Remembering the Morgans of Tredegar House Killed in the Great War

Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport

INFORMATION RELEASE

A NEW BOOK ON THE MORGANS OF TREDEGAR HOUSE

FROM NEWPORT HISTORIAN WILLIAM CROSS

The Morgans of Tredegar House:

Great War Roll of Honour : The Hoare, Lindsay and Mundy great- grandsons of the first Lord and Lady Tredegar who died during the 1914-1918 War

A new book about the Morgans of Tredegar House was  published on 11 November 2018.

The book outlines  the story of the five  great grandsons of the first Lord & Lady Tredegar of Tredegar who were killed in the Great War. 

The compiler is  Newport  writer and historian  William Cross,  the author of eight other books featuring the  Morgan dynasty.

The  book is a tribute to the five men, who  spent periods of  childhood and early adulthood in the company of  their Morgan relations at estate events and family gatherings at Tredegar House and the adjoining Tredegar Park and Ruperra Castle.

The book also touches on a nephew of Katharine, Lady Tredegar and three  other men killed  in the Great War who had overlaps to the Morgan family as they were socially linked in her debutante year of 1914 with the doomed  Gwyneth  Erika  Morgan, daughter of the 3rd Lord and Lady Tredegar whose body was fished out of the River Thames in 1925.

Essential reading for those interested  in the Morgan family of Tredegar House  and their collaterals and those who wish  to remember the selfless contribution one of Wales’s great families made in the war to end wars.

Compiler  William Cross comments :

• “Surprisingly with all the commemorations for the Great War no mention is made  at the Morgan seat of Tredegar House of the five brave Morgan  men who gave their lives for their country. 

Cross adds:

• “ Sadly on  11 November 2018 Tredegar House was dark and closed  whilst  the whole country observed two minutes silence for the dead from the Great War, and for  the  Armistice  commemorations 100 years on from the special day  that established  an important  line for peace and remembrance  after  four years of slaughter between 1914 and 1918. ”

  

The book is 100 pages long, with over 100 End Notes and contains

Over 80 images, with unique pictures of members of the Morgan clan that are not in the public domain. Many images are in colour.

*  Further Enquiries about the book  etc  please contact:

William Cross

58 Sutton Newport, Newport, NP 19 7JF

e-mail

williecross@aol.com

LEST WE FORGET

Those  to remember  with  honour are  Lt. Charles Morgan Hoare, 15^th Kings Hussars, Capt. George Walter Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers, Lt. Frederic Charles Mundy, RNVR,  Lt. Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers and Major Claud Frederick Thomas Lindsay, Royal Field Artillery.

Also to recall are Capt. Raymond Rodakowski, Irish Guards, nephew of Katharine, Lady Tredegar, Hon. Simon Fraser, Hon. Charles Mills, MP,  and Hon. Reginald Wyndham who  all  died between 1914 and 1918. 

The book is dedicated to the Hon. Gerard Sturt, brother of Lois Sturt ( Viscountess Tredegar 1934-1937).  By a singular coincidence Gerard Sturt died at Crichel House  (the country residence  of his parents, Lord and Lady Alington) about 8:30am on Monday 11 November
1918.  This was just after the re-taking of Mons ( where Gerard was  horrifically wounded in  1914) and the signing of the Armistice.

Great War : Roll of Honour: Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport

The Morgans of Tredegar House:

Great War Roll of Honour : The Hoare, Lindsay and Mundy great- grandsons of the first Lord and Lady Tredegar who died during the 1914-1918 War

Introduction by William Cross, FSA Scot

As  Britain  nears the end of  four years  of  commemorations  for  the Great War,  the  many  stories revealed  have  enriched our history  and shed light on tales  of heroism,  sacrifice and premature deaths.

Five  of the great grandsons of the first Lord & Lady Tredegar of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales were  killed in action in the fighting.  But no mention  is  made of  these men  at  the Morgan seat  where thousands of visitors flock every month including local Welsh school children. [i] That is a disgraceful reflection on these  deceased members of the Morgan dynasty who gave their lives for their country.  [ii]

It is also  unbefitting (by comparison) that  visitors to Tredegar  House will hear stories of a horse named ‘Sir Briggs’ who went to war in the Crimean  with  Godfrey Morgan, 2^nd Lord Tredegar but learn nothing whatsoever  about the  five young Tredegar men who perished in history and warfare that has more relevance and poignancy today than anything from time past.  

