CARMARTHEN HARLEQUINS/RFC
FIRST CLUB PRESIDENT
1944/45 SEASON – 1957/58 SEASON
Ald. J. O. MORGANS
PROFILE (Draft)
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Mr J. O. Morgans, an only child, was born in Carmarthen in 1882. He attended the local Grammar School where he played an active role in school sports and played for the school’s rugby team. On leaving school, he joined his mother in running the family business. They had a grocery with a wine and spirits section known as “The Coffee Pot” at the corner of Guildhall Square and Blue Street. The location will be known by many as a popular landmark due to the very large coffee pot located at the corner of the building. The building later housed a public house which took on the same name.
Mr Morgans had a keen interest in local politics and became a Borough Councillor in 1920.
He represented the Borough on Carmarthenshire County Council (16 years) and became an Alderman of the town in 1955 serving on the Aldermanic Bench for three six year periods. He was Borough Sherriff for three years; was a member of the Carmarthenshire Standing Joint Committee and was an Income Tax Commissioner. He was a governor of the house committee of the Carmarthenshire Infirmary and was a member of the House Committee for several years. He was made a Freeman of the Borough in April 1953.
He became the town’s Mayor in 1936 and held that honour for three years. His tenure as Mayor coincided with the reign of three monarchs (George V 1910-1936; Edward VIII Jan-Dec 1936 and George VI 1936-1952).
Mr Morgans chaired the Carmarthen Borough Education Committee for three years before it became absorbed into the Carmarthenshire Education Authority. He served as a local school manager and was one of the governors of the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.
A keen sportsman, he was a long term member of the Carmarthen Sports and Attractions Association and was a founder member of the Carmarthen Rotary Club.
He played regularly for the Carmarthen Harlequins and also turned out for Llanelli. He was the Chairman of the Quins from 1924 to 1937 and became the club’s first President in 1945, serving the Quins in that capacity until his death in 1957 aged 77.
Percy Jones
Club Archivist
November 2013