The Right Hon. Lord Tredegar


Photo reference number: 1154

SOURCE: "Who's Who In Newport", The Williams Press Ltd, Newport, Mon. (around 1920)

Tredegar, the Right Hon. Lord the eldest son of the late Colonel the Hon. F. C. Morgan, and nephew of the late Viscount Tredegar. He succeeded his uncle to the Barony in 1913. Born at Ruperra Castle in 1867, he was educated at Eton. In 1884 he joined the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) as a subaltern. In 1899 he was appointed aide-de-camp to Major-general Sir Thomas Fraser, who then held the command of the Thames district. In 1900 he went to South Africa as a staff officer. In 1901 he joined General French's column, and took part in the wide sweeping movements in the Eastern Transvaal, Natal and Swaziland. At the end of that year he was invalided home. In May, 1902, he was appointed to a command of the remounts at the Alexandra Palace, in connection with the Colonial troops who came to England for the Coronation of King Edward VII. Again returning to the Monmouthshire Militia, he was appointed commander of the field company of that corps. Lord Tredegar rendered conspicuous service through the war. Directly it was known that the die had been cast, he wired to the Admiralty offering his magnificent steam yacht, "Liberty," for use as a hospital ship. Barely three weeks before she had borne Prince Arthur of Connaught into the new entrance lock of the Alexandra Dock. The offer was promptly accepted, and - at Lord Tredegar's expense - she was fitted out for her new service. The work was soon completed, and then for many months, under Lord Tredegar's personal command, and with a crew provided by him, she served in the North Sea as a naval hospital ship. Then his lordship was asked to undertake recruiting in Wales for the Royal Naval Division, and was given the rank of commander with the command of the Welsh Battalion. He came to Wales and Monmouthshire and addressed many meetings, and, as a result of his efforts, recruits poured in. Under his command and supervision they were trained at the Crystal Palace, and subsequently did noble service in France and Gallipoli and on the seas. Later, Lord Tredegar returned to the "Liberty," which had done service in the Mediterranean, and he commanded her until the Armistice was signed. Shortly after that she was returned by the Admiralty, dismantled as a hospital ship, and refitted. In recognition of his services to the cause of humanity, Lord Tredegar was created a Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The officers of the Naval Medical Division and the officers who served in the yacht during the war recently presented his lordship with a handsome replica in silver of the famous statue of Liberty in New York Harbour as a souvenir of the war service of the yacht. His lordship, it must also be recorded, undertook the appeal in Wales for King George's Fund for Sailors, and secured a handsome response. Further, he loaned for the latter half of the war, his fine house, 37 Bryanston square, London, for use as a hospital for members of the Royal Air Force. Lord Tredegar has three times travelled round the world, and has visited every British colony. He is a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. He built the schooner-yacht "Sylvana," in which he has sailed over 20,000 miles in different parts of the world. He is an alderman of the Monmouthshire County Council, and a Deputy-lieutenant for the County. He is a keen fox-hunter, and in 1906 he was appointed huntsman of the Tredegar Hounds. He indulges also in fishing, cricket and golf. He married in 1890 Lady Katherine Agnes Blanche Carnegie, daughter of James, ninth Earl of Southesk. He has a son — the Hon. Evan Morgan, who served with the Welsh Guards during the war, and has also published a book of poems — and a daughter. Lord Tredegar has inherited the patriotic, soldierly and sporting qualities of the Morgans, and their generosity, too. He is generous to all good causes, and one of his first acts after his accession to the title was to present the fine old residence, the Friars, to the Royal Gwent Hospital, for use as a convalescent home.

Residences: Tredegar Park, Newport, and Ruperra Castle, Glamorgan.
Clubs: White's, Arthur's, Turf, London and Royal Yacht Squadron.

Photos of the Liberty

The Morgans of Tredegar House