David Lloyd George

A memorial stone to David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George O.M., Prime Minister, was unveiled in the north aisle of the nave of Westminster Abbey on 27th July 1970. The sculptor was Jonah Jones, to a design by Clough Williams Ellis. The inscription reads:

David Lloyd George 1863-1945 Prime Minister 1916-1922

He was born in Manchester on 17th January 1863, a son of William George and his wife Elizabeth (Lloyd). The family had a farm in Pembrokeshire in south Wales and his uncle Richard was a strong Liberal. David followed him into political life. In 1888 he married Margaret Owen and their children were Richard (who became 2nd Earl), Mair, Olwen, Gwilym and Megan. He entered Paliament in 1890 and rose to become President of the Board of Trade and Chancellor of the Exchequer and during the 1914-1918 war he was First Minister of Munitions and Secretary of State for War. In 1916 he became Prime Minister of the wartime Coalition Government until 1918 and was again Prime Minister from 1918-1922. Later he was Liberal Leader. His speech in 1940 against the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain helped to bring him down and led to Winston Churchill taking that office. In 1943 David married his secretary Frances Stevenson and he died on 26th March 1945. He was buried beside the river Dwyfor in Wales.

Further Reading

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004

D. Lloyd George "War Memoirs", 1933-1936

W. George "My brother and I", 1958

T. Jones "Lloyd George", 1951

Lloyd George has a statue in Parliament Square Westminster

The Lloyd George Museum is at Cricieth in North Wales