Lloyd George Manuscripts,

Papers, 1886-1968, of the Lloyd George family. The collection is comprised mainly of correspondence, the bulk of which is addressed to David Lloyd George, mostly from contemporary political figures and from members of his family. The political correspondence relates largely to Welsh affairs, including Disestablishment, the Welsh Church Commission, education and the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1911, as well as to the Irish Question and the First World War. David Lloyd George's family correspondence includes letters, [c. 1886]-1941, between David Lloyd George and his wife Margaret, from David Lloyd George to his uncle Richard Lloyd, 1890-1916, and to David Lloyd George from his brother William George, 1891-1915; other family correspondence includes letters to Margaret Lloyd George, 1893-1939, from various correspondents, and from Margaret Lloyd George mainly to her daughter Olwen Carey-Evans, 1917-1939; correspondence and papers of Megan Lloyd George, daughter of David and Margaret Lloyd George, including letters, 1939-1957, to and from Labour politician Philip Noel-Baker and from other correspondents, 1910-1966, including her parents, together with a tour journal, 1923-1924, and diary, 1947, and correspondence and papers, 1914-[c. 1963], of Gwilym Lloyd George, son of David and Margaret Lloyd George, including a typescript draft, [c. 1960]-1962, of his (unpublished) autobiography; together with speech notes, notebooks and miscellaneous papers, [c. 1904]-1939, of David Lloyd George, and correspondence and papers, 1898-1909, relating to Mair Eluned Lloyd George, daughter of David and Margaret Lloyd George.

David Lloyd George, Liberal statesman and Prime Minister from 1916 until 1922, was born in Manchester in January 1863. His father died the following year and his mother took herself and her children to live with her brother Richard Lloyd (1834-1917) at Llanystumdwy, where David attended the National School. He qualified in law in 1884 and began to practice as a solicitor at Cricieth; he became known in his profession as a fierce advocate and an eloquent speaker. Together with his younger brother William George (1865-1967) he set up the family legal practice Lloyd George and George. In 1890 Lloyd George was elected Liberal MP for the Caernarvonshire Boroughs. His interests at this time were mainly those of Wales, including the Disestablishment of the Welsh Church and land reform; he was also prominent in the nationalistic movement Cymru Fydd which was founded in 1886. He also opposed the conduct of the South African war (1899-1902) and the 1902 Education Act. When the Liberals came to power in 1905 Lloyd George became President of the Board of Trade under Campbell-Bannerman and he soon proved himself an exceptional administrator and mediator. In 1908 he succeeded H. H. Asquith as Chancellor of the Exchequer, piloting the Old Age Pension Bill through the House of Commons, and, in 1909, he introduced his controversial first 'People's Budget', which emphasised social reform by raising revenue in novel ways, and which was rejected by the House of Lords. In 1911, he was successfully to introduce the National Insurance Bill. Upon the formation of a wartime coalition government in 1915, Lloyd George became Minister of Munitions, and in 1916 he succeeded first Lord Kitchener, as Secretary for War. On Asquith's enforced resignation in December 1916, Lloyd George became Prime Minister, steering Britain through the First World War and appearing prominently in the subsequent Paris Peace Conference of 1919. In 1921, he carried through the Anglo-Irish Treaty which created an autonomous Ireland. When, in November 1922, the Conservative members of the government took their decision to resign, thus making it impossible to continue the Coalition, Lloyd George also resigned his post as Prime Minister. Though he never held office again, he did however remain politically active for a number of years, even travelling to Germany to meet Adolf Hitler in 1936. He also published his War Memoirs in six volumes in the late 1930s. In 1945, the last year of his life, Lloyd George was created 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor and Viscount Gwynedd. He died at Ty Newydd, Llanystumdwy on 26 March 1945 and was buried near the river Dwyfor. He remained the Liberal MP for the Caernarfon Boroughs at the time of his death. Lloyd George was twice married: his first marriage in 1888 to Margaret Owen, the daughter of Richard Owen of Mynydd Ednyfed Fawr, Criccieth, a prosperous Eifionydd farmer. Despite her husband's political activities in London, Margaret maintained strong links with Criccieth, and ensured that the first language of the home was Welsh. The marriage produced five children - Richard (1889-1968), Mair Eluned, who died in 1907 aged seventeen, Olwen, later Lady Olwen Carey-Evans (1892-1990), Gwilym (1894-1967), and Megan (1902-1966). His second marriage, in October 1943, was to his long-standing secretary and mistress, Frances Stevenson.<br>Both Gwilym and Megan followed their father into politics, and Gwilym held a number of ministerial posts at Westminster between 1942 and 1957. Megan was MP for Anglesey as a Liberal, 1929-1951, but she joined the Lloyd George family group of independent Liberal MPs at the constitutional crisis of August 1931. She served as the committed president of the tenacious Parliament for Wales campaign throughout its duration from 1950 until 1956. Her politics moved to the left in the 1950s, she joined the Labour Party in April 1955, and she was Labour MP for Carmarthen from 1957 until her death in 1966. Like her mother, Megan served as a Justice of the Peace in Criccieth and was also a member of the town council for many years. The family's affinity with Criccieth, and their interest (rooted in their Nonconformist upbringing) in religion and education, is reflected in the papers they collected relating to schools and chapels in the area.

