RESEARCH
Morrish, David (1931-2018)
Biography
- Born 1931
- Devon County Councillor
- Exeter City Councillor
- Liberal Party
David Morrish was born in Devonport, Plymouth. To avoid the bombing of the city, in 1939 he was evacuated to Cornwall with his mother. David attributes his earliest political memories to those childhood years spent in Cornwall; his maternal relations were Liberal supporters and remembers the family outings to the “mecca” of Penyn Liberal Club.
After the war ended David returned to Plymouth. During the post-war general election of 1945, aged 14, he had his first experience of political campaigning, handing out leaflets for Joan Gaved, the Liberal candidate for Sutton Ward. In his teenage years David also became an active member of the Plymouth Parliamentary Debating Society, where he gave his maiden speech in the presence of Lady Astor, the first woman to take a seat in Parliament.
David continued on to higher education and studied for his degree at the University of Exeter. He then went America, where he extended his studies, before travelling to Iran to work for the United Nations Office. He later returned to the UK, and in 1959 moved back to Devon with his wife Joan, taking post as a geography tutor at St Luke’s College in Exeter. On David’s return his home county, he once more started to take an active part in local politics, and in 1961 was first elected as Councillor for Exeter Heavitree Ward. In disagreement with merger of the Liberals into the Liberal Democrats in 1988, David has remained true to the Liberal Party throughout his life. He continued to serve as a Liberal on Exeter City Council for 28 years and Devon County Council for 31 years, until standing down in May 2011. During the same year, David was made a Freeman of the City of Exeter in recognition of 50 years of service to politics.
From the Grassroots were sad to hear that David passed away in February 2018.
Transcript of clip
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I do remember very clearly the 1945 General Election. My father had come back from Gibraltar, and Mother and I had come back from evacuation. Our house had been badly blitzed in Ford, during the Blitz, and we moved around a bit, but this time we were in a prefab, temporary accommodation. 1945 General Election – Michael Foot, that’s a name to play with, ain’t it? …My father was an active trade unionist, Shipwrights’ Association…[it was a] straight fight in Devonport, Michael Foot and Hore-Belisha, two characters if ever there were. My father was a strong supporter of Michael Foot. My mother supported Hore-Belisha, it was a personal vote rather than a political one. My mother had worked in Devonport as a girl, in a shop, and as such got to know Hore-Belisha, as a customer that was all, and a kind of personal loyalty there, nothing political. Hore-Belisha fought the election, I believe, as an Independent supporting National Government, or some such mouthful of words. During the day my father was at work, Hore-Belisha’s bill was up in the window! When he came back again… [laughs]…Michael Foot’s bill was back up! So that was my beginning of politics in our family. The contest between Michael Foot and Hore-Belisha. And Michael Foot of course won, by about two thousand votes I think, and Hore-Belisha did not. If you’re in a home where the bills in the window at election time alternate you can’t help but be involved.
The Liberal candidate for Sutton Constituency in 1945 was Joan Gaved, ex wren I think she’d be, in wartime years, a wonderful person. She polled about three thousand plus votes I think, and her opponent was Nancy Astor, but they were beaten by Lucy Middleton, the Labour candidate. This was the election after the War, and a lot of tension was being released you know, and I got interested in that. I don’t know what the initial spark was that got me in the Liberal Party, but certainly Joan give me a hand in it. I remember going to her house, she lived in a house on what’s called Mutley Plain, and I remember her going to a drawer in her sitting room, and a great stack of old leaflets, “give these out David!” she said, and that was my first instruction.
Interview Summary
Date of recording: 24/1/14
Name of interviewer: Kayleigh Milden
[00.00] Interviewer introduces David Morrish (DM), former Councillor who served on Exeter City Council for over 50 years. DM was born in 1931 in Devonport. [01:09] Description of parents and grandparents history originating from Plymouth and Cornwall. [04.30] Description of earliest political memory: family trips down to Cornwall, and the connections to the Penryn Liberal Club and local officer Fred Young. [06.30] Memories of 1945 General Election, including anecdote about his mother taking down his father’s Michael Foot election poster from their front window and replacing it with a poster for Hore-Belisha. [11:00] Discussion of the political lives of the Foot family. [13:00] Mentions that he became interested in politics when studying at Sutton High School. Memories on 1945 General Election in Sutton Constituency. [15:15] Memories of being a member of the Plymouth Debating Society, including when Nancy Astor attended as guest speaker and commented on his speech on behalf of the Liberal Party.[18:00] Discussion of women candidates in Plymouth and Exeter. [18:50] Discussion of early career at University College Exeter. [24.00] Discussion of the split between the Liberal Party and the SDP. Discussion of why he stayed in the Liberal Party, including anti-war feeling and in favour of Proportional Representation. [27:40] Discussion about the ‘Liberal revival’ in the 1950s in the South West. [31:00] Discussion of the survival of the Liberal Vote in Devon in post-war period, ‘stubborn independence of the Devon character’ expressed though Liberal Party, e.g. lack of strong Party Whip. [33.15] Discussion about Liberalism and religion in Devon. [35:00] Discussion about political figures who inspire DM: Jo Grimond, Gladstone and Clem Davies.[35:45] His parents were great admirers of the Foot family. [38:00] Discussion about Mr and Mrs Morrish’s campaign for Exeter to become a Unity Authority. [40:00] Discussion about the impact of immigration upon Devon politics. [45:00] DM comments that he didn’t accept any of the honors that came with being a councillor and refused a knighthood.[50:00] DM feels his biggest achievement in politics was helping ordinary people, and his contribution to the introduction of comprehensive education and also worked hard to help the environment.
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Listen to David discussing his family memories of the 1945 General Election in Plymouth.