Everyone knows the name David Lloyd George, the only Welshman ever to become prime minister. His daughter Megan is perhaps less well known these days but in the 1930s and 40s, right up to her death in 1966, she was one of the most inspirational speakers and broadcasters, a true heir to her father's social and political beliefs.
Megan Lloyd George, 1929
On 30 May 1929 she became the first woman MP in Wales when she won the Anglesey seat for the Liberal Party. Over the next few years, with her father's political star waning, she took the lead in the small band of Lloyd George Liberals in parliament, speaking regularly on issues such as agriculture, Welsh affairs and, increasingly, the rights of women.
Megan Lloyd George was born on 22 April 1902 and was brought up, largely, at 11 and 10 Downing Street when her father was firstly chancellor of the exchequer and then prime minister. Until the age of four she spoke only Welsh and was at least partly educated by Frances Stevenson, Lloyd George's long-standing mistress.
In 1919 Megan accompanied her father to the Paris Peace Conference after the end of the First World War and witnessed international affairs first hand. She became a fervent opponent of appeasement, the policy that, arguably, enabled Hitler to come to power in Germany.
As a Liberal MP, Megan Lloyd George was outspoken and forthright. In 1931 she refused to support the National Government of Ramsey MacDonald but this did not affect her popularity and she continued to hold the Anglesey seat until 1951. In the 1940s and 50s she campaigned vociferously for a Welsh Assembly and for the appointment of a secretary of state for Wales.
As the 1940s drew to a close it was clear that Megan Lloyd George was moving further and further to the left in her political views and stance.
Despite this, in 1949 she was appointed deputy leader of the Liberal Party, one of only 12 Liberal politicians in the House. Then, in 1951 she lost her seat to Cledwyn Hughes and, to many, it seemed as if her political career was over.
Megan Lloyd George, 1944
In 1955 Megan Lloyd George (Lady Megan Lloyd George as she had then become, following her father's enoblement in 1945) joined the Labour Party and two years later fought a by-election at Carmarthen.
She won the seat and remained MP for the town until her death. Many thought she might gain cabinet office but Megan remained a backbencher where she could give full rein to her views.
Always conscious of her Welshness, in the words of the Encyclopedia of Wales, was Megan who "Invented the concept of a 'national region,' the concept that gave rise to the Broadcasting Council for Wales."
Megan Lloyd George died from breast cancer at Pwllheli on 14 May 1966. She was 64 years old. Inheriting her father's mantle as the champion of the people was never going to be easy but, with skill and determination, it was something she managed.
Her career as a politician was considerable but nothing could ever quite match her achievement in becoming Wales' first woman MP.