Arranged into groups according to NLW MSS reference numbers: NLW MSS 20403-20493, 21787-21792, 22514-22537, 22823-22828, 23254-23268, 23657-23671. Each group is arranged by varying combinations of theme, provenance and chronology. For reasons of estate, some papers have been kept in distinct groups with no archival significance.

Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions set out in information provided when applying for their Readers' Tickets, whereby the reader shall become responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 in relation to any processing by them of personal data obtained from modern records held at the Library.

NLW MSS 20403-20493; Mr D. L. Carey-Evans; Cricieth; Purchase; 1969
NLW MSS 21787-21792; Owen Lloyd George, 3rd Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, grandson of David and Margaret Lloyd George; Purchase; 1982
NLW MSS 22514-22537; Owen Lloyd George, 3rd Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor; Purchase; 1987
NLW MSS 22823-22828; Mr Robin Carey-Evans, Mrs Eluned Macmillan, and Mrs Margaret Barrett; New South Wales, Australia, Toronto, Canada, and Haddlington, East Lothian, respectively; Purchase; 1990
NLW MSS 23254-23268 (majority of the papers); Sotheby's; London; Purchased at auction, lot 367B; 1993
NLW MSS 23254-23268 (remainder of the papers); Mr D. L. Carey-Evans; Cricieth; Purchase; 1993
NLW MSS 23657-23671; William Lloyd George, 3rd Viscount Tenby; Farnham, Surrey; Purchase (with NLW ex 1972); March 1996