Those  to remember  with  honour are  Lt. Charles Morgan Hoare, 15^th Kings Hussars, Capt. George Walter Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers, Lt. Frederic Charles Mundy, RNVR,  Lt. Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers and Major Claud Frederick Thomas Lindsay, Royal Field Artillery who  all  died between 1914 and 1918.

Lady Katharine Carnegie, wife of the 3^rd Lord  Tredegar, also lost a nephew in the same conflict, Capt. Raymond Rodakowski, Irish Guards, who was killed in action in 1917.

This short book is a tribute to these men, who  spent periods of  childhood and early adulthood in the company of  their Morgan relations at estate events and family gatherings at Tredegar House and the adjoining Tredegar Park.  We should remember them.

The book also touches on three  other men killed  in the Great War with overlaps to the Morgan family: Hon. Simon Fraser, Hon. Charles Mills, MP,  and Hon. Reginald Wyndham who were linked in her debutante year of 1914 with Gwyneth Erika Morgan (only daughter of the 3^rd Lord and Lady Tredegar), and but for the lives of the men ending  in the war it poses the inevitable question of ‘what might have been’.    

The book is dedicated to Hon. Gerard  Sturt, [iii] a Captain in the Coldstream Guards (brother of Lois Sturt who married Evan Morgan). Gerard died of war wounds exactly one hundred years ago today.

Bless them all.   

William Cross, FSA Scot, Newport, 11 November 2018

---

[i] The matter was referred to by a Newport historian, Jim Dyer in the South Wales Argus in a letter in August 2017 : “As we are some way into the commemoration of WW1, I am rather surprised that no mention has been made of the Morgan Family. Everyone knows about their escapades in the Crimean War, but few know that some of the family collaterals died in the Great War. The Morgan family lost five members  in various battles and maybe a plaque or exhibit of this great sacrifice should be displayed at Tredegar House. The men, related to the first Lord and Lady Tredegar, lost were – Lt. Charles Morgan Hoare, 15th Kings Hussars; Capt. George Walter Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers;  Lt. Frederic Charles Mundy, RNVR; Lt. Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay, Royal Engineers, and Major Claude Frederick, Thomas Lindsay, Royal field Artillery. What sacrifice, all between 1914/18. Additionally, the Second Lady Tredegar, Katharine Carnegie, lost a nephew during the conflict, Capt. Raymond Rodakowski, Irish Guards, in 1917.

Tredegar House of course is well known and popular internationally, and I am quite surprised the Curators in charge there haven't made the most of this family connection.” Jim Dyer, Stockton Road, Newport. NB This is an amended version to that published in the South Wales Argus – 28 August 2017.

[ii] On 11 November 2017 and again on 11 November 2018  when the whole country observed two minutes silence for the dead from the Great War, and at  the  Armistice  commemorations 100 years on from the special day  that established  an important  date for peace and remembrance  after  four years of slaughter between 1914 and 1918,  Tredegar House, Newport, managed by the National Trust  remained dark and closed.

[iii] Captain  Hon. Gerard Philip Montagu Napier Sturt (1893-1918)  was the eldest  son of Humphrey Napier Sturt, 2nd Baron Alington of Crichel and Lady Feodorowna Yorke of Crichel House, Wimborne, Dorset. Died 11 November 1918 aged 25 ‘from wounds received in action’.  Sadly, the circumstances of Gerard’s death point to suicide. Contact the Author for further details.

CONTACT WILLIAM CROSS BY E-MAIL/POST FOR MORE DETAILS

williecross@aol.com

ISBN 13 9781905914487

Published by

William P. Cross

Book Midden Publishing

58 Sutton Road

Newport Gwent

NP19 7JF, United Kingdom

Lois Sturt : New Book By William Cross, FSA Scot

Lois Ina Sturt 1900-1937

LAST COPIES FOR SALE OF

An album of sexually explicit verses and jokes

From the Collection Of

Lois Ina Sturt and Reggie Pembroke

Compiled by William Cross, FSA Scot

The  material  comes  from the collection of Lois Sturt and Reggie Pembroke, two  minor aristocrats and sometime lovers.   The ditties  are what these two central characters laughed and sniggered about before, during and after making love.

The  lovers read  them out to each other in bed whilst they drew breath, enjoying an accompanying cigarette and a  glass of bubbly before returning to love-making.

