Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones

Elwyn Jones was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, and read History for a year at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He spent time in Germany in the 1930s.

An acting bombardier in the Royal Artillery (Territorial Army), he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 23 December 1939.[2] He ended his service as a major.

He became a barrister and Recorder of Merthyr Tydfil. He was also a broadcaster and journalist. He served as junior British Counsel during the Nuremberg Trials,[3] and led for the prosecution (Leading Prosecutor) at the Hamburg trial of Marshal Erich von Manstein in 1948.

In 1966, he led the prosecution of the Moors murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

At the 1945 general election, he was elected as Labour Member of Parliament for Plaistow, east London. In 1950, he became MP for West Ham South, serving until 1974. In 1964, Elwyn Jones was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Attorney General (receiving the customary knighthood[4]) by Harold Wilson, a post he held until 1970.

In February 1974, he was once again elected to Parliament, now for Newham South, but left the House of Commons soon afterwards when he was made a life peer, as Baron Elwyn-Jones, of Llanelli in the County of Carmarthen and of Newham in Greater London.[5] The resulting by-election allowed Nigel Spearing to re-enter Parliament as he had lost the Acton seat in the February election. He served as Lord Chancellor from 1974 to 1979, under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. In 1976 he was made a Companion of Honour.[6]

In 1937, Elwyn Jones married Pearl "Polly" Binder, an artist from Manchester. The couple had three children: Josephine, Lou and Dan. Josephine became a researcher on Jacob Bronowski's TV series The Ascent of Man and married Francis Gladstone (a relative of Prime Minister William Gladstone).[7] Dan is an artist, collector of children's playground songs and human rights campaigner.

Elwyn Jones's brother, Idris (1900–1971), was captain of the Wales rugby union team in 1925, and was an industrial chemist who became Director General of Research Development for the National Coal Board.[8][9]

Lord Elwyn-Jones died in December 1989, aged 80.[10]

• The Times House of Commons 1945. 1945.
• The Times House of Commons 1950. 1950.
• The Times House of Commons 1955. 1955.

• Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones at Find a Grave
• Portraits of Elwyn Jones at the National Portrait Gallery, London
• Llanelli Community Heritage Elwyn-Jones Blue Plaque
• Lord Elwyn-Jones' appearance on Desert Island Discs
• Lord Elwyn-Jones Papers at the National Library of Wales
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Lord Elwyn Jones