Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare

Morys George Lyndhurst Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, KBE, PC, DL (16 June 1919[1] – 23 January 2005)[2] was a Conservative politician, and from 1999 until his death, one of ninety-two elected hereditary peers in the British House of Lords. He was the eldest son of Clarence Bruce, 3rd Baron Aberdare, and Margaret Bethune Black, and succeeded to his father's title on the latter's death in 1957.

The Right Honourable The Lord Aberdare KBE PC DL
Lord Aberdare in 1967
Minister without portfolio
In office 8 January 1974 – 4 March 1974
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	The Lord Drumalbyn
Succeeded by	The Lord Young of Graffham
Minister of State for Health and Social Security
In office 23 June 1970 – 8 January 1974
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	The Baroness Serota
Succeeded by	Brian O'Malley
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 5 October 1957 – 23 January 2005 Hereditary Peerage
Preceded by	The 3rd Lord Aberdare
Succeeded by	The 2nd Viscount Eccles
Personal details
Born	Morys George Lyndhurst Bruce 16 June 1919
Died	23 January 2005 (aged 85)
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Maud Helen Sarah Dashwood ​ ​ (m. 1946)​
Parents	Clarence Bruce, 3rd Baron Aberdare (father)
Education	Sandroyd School Winchester College
Alma mater	New College, Oxford

Education

Bruce was educated at Sandroyd School before heading to Winchester College and New College, Oxford, where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

Career

Coats of Arms of Morys Bruce

In 1939 he joined the British Army, commissioned with the rank of Lieutenant in the Welsh Guards; he would eventually reach the rank of Captain, after having served in various staff positions with XII Corps, the 21st Army Group, and XXX Corps during and after World War II.

He joined the J. Arthur Rank Organisation in 1947, working there for two years before moving to the British Broadcasting Corporation, where he worked between 1949 and 1956. In 1970, he became Minister of State for the Department of Health and Social Security; in 1974, he was appointed to the Privy Council and became a Minister without Portfolio. Between 1976 and 1992, he served as Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords, (Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords). In 1984, he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and he would serve various positions within the Order of St John of Jerusalem. After the House of Lords Act 1999 prevented hereditary peers from sitting in the Lords solely by virtue of their peerages, Lord Aberdare became one of the ninety-two hereditary peers elected to stay in the House of Lords.

On 24 August 1992, he officially opened Chester City's new football stadium, the Deva Stadium.[3]

Lord Aberdare was a lifelong devotee of real tennis, winning the British amateur singles championship four times between 1953 and 1957, and the amateur doubles championship four times between 1954 and 1961. He served as president of the Tennis and Rackets Association from 1972 until 2004. During his tenure there was a significant expansion in both real tennis and rackets, and a number of new courts were built while several others were re-opened. His book, The JT Faber Book of Tennis and Rackets (London: Quiller Press, 2001. ISBN 1-899163-62-X), is the most comprehensive modern reference for these sports.

Lord Aberdare was President of the London Welsh Trust, which runs the London Welsh Centre, from 1959 until 1962, and from 1969 to 1970.[4]

Family

In 1946 he married Maud Helen Sarah Dashwood,[5] daughter of Sir John Lindsay Dashwood, 10th Baronet, and Helen Moira Eaton. They had four children:

• Alastair John Lyndhurst Bruce, 5th Baron Aberdare (b. 2 May 1947)
• Hon. James Henry Morys Bruce (b. 28 Dec 1948), married and has issue
• Hon. Henry Adam Francis Bruce (b. 5 Feb 1962), married and has issue
• Hon. Charles Benjamin Bruce (b. 29 May 1965)

References

1. "Aberdare, Morys George Lyndhurst Bruce". Who's Who 1998 : an Annual Biographical Dictionary. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1998. pp. 2–3. ISBN 0-312-17591-4.
2. "Obituary: Lord Aberdare". The Guardian. 19 February 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
3. The Football Supporters' Federation – Chester Archived 30 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
4. "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.
5. "Maud Helen Sarah Bruce (née Dashwood), Lady Aberdare". National Portrait Gallery, London.

External links

• Portraits of Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare at the National Portrait Gallery, London