Transcribed  from the records  in the National Library of Wales, the originals are in handwritten form but  some  pieces are typed up. They are  housed  in tatty exercise books, maintained by Lois,  with some  contributions from Reggie, usually appended to one of  his many  love letters to his “Darling Lois”. [i]

When the affair started  in 1919-20 Lois was aged 19, not ‘under age’, the age of consent  for heterosexuals at the time was 16. [ii]  Reggie was a  39- year-old married man.  

The relationship  lasted  several years. It staggered along after the open-secret  lovers were reported by informants to Reggie’s wife and Lois’s mother.

There were several long gaps in the romance,  sometimes of months at a time during the years it lasted.  It was finally fizzling out by 1925 and was over by the end  of  1926.  [iii]

To add a whimsical interpretation to this quaint and curious legacy of  Lois and Reggie there’s an array of adjoining  cartoons, photographs and drawings with the verses. These images are mostly  taken from contemporary sources of the same  time.

                                           Lois and Reggie in 1926

Reggie Pembroke was a Peer of the Realm, an Earl, a landowner,  a soldier and  politician. He was one of several men Lois favoured for having sex. Lois was the daughter of a Baron (an English Lord); her mother was an Earl’s daughter.

Neither Lois nor Reggie maintained exclusivity or fidelity during their affair. Reggie was handsome, self-centred, vain,  a womaniser and a  chronic gambler.  Although Lois was still a teenager and unmarried,  described as “more attractive than beautiful” [iv],  she was  an experienced lover and adored seducing older men. Mature men  were  more grateful than her clumsy male contemporaries, especially the 1920s crop of  ‘Hooray Henrys’.

The time setting for the smutty  material  is the period  c.1919-1925,  after the horrors of the  Great War. That was the age of the vulgar limerick and the saucy French postcards that were both humorous and rude. Lois and Reggie’s crop of poems etc celebrates  British smut.

Women’s rights were won in part in 1918 with an extension of the franchise and  the war between the sexes was played out in all kinds of spheres. In the verses etc. both sexes are equally lampooned.

Contact the compiler William Cross, by e-mail for further details.  The book is available on Amazon and e bay.

williecross@aol.com

---

[i] Reggie was forever inventing new ways of addressing Lois.

[ii] The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 raised the age of consent for heterosexuals to 16.

[iii] There is a photograph in this book of Lois and Reggie taken together at a racecourse in November 1926  indicating they were still happy to be seen together. Reproduced above.

[iv] Attributed. Daily Mirror Review of one of Lois’s films.

In Praise of British Smut: Risque Verses and Jokes from Lois Ina Sturt & Reggie Pembroke

LAST COPIES BEFORE THE BOOK GOES 

PRINT ON DEMAND

An album of sexually explicit verses and jokes

From the Collection of  Lois Ina Sturt and Reggie Pembroke

Published 18 September 2018. Book Midden Publishing

Compiled by William Cross, FSA Scot

ISBN 9781905914401

A  risque  book,   humorous and rude

From “The Bright Young Things” Era

·        A new book featuring  Hon.  Lois Ina Sturt, (1900-1937) Viscountess Tredegar ( 1934-1937)  was published on 18 September 2018. 

·        The book comes from Newport writer William Cross, FSA Scot,  author of eight other books featuring members of the Morgan family.

·        The verses and jokes are transcribed from the manuscript archive of Lois Ina Sturt in the National Library of Wales.

·        Whilst the verses and jokes are the centre piece of the book it also contains many features, photographs and comments on the principal figures. Lois Ina Sturt and Reginald Herbert,  15^th Earl of Pembroke, including long biographical sketches on them from cradle to grave.

·        Promotional and review copies are now available from the Author. See contact details, below.

·        The book has 100 pages and contains the following: 

An Introduction by William Cross, FSA Scot

Part 1 : Clippings from the Embassy Club

Part 2 : Over 100  Verses and Jokes

Part 3 :  The Flapper Era Revisited

Part 4:  Famous Mistresses & Lovers of the 1920s

Part 5: Lois’s Engagement Diaries & Reggie’s Love Letters

Part 6 : Biographical Sketches of Lois and Reggie

Part 7: Verses by Bernard Pearson

Part 8 : Miscellaneous & Extracts on Lois and Reggie

OVER 200  END NOTES TO ENABLE MORE RESEARCH

·       The book cover is designed by Gerard Whyman,  Newport  artist and cartoonist.

The launch date coincides with the anniversary of the death of Lois Sturt in Budapest on 18 September 1937. 