David Lloyd George, Liberal statesman and Prime Minister from 1916 until 1922, was born in Manchester in January 1863. His father died the following year and his mother took herself and her children to live with her brother Richard Lloyd (1834-1917) at Llanystumdwy, where David attended the National School. He qualified in law in 1884 and began to practice as a solicitor at Cricieth; he became known in his profession as a fierce advocate and an eloquent speaker. Together with his younger brother William George (1865-1967) he set up the family legal practice Lloyd George and George. In 1890 Lloyd George was elected Liberal MP for the Caernarvonshire Boroughs. His interests at this time were mainly those of Wales, including the Disestablishment of the Welsh Church and land reform; he was also prominent in the nationalistic movement Cymru Fydd which was founded in 1886. He also opposed the conduct of the South African war (1899-1902) and the 1902 Education Act. When the Liberals came to power in 1905 Lloyd George became President of the Board of Trade under Campbell-Bannerman and he soon proved himself an exceptional administrator and mediator. In 1908 he succeeded H. H. Asquith as Chancellor of the Exchequer, piloting the Old Age Pension Bill through the House of Commons, and, in 1909, he introduced his controversial first 'People's Budget', which emphasised social reform by raising revenue in novel ways, and which was rejected by the House of Lords. In 1911, he was successfully to introduce the National Insurance Bill. Upon the formation of a wartime coalition government in 1915, Lloyd George became Minister of Munitions, and in 1916 he succeeded first Lord Kitchener, as Secretary for War. On Asquith's enforced resignation in December 1916, Lloyd George became Prime Minister, steering Britain through the First World War and appearing prominently in the subsequent Paris Peace Conference of 1919. In 1921, he carried through the Anglo-Irish Treaty which created an autonomous Ireland. When, in November 1922, the Conservative members of the government took their decision to resign, thus making it impossible to continue the Coalition, Lloyd George also resigned his post as Prime Minister. Though he never held office again, he did however remain politically active for a number of years, even travelling to Germany to meet Adolf Hitler in 1936. He also published his War Memoirs in six volumes in the late 1930s. In 1945, the last year of his life, Lloyd George was created 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor and Viscount Gwynedd. He died at Ty Newydd, Llanystumdwy on 26 March 1945 and was buried near the river Dwyfor. He remained the Liberal MP for the Caernarfon Boroughs at the time of his death. Lloyd George was twice married: his first marriage in 1888 to Margaret Owen, the daughter of Richard Owen of Mynydd Ednyfed Fawr, Criccieth, a prosperous Eifionydd farmer. Despite her husband's political activities in London, Margaret maintained strong links with Criccieth, and ensured that the first language of the home was Welsh. The marriage produced five children - Richard (1889-1968), Mair Eluned, who died in 1907 aged seventeen, Olwen, later Lady Olwen Carey-Evans (1892-1990), Gwilym (1894-1967), and Megan (1902-1966). His second marriage, in October 1943, was to his long-standing secretary and mistress, Frances Stevenson.<br>Both Gwilym and Megan followed their father into politics, and Gwilym held a number of ministerial posts at Westminster between 1942 and 1957. Megan was MP for Anglesey as a Liberal, 1929-1951, but she joined the Lloyd George family group of independent Liberal MPs at the constitutional crisis of August 1931. She served as the committed president of the tenacious Parliament for Wales campaign throughout its duration from 1950 until 1956. Her politics moved to the left in the 1950s, she joined the Labour Party in April 1955, and she was Labour MP for Carmarthen from 1957 until her death in 1966. Like her mother, Megan served as a Justice of the Peace in Criccieth and was also a member of the town council for many years. The family's affinity with Criccieth, and their interest (rooted in their Nonconformist upbringing) in religion and education, is reflected in the papers they collected relating to schools and chapels in the area.

Title based on contents of fonds.

Description compiled by Bethan Ifans for the retrospective conversion project of NLW MSS, and revised by J. Graham Jones. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume IX (Aberystwyth, 2003); Oxford Dictionary of National Biography WWW site; Dictionary of Welsh Biography 1941-1970 (London, 2001).

Usual copyright laws apply.

Action: All records purchased by the National Library of Wales have been retained..

Accruals are not expected.

The major archive of Lloyd George's papers, those which he bequeathed to his second wife Frances, is in the custody of the Parliamentary Archive at the House of Lords, London. The National Library of Wales houses four further groups of records directly relevant to David Lloyd George: William George Papers, Olwen Carey-Evans Papers, A. J. Sylvester Papers, and the Frances Stevenson Family Papers. See also NLW ex 1069 and 1972 and the typescript lists Lloyd George Manuscripts (1970), Lady Olwen Carey-Evans Papers (1991), Lloyd George Papers (1992), A. J. Sylvester Papers (1997), William George Papers (1999), Frances Stevenson Family Papers (2000), and the illustrated booklet Jones, J. Graham: Lloyd George Papers at the National Library of Wales and other Repositories (Aberystwyth, 2001). Many other archive groups in the custody of the National Library of Wales include material relevant to Lloyd George.

J. Graham Jones, Lloyd George Papers at the National Library of Wales and Other Repositories (Aberystwyth, 2001) contains helpful descriptions of each of the groups of Lloyd George Papers in the custody of the National Library. Kenneth O. Morgan (ed.), Lloyd George: family letters (Oxford and Cardiff, 1973) publishes many of the more significant items in the Lloyd George Papers purchased by the National Library in 1969. The papers have provided source materials for numerous biographies of Lloyd George and many other monographs and studies. Particularly apposite are W. R. P. George, The Making of Lloyd George (London, 1976), and Lloyd George: Backbencher (Llandysul, 1983). There are four volumes of biography by John Grigg, The Young Lloyd George (London, 1973), Lloyd George: the People's Champion, 1902-1911 (London, 1978), Lloyd George: from Peace to War, 1912-1916 (London, 1985), and Lloyd George: War Leader, 1916-1918 (London, 2002).

Published

Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru = The National Library of Wales