Joseph Davies (politician)

Sir Joseph Davies in 1919

Sir Joseph Davies KBE MP (11 December 1866 – 3 December 1954) was a Welsh businessman, commercial statistician^[1] and Liberal Party politician. He was one of a talented group of men and women who worked closely with David Lloyd George during his premiership as a key member of Lloyd George's wartime secretariat, known as the Garden Suburb.

Family and education

Joseph Davies was the son of Thomas S Davies of St Issells, near Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire.^[2] He was educated at Bristol Grammar School^[3] In 1894, he married Blanche, the daughter of John Heron Wilson, from Cardiff. She died in 1951.^[4] They do not appear to have had any children.

Career

Davies began working life in Cardiff Docks. He had a flair for statistics and organisation and in partnership with C P Hailey he built up a considerable business including the formation of investment trusts. He also became Secretary of the Cardiff Exchange.^[5] Over the years, Davies successfully built up his business interests based around the traditional industries of South Wales, coal and railways. He was sometime Director of the Cambrian Railways and Chairman of the Totton and Fawley Light Railway Co.^[6] He later became Chairman of the Agwi Petroleum Corporation,^[7] which was later absorbed into Esso. He also diversified into property and was a Director of the Anglo-Scottish Amalgamated Trust,^[8] Chairman of the Status Investment Trust Ltd^[9] as well as holding directorships in a number of other companies.^[10][11] Davies also undertook charitable work and Lloyd George became impressed with his success as chairman of the committee set up to distribute the sums of money sent by Welshmen in the USA for the relief of suffering in Wales. Lloyd George invited him to join his secretariat in Downing Street, known as the Garden Suburb. The group around the prime minister at this time included Frances Stevenson, Waldorf Astor, Philip Kerr, Cecil Harmsworth and Edward Grigg.^[12] Davies acted as Secretary to the prime minister's secretariat from 1917–1920.

Politics

Parliament

Davies was adopted as Liberal candidate for Crewe in 1913.^[13] However, in December 1916 a by-election was caused in the Liberal seat at Derby when Sir Thomas Roe resigned in anticipation of being sent to the House of Lords. Derby Liberals favoured Davies for their candidate but Liberal Party headquarters in London was still under the control of H H Asquith, even though he had ceased to be prime minister and they issued an edict that, because of his close association with Lloyd George, Davies was not to be selected under any circumstances. Asquith's personal secretary went to Derby to enforce this ruling. Although a majority of Derby's Liberal delegates wanted Davies, they chose an Asquithian Liberal, William Job Collins instead.^[14] When the 1918 general election was called, Davies was adopted for Crewe. He secured the Coalition coupon and the sitting Unionist MP, Ernest Craig stood aside. His Labour opponent was J T Brownlie, President of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. Although Davies achieved a majority of 2,953 votes, the largest recorded in the constituency since its creation in 1885, the Labour vote rose to 10,439 – up from the 2,485 achieved at the previous election, a by-election in 1912.^[15] When Davies defended Crewe at the 1922 general election, standing as a Lloyd George National Liberal he again faced no Conservative opponent. It was reported that the National Liberals in Cheshire had come to an agreement with the Tories that if they declined to stand a candidate against Davies in Crewe, there would be no National Liberal opposition to Conservative candidates in the divisions of Eddisbury, Chester and Northwich and the National Liberals would urge their supporters to support the Conservative candidates in those seats.^[16] The Lloyd George Liberals appear to have held to their side of the bargain as there were no National Liberal candidates in any Cheshire seat at the 1922 general election except for Davies in Crewe. There were a number of Independent Liberals including one in Chester but this did not stop the Tories from making a clean sweep of every Cheshire seat they contested in the election.^[17] The pact was not enough to save Davies however who was this time defeated by Labour's Edward Hemmerde, a former Liberal MP. One historian has commented that politics in Crewe had been changed by a number of factors including deaths among pre-war Liberal stalwarts, the decline of nonconformity, the decreasing importance of temperance agitation and the rise of trade unionism.^[18] The progressive torch in Crewe passed from Liberalism to Labour.

Appointments and honours

Davies was knighted in January 1918 in recognition of his work for the government during the First World War, becoming a KBE.^[19] He also served as a Justice of the Peace.^[20] From 1914–1917 he was the representative for Wales and Monmouthshire on the Cabinet Committee for Prevention of Unemployment. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Daylight Saving and was a member of a War Cabinet Delegation to the USA in 1917.^[21] He later served as a member of a Parliamentary Inquiry into the government's scheme for the establishment of a motor repair works at Cippenham, near Slough .^[22]

Death

Davies devoted himself to his business affairs after leaving Parliament. However he was also a good lawn tennis player, representing Wales in some tournaments. He also enjoyed golf. He died in Cardiff on 3 December 1954, aged 87.^[23]

Papers

According to one source, a collection of Davies’ papers have been deposited at the National Library of Wales, along with those of many distinguished Liberal politicians who were early contemporaries of Lloyd George at Westminster.^[24] In addition some notes by Davies on his visits to Newcastle, Sunderland, Glasgow and South Wales in relation to the Labour question are part of the Lloyd George papers in the Parliamentary Archives.^[25]

Publications

• Railway rates, charges, and regulations of the United Kingdom : being a summary of the railway rates and charges (order confirmation) acts, 1891 and 1892, and of the acts passed from 1854 to 1888 for the general regulation of railways McCorquodale, [1892?]
• The North Country Coal and Shipping Annual for 1912 – edited with Graham Wallis
• South Wales Coalfield: map showing the mineral undertakings of steam properties, the position of the pits, the railways serving the district and ports of shipment – Offices of the South Wales Coal Annual, 12 James Street, Cardiff – c1910
• The Prime Minister’s Secretariat, 1916–1920: Memoirs of a member of the secretariat under David Lloyd George – R H Johns, Newport, Mon 1951

References