  

William Cross comments:  The bawdy verse etc.  would have shocked and disturbed  some  to read or hear  at the time.  Although on the whole dated, with the filthy overtones, innuendo, and non-PC humour, it is still comprehensible.   With today’s  tolerances, human  rights and political correctness aside,  the pieces must surely  raise a chuckle.  Some may infuriate, some are simply dire and vulgar and perhaps should have been excluded. Almost everything recorded in French has been ignored for use in another sphere or sequel title.   The material certainly shows up the “Carry On” type yarns and innuendo as a much tamer type of British humour.   

Cross adds “ The book is 100 pages long, over 30,000 words with over 200 End Notes and contains  over  100 images, with several unique   pictures of  Lois and Reggie and their “tribe”.  

* Further Enquiries about the book etc please contact

William Cross

58 Sutton Newport, Newport, NP 19 7JF

e-mail   williecross@aol.com

[ NB  William Cross’s severe deafness now affects his ability to  use the telephone, but face to face contact is fine for interviews.] 

FOR EDITORS

“An album of sexually explicit verses and jokes

From the Collection of  Lois Ina Sturt and Reggie Pembroke” by William Cross, FSA Scot. Book Midden Publishing.  ISBN 13  9781905914401 : Release date 18 September 2018.

Copies of the book at a discounted rate  can be obtained direct from the Author ( until 30 September 2018 ) at £10.00 including UK post and packing.  Also on Amazon/ e-bay whilst stocks last.

Once the current stock is sold the book will be available as print on demand only or may be deemed out of print.

Over 16s Only 

Enquiries please e-mail  williecross@aol.com

18 September 2018

Updated 3 July 2020

ENDS

An album of sexually explicit verses and jokes: A New Book from William Cross, FSA Scot

LAST COPIES 

An album of sexually explicit verses and jokes

From the Collection of  Lois Ina Sturt and Reggie Pembroke

A NEW BOOK FROM WILLIAM CROSS, FSA SCOT

Published 18 September 2018. ISBN 9781905914401

£10.00 inc p&p direct from the Author

Or on Amazon / ebay

Book Midden Publishing

A  dirty  little  book,   humorous and rude

From the Bright Young Things Era

This is a dirty little book.  It reproduces a selection of erotic, tasteless,  sexually charged  and downright filthy rhymes, jokes and limericks, from the 1920s.

The  material  comes  from the collection of Lois Sturt and Reggie Pembroke, two  minor aristocrats and sometime lovers.   The ditties  are what these two central characters  laughed and sniggered about before, during and after making love.

The  lovers read  them out to each other in bed whilst they drew breath, enjoying an accompanying cigarette and a  glass of bubbly before returning to love-making.

The book contains numerous extras including unique photographs and biographical sketches of Lois Sturt and Reggie Pembroke.

Contact the compiler William Cross, FSA Scot by e-mail for more details.

williecross@aol.com

THE EROSION OF THE HISTORY OF THE MORGANS OF TREDEGAR HOUSE, NEWPORT

THE EROSION  OF THE HISTORY OF THE MORGANS OF  TREDEGAR HOUSE, NEWPORT’   

From  William Cross, FSA Scot

Author of seven books on the Morgans of Tredegar Park

[This is the introduction to the book “Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar, ‘Lord of the Lies’ ”published 4 December 2017]

For more information and a copy of the book contact William Cross by e-mail

williecross@aol.com

In common with many other Newport citizens  I  have an  affection  for  Tredegar House  and an interest in  the history of the Morgan family.

As a researcher,  historian, lecturer and author/ co-author of  seven books[1] featuring the Morgans of Tredegar House, my work on that family  is  in the public domain. Its shelf life and substance is ongoing until others revisit,  replace or overtake  it  with  further  texts and analysis  that  trace and  use  new  material and track sources. My ten and more years of Morgan family  research can be judged  by readers  as  to whether it  adds value or not and  achieves the  intention, that is, to provide a better understanding  and  appreciation  of  the  people within the  Morgan  dynasty. 

The existence of these seven books is to enhance knowledge about the Morgans using authorities   from checkable sources.  No one  else  has produced  a  book dedicated to  the Morgans in the last  20 years with the exception of  the  handbooks  by  David Freeman and Emily Price,  former Curators of Tredegar House.

The  story of Tredegar House and  the Morgan-Gould family[2] is  also about    Newport history  at the  same time as being  importantly  set in the wider  context of  the  hundreds of years of Welsh, Scottish and English history and events that have  shaped our country’s past.  

