Saturday 15 October 2016

1353 Ellis Griffith


Sir Ellis Jones Ellis-Griffith, 1st Bt, by Walter Stoneman, for  James Russell & Sons, circa 1916 - NPG Ax39064 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

Constituency : Anglesey  1895-1918, Carmarthen  1923-4

Ellis  took  over  from  Thomas  Lewis  at  Anglesey.

Ellis  was  the  son  of  a  master  builder. He  was  born  in  Birmingham  and  educated  at   University  College, Aberystwyth  and  Cambridge  where  he  was  President  of  the  Union. He   became  a  barrister. He  contested  West  Toxteth  in  1892.

Ellis  was  a  radical  who  supported  female  suffrage.  Lloyd  George  rated  his  speech  on  the 1902  Education  Bill  "a dismal  failure". Despite  this,  he  was  noted  for  his  wit  and  ability  to create  soundbites. Clementine  Churchill  referred  to  his  "loud  trombone  voice". He  was  a  fluent  Welsh  speaker.

Ellis  was  unopposed  in  1900 , 1907  ( when  he  took  on  the  post  of  Recorder  of  Birkenhead ) and  December  1910.

In  1912  Ellis  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Welsh  Parliamentary  Party.

Ellis  was  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Office  from  1912  to  1915  and  played  a  big part  in  steering  the  Welsh  Disestablishment  Bill  through  the  Commons.

Ellis  was  strongly  touted  for  a  vacant  judgeship  in  1917  but  it  didn't  happen.

In  1918  Ellis  was  created  a  baronet. In  the  General  Election  that  year  he  received  the   coupon  as  a  Lloyd  George  supporter  but  was  narrowly  defeated  by   Labour.

By  1922  Ellis   had  moved  over  to  Asquith's  camp  and  contested  the  University  of   Wales   seat  for  them  but  was   defeated  by  Lloyd  George's  candidate  Thomas  Lewis  by  46  votes.

In 1923  Ellis  got  back  in  quite  easily  at  Carmarthen  but  resigned  his  seat  shortly  afterwards.

He  died  in  1926  aged  66.



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