Retrieved 20 November 2014.

[DodDod1990-10] Charles Roger Dod; Robert Phipps Dod (1990). Dod's Parliamentary Companion. Dod's Parliamentary Companion, Limited. p. 348. ISBN 9780905702162.