The National Trust became leaseholder of Tredegar House  and  adjoining  parkland in 2012.

The National Trust  at  local  and other levels  is  charged as the custodian until 2062  with  maintaining  the Tregegar House  property, its grounds and  parkland,  preserving and extending the House collections and accurately  relating   the  history of the  Morgans  to  the  public especially to visitors  going  to  Tredegar  House.

The fulfillment of  these  tasks, success  or  failure  should   be   transparent  so that  Newportonians are  able  to appraise  the  state of their asset and  investment.  There  is a  constant  cycle  as the seasons  change  within  the House and in the grounds  each aspect requiring a  varying  focus of  attention and output. Past years under the auspices of Newport Council have seen some impressive programmes of entertainment, history, house repairs,  and the steady purchase of   Morgan artifacts that have been  traced  for sale.

Newportonians have a right to consider  whether the National Trust  is  money’s worth. Newportonians should be  clear about the Trust’s  activities,  of whether  they   add  value  and /or  deserve  praise or criticism   by  their  actions,  policies, decisions and the extent of  reaching out  and   demonstrating  a  suitable,  worthy, relationship  with  Newport citizens, who ultimately  own Tredegar House, not the National Trust.

The price paid by  Newportonians to the National Trust  thus  far is  considerable. Under the terms of the 2012 lease and transfer over £9.5 million pounds has already  been paid to the Trust by Newport City Council. Other payments of almost £2.5 million pounds are due until 1 April 2062. [3]    This  is not common knowledge.

It  is  fitting for the National Trust  to   promote Tredegar House  by facilitating  its appearance on several popular  television shows, a model  began  by  Newport Council in the past [4] and of staging  several inspiring exhibitions  including  “The Treasures of Tredegar” that showed off the priceless  ‘Tredegar Salt’[5] and featuring the amazing 18^th century miniature cabinet, commissioned by William Morgan[6] that I was pleased to draw Emily Price’s attention to, when  Bonhams of London  first contacted me about it’s sale.   

Equally praiseworthy  is  the  staging  of  the recent  “Roof Tours”, “Cellar Tours” and   the  ongoing  support  for  children’s activities, pirate day and  school tours. Folk, dance,  musical shows and Christmas events are always popular provisions too.

2017 has seen  Newport’s  Tredegar House transformed by important and  exciting  conservation projects, not least a new roof replacement and restoration  work inside and  improvements outside the House. [7]

Some conservation seems ill-judged  –  expense having been  spent on restoring an animal skin that has no Morgan  history attached to it! [8] At the same time the  National  Trust   has overlooked  many items relating to the Morgans that  went  up for sale in the public domain and are now lost to Newport.

One of these items  is  a unique  piece of Morgan silver,  a   hunting flask, a gift from Godfrey Morgan[9], to his older brother Charles Rodney Morgan [10] in 1849 ( then heir to Tredegar House). This gift was made on the occasion of Charles’ ‘coming of age’.   Nor did the House show any interest in the re-discovery of a 1936  Rolls Royce first owned by Evan Morgan that received extensive media and local attention. [11] 

The ‘Friends of Tredegar House’ (FOTH)  have been steadfast  since  2012  in  maintaining  coverage in their regular Newsletters and web site  about significant   past and recent  Morgan personalities and Tredegar House history, including  past Tredegar Estate staff.  FOTH do  loyal  work  as volunteers in the House and grounds, they also    maintain  such important projects as  the Servants Index, and in 2014 held  a  Balaclava dinner, celebrating Godfrey Morgan ( 2^nd Lord Tredegar) and his great battle honour of  the Crimean war in 1854, but whose death  centenary in 2013  was not commemorated in any event  by  the  National Trust  at  Tredegar House.

