18 Facts About Merlyn Rees

Merlyn Rees served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Home Secretary.

Goldsmiths was evacuated to Nottingham University early in the war, where Merlyn Rees served in Nottingham University Air Squadron.

In 1941 Merlyn Rees joined the Royal Air Force, becoming a squadron leader and earning the nickname "Dagwood".

Merlyn Rees was appointed schoolmaster at his old school in Harrow in 1949, teaching economics and history.

Merlyn Rees taught for eleven years, during which time he was three times an unsuccessful parliamentary candidate for Harrow East, in 1955,1959, and in a 1959 by-election.

Merlyn Rees was a member of the Institute of Education at the University of London from 1960 to 1962.

At a by-election in 1963, Merlyn Rees stood as the Labour candidate for Leeds South and succeeded Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell, who had died in office.

In 1965 Merlyn Rees became Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, with responsibility for the army and later for the Royal Air Force.

Merlyn Rees was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Home Office, where James Callaghan was Home Secretary, from November 1968 until the June 1970 general election.

In October 1971 Merlyn Rees became Labour Party spokesman on Northern Ireland.

Merlyn Rees was almost assassinated by the IRA in July 1976.

Merlyn Rees was to travel to the Republic to consult with the Ambassador Christopher Ewart-Biggs and Irish ministers but postponed his trip after Margaret Thatcher refused to allow Northern Ireland ministers to pair their votes in House of Commons divisions.

Merlyn Rees wrote later that it seemed likely the IRA had known of his impending visit but were unaware of its cancellation.

Merlyn Rees later wrote of his experiences in Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland: a Personal Perspective.

In September 1976 Merlyn Rees was appointed Home Secretary and remained in that post until Labour's defeat in the 1979 UK elections.

Merlyn Rees was president of the Video Standards Council from 1990 and was the first Chancellor of the University of Glamorgan, a position he held from 1994 to 2002.

In 1949, Merlyn Rees married Colleen Cleveley, and they had three sons.

Merlyn Rees suffered injuries in a number of falls in his last years.