                   

The ‘Friends’ are proactive too with regular new Morgan disclosures on a lively web site[12], including playing host in 2017  to a  kinsman[13]  of Charles Rodney Morgan’s French Catholic ‘wife’. [14]  The ‘Friends of Tredegar House’ also deserve thanks for promoting the only books on the Morgans. They also gave attention to the remarkable stories about the discovery of Morgan silver flask from 1849 and revealed the extraordinary story and fate of Evan Morgan’s 1936 Rolls Royce.[15]

Evan Morgan’s homosexuality has never been an easy subject to deal with on account of past laws.  2017 was an important year for LGBT[16] history, with the 50^th anniversary of the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 that saw some homosexuality legalized just short of twenty years after Evan’s death. In a year when the National Trust lost members nationally  as a result of its draconian application of diversity [17] / LGBT issues, one visitor to Tredegar House House in September 2017  recorded on social media “Volunteers at Tredegar House really don't know how to talk to visitors it seems about Evan Morgan's sexuality. Every allusion I have heard today has been accompanied by a kind of embarrassed giggle... surely we can get past the 'oooh matron' approach!” The writer thought it “a training issue”. The National Trust responded with “  Thank you for your feedback, we will pass this on to the local  team.” 

‘Cardiff Pride’ celebrations in 2017  were supported by the National Trust at Tredegar House. But there are unspeakable truths as Evan Morgan was a predatory homosexual with depraved tastes. [18]       

Looking back on 2017 it is a pity  that several milestones that were reached concerning the Morgans and related families were not marked  at  Tredegar House.

Overlooking landmarks of  the Morgan family   erodes  Morgan history.  As with the roof renewal and conservation projects Morgan milestones should be identified, and kept in focus by reflecting them in House activities or explaining their absence against higher priorities. 

Among the unsung landmarks of 2017  was the 150^th anniversary of the birth in 1867 of Courtenay Morgan and Lady Katharine Carnegie the 3^rd Lord and Lady Trademark, and the 80^th anniversary of the death of Lois Strut,  Evan Morgan’s  first  wife, in 1937. 

Another oversight  highlighted in the public domain locally in Newport  in 2017,  has been  the non-appearance by the National Trust at Trademark House  of any commemoration for   the  Morgan family’s  contribution  and  their sacrifices in the Great War or  mention  of the brave men and women who as Trademark Estate workers went to war, or maintained the House and lands at that time.   

Courtenay Morgan made a huge effort in the Great War providing his steam yacht ‘Liberty’ as a hospital ship,      (there are some exhibits that relate to Courtney’s maritime life in the House bought by the Friends of Tredegar House).  Courtenay also led   army recruiting efforts in Wales; his two sisters Blanche and Violet took ambulances and tea wagons into the war zones.    Morgan employees went to war,   and came back affected, shell shocked and maimed. Besides this  five great grandsons of the 1^st Lord and Lady Tredegar were killed in the conflict, including the only sons of  Blanche Hoare and Violet Mundy,[19]  the two sisters of Courtenay Morgan, 3^rd Lord Tredegar, remarkable ladies who frequently  acted as  hostesses for Courtenay at House events, so earning a perpetual remembrance  in the Morgan and Tredegar House  history.  Three members of the  Morgan- Lindsay family of Ystrad Mynach  also died [20], men who with their father, Morgan Lindsay [21]once made a major contribution to the history of Tredegar House  especially the marking of old Christmas  day on  6 January  and  the famous days of the  Tredegar Hunt. [22]

The  five  deceased great  grandsons of the  first Lord and Lady  Tredegar gave their lives.  At a time when the rest of Britain is commemorating the Great War with fitting acts, ceremony and respect, this sightlessness from the National Trust at Tredegar House is   extraordinary.

Jim Dyer, a local Newport historian wrote to the ‘South Wales Argus’ in 2017 [23] pointing out the facts about the five dead Morgan relations and suggesting a tribute with a memorial plaque.  This proposal was not acknowledged by anyone in the National Trust at Tredegar House.  On 11 November 2017 when the whole country observed two minutes silence for the dead from the Great War Tredegar House was dark and closed.

                                       

Administrative  bungling  in  2016-7    resulted in the disappearance from the gift shop  at Tredegar House  of the popular  books written about the Morgans in recent years. [24] This gap invariably limits visitor experience for those going to the House who want to learn more about the Morgan family.   

In  2018 I will substantially  increase the public  coverage  about  the existence  of  the  various Morgan books in press releases, web sites,  Facebook, Twitter,   Amazon, Abe Books, eBay and Alibris.  I intend to continue to produce further works  to   maintain   the most accurate  history and  veracity  of  information  about  the  Morgan dynasty and  challenge instances of sloppy, poor or just bad history relating to  the family.

William Cross,  FSA Scot, Newport, 4 December 2017

[ with slight amendments made for internet publication in 2018]

---

[1]          Cross, William. A Beautiful Nuisance : The Life and Death of the Hon. Gwyneth Ericka Morgan by Monty Dart and William Cross. Book Midden Publishing ISBN 9781905914104 2012. 

         Cross, William. Aspects of Evan : The Last Viscount Tredegar by Monty Dart and William Cross. Book Midden Publishing  ISBN 9781905914159 2012 

         Cross, William. Not Behind Lace Curtains: The Hidden World Of Evan, Viscount Tredegar. Book Midden Publishing ISBN9781905914210: 2013

         Cross, William. Evan Frederic Morgan, Viscount Tredegar : The Final Affairs, Financial and Carnal . Book Midden Publishing ISBN 9781905914241: 2014.

         Cross, William. Lois Sturt, Wild Child. A Glance at Hon. Lois Ina Sturt, Viscountess Tredegar Book Midden Publishing ISBN 978190514319: 2014. 

         Cross, William. and Morgan, Hon. Evan Frederic. Evan, Lord Tredegar, Selected Letters, Prose and Quotations. The Mystic Muse of Evan Frederic Morgan.  Book Midden Publishing ISBN 9781905914333 : 2015.  

         Cross, William. Evan, Lord Tredegar, Final Affairs The Aftermath:  The Welsh Poet & Pleasure Seeker. Book Midden Publishing ISBN 9781905914326 : 2016. 

[2] By 1792 the Morgan male blood line had failed. A female descendant of Thomas Morgan (1702-1769) named  Jane Morgan  was married to Sir Charles Gould, (1726-1806),  George III’s Judge Advocate General was knighted in 1779. Gould changed his name to Morgan  in 1792  and received a baronetcy.  This change continued the Morgan male line until 1962.

[3]  Newport City Council have provided the following data  in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and/or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. 

“The payments under the terms of the lease between Newport City Council and the National Trust  are as follows     

1.            £7,600,000 – on the date of transfer (19 March 2012)

2.            £308, 850 – on 1 April 2013

3.            £407,200 – on 1 April 2014

4.            £1,256,650 – on 1 April 2017

5.            £2,004,750 – on 1 April 2022

6.            £431,900 – on 1 April 2037

7.            £40,000 – on 1 April 2062

These payments go towards a Repairs and Capital Investment Fund for the maintenance and improvement of the premises.  There is a commitment for National Trust to use £4 million of this fund to complete the agreed backlog of repairs. 

In addition to the capital monies for this repairs fund, the Transfer Agreement also provide for a revenue subsidy of £150,000 per annum for the first 25 years of the Lease, towards the management costs incurred by National Trust.  However, this would cease to be payable if/when annual visitor numbers increase above 120,000.”

[4] Under Council administration Tredegar House appeared on several TV and radio shows, ‘The Hairy Bikers’, BBC Wales’ ‘Past Master’ and Dr Who and Torchwood were  also filmed there.

[5] ‘The Tredegar Salt’ is an Elizabeth I bell-shaped salt, parcel gilt from 1598, once in the Morgan silver collection and bears the Morgan coat of arms. It was sold off by the Morgans, but was purchased by Newport Council in 1995 for £154k.

[6] The cabinet is believed to have been created in 1720 during the reign of George I and specially commissioned for Sir William Morgan, owner of Tredegar House. Made of walnut and inlaid with boxwood and ebonised lines, it is particularly rare because of its size - effectively a scaled down adult's bureau - and may have been made for Sir William's son.  Bonhams of London contacted the Author and his writing partner Monty Dart when it was discovered that the cabinet had a Morgan history. Emily Price, the Curator of Tredegar House at the time applied successfully for grants and donations to secure the purchase back for the House.

[7] See also South Wales Argus 23 November 2017.  This article refers to the completion of the work on the roof by Christmas 2017.  It also indicates that the work has been achieved with support  of £15,000 from public donations including  a clever promotion in 2017 of a  “Sign a Slate” campaign and sales from the on site bookshop. There was also a grant of £150,000 from the Wolfson Foundation. It is extraordinary that no mention was made of the millions of pounds paid by Newport City Council to the National Trust since 2012 or accountability  for  “a commitment for [the] National Trust to use £4 million of  money paid by Newport Council ( namely out of  over £9million pounds paid since April 2012), to complete the agreed backlog of repairs.”

[8] See letter in the South Wales Argus  10 July 2017.

[9] Godfrey Charles Morgan (1831-1913) 2^nd son of 1^st Lord and Lady Tredegar.  Nicknamed ‘Godfrey the Good”.  Soldier and MP. Unmarried. Became 2^nd Lord Tredegar in 1875.

[10] Charles Rodney Morgan ( 1828-1854) eldest son of 1^st Lord and Lady Tredegar.  Soldier and MP. Died in Marseilles in 1854. A longer account of the life and death of Charles Rodney Morgan will appear in  “Myths About the Morgans of Tredegar House, Newport, South Wales: Busting the History Fraudsters” in 2018. 

[11] See  Wales on Line 6 February 2017. An article by Huw Silk.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/incredible-car-used-rolls-royce-12565706

and Friends of Tredegar House  http://www.friends-of-tredegar-house.co.uk/the-morgan-family/evan-morgans-rolls-royce-found-in-usa/

[12] See Friends website  http://www.friends-of-tredegar-house.co.uk/

[13] This is Count Guillaume Hezez-Darlan De Bauyn  who visited Tredegar house in April 2017 as a guest of  the Friends of Tredegar House.

[14] Charles Rodney Morgan is linked on  French genealogy web pages to Emilie Renaud, ( 1827-1899) who  may have had a son Charles Morgan, born 1851.   NO RECORD has been traced  of a marriage between Charles Rodney Morgan and anyone in the English  Register of Marriages in the relevant period before 1851. That would give legitimacy to  the Charles Morgan born 1851 and  a granddaughter named  Bertha Morgan ( 1891-). French documents may exist to show the blood link. At the time of Godfrey’s succession in 1875 there were rumours of a challenge to him but these claims vanished. https://gw.geneanet.org/pierfit?lang=fr&n=darlan&p=alain

[15] See Friends of Tredegar House website.

[16] Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transexual community.

[17] See the article by Max Hastings in the Daily Mail of 14 September 2017.

[18] The artist Donald Friend says  Evan had an obsession  for seducing  the native boys of  Bali and  North Africa. Evan’s wealth,  position  and  high placed establishment protection   combined  to  make   it  easy  for him  to  pick  up   'rough trade'  on  streets and  cafes  and  lure  his   victims  into drugs, sexual shenanigans, black mass rituals and flagellation.  Surveillance reports from  MI5 on  Evan Morgan confirm Friend’s testimony.

[19] Lieutenant  Charles Morgan Hoare  (1893-1914)  15^th ( The Kings ) Hussars ( killed in action  24 August 1914) and Lieutenant Frederic Charles Mundy,  ( 1895- 1917)  MC,  RNVR ( killed in action 26 October 1917) 

[20] Captain George Walter Thomas Lindsay (1891-1917 ) CB Royal Engineers  ( killed in a flying accident 26 June 1917) 

Lieutenant  Archibald Thurston Thomas Lindsay      ( 1897- 1918)  Royal Engineers    ( killed in action 26 March 1918)

Major Claud Frederick Thomas Lindsay   (1892-1918)  Royal Field Artillery 1918 ( killed in action 31 March 1918)       

[21]  Henry Edzell Morgan Lindsay ( 1857-1935).  Son of Henry Gore Lindsay and Hon. Ellen Sarah Morgan ( daughter of 1^st Lord and Lady Tredegar).  Many will  recall the  experiences of the family of Colonel Morgan Lindsay – a grandson of the 1st Lord and Lady  Tredegar  from one of the most prominent sporting country gentlemen families in South Wales and Ireland during the  19^th/ 20^th  century. An example of  the dreadful effects the Great War had on families throughout South Wales, with the Colonel and his wife losing three of their four sons during the hostilities, including two in the space of a week in March 1918.

[22] Tredegar Hunt was maintained over many centuries and paid for by the Morgans. Taxation and other costs led to the Hunt being transferred to others to continue. A Tredegar Farmers Hunt still takes place in Bassaleg.

[23] See Letters  in  South  Wales Argus 28 August 2017.

[24] During  2016-7  the books on the Morgans by William Cross and Monty Dart  were removed from  sale from the Tredegar House gift shop  by  the National Trust.  During the course of a complaint about this a small reorder was placed.  It was not considered appropriate to action this during a complaint and the order lapsed. Matters led to an apology from a senior member of the National Trust staff at Swindon. 

Contact the Author for copies of the Morgan books or check Amazon or ebay.

A proof copy of  " Sketches of Evan, Viscount Tredegar 'Lord of the Lies' " is now available from the Author William Cross at £5.00 ( p &p UK only inc) , whilst stocks last.       

e-mail 

williecross@aol.com