THE majority of people’s concerns during the 1940s was putting food on the table, but for John Morgan it was trying to avoid paying millions of pounds in death duties.

History seems to concentrate on the more well-known characters in the Tredegar household, Godfrey and Evan Morgan in particular, with not as much attention paid to the last two Lords of Tredegar - Frederic and his son John.

John - whose full name was Frederic Charles John Morgan - was the individual responsible for selling the cherished Tredegar House and Ruperra Castle.

Born in 1908 to Frederic George Morgan, who in 1949 became fifth Baron Tredegar, he later followed family tradition and was educated at Eton College, but did not enrol at university.

Historian Paul Busby, whose work concentrates on Tredegar House, said: “He was seen as a gentleman but didn’t seem to have an occupation.

“We know that he served during World War Two but that’s all, really.

“This is a contrast to his cousin Evan who had many jobs during his life time.”

Evan, John’s eccentric first cousin, succeeded to the peerage in 1934, with his Tredegar House life dominated by extravagant parties - where an average alcohol bill was said to amount to £250 (the equivalent of more than £15,000 today).

Interestingly, both John and Evan converted to Roman Catholicism, but that is where any similarities end.

The two men loathed each other, and were said to have been highly critical of one another - although the reason for the feud remains unclear.

Come the late 1940s, rumour was spreading within the family of Evan being ill and, of financial difficulties facing the state - a consequence of the vast sums of money required to finance his extravagant life style.

Mr Busby said: “On July 17, 1946, a meeting took place with Evan, Viscount Tredegar and trustees.

“Evan explained that he did not wish to sell Tredegar House. But did suggest putting some parts of the estate on the market to recover some costs.

“Evan’s uncle, Frederic - John’s father -would not agree to the sale of the estate ‘under any circumstances’ and blocked it.

“Then on January 22, 1947, it was suggested that Evan give up part of the estate to John Morgan, but he refused.

“I am sure that Evan refused quite angrily. In his eyes the vultures were clearly circling around him.”

When Evan eventually succumbed to illness in 1949, his elderly uncle succeeded him and became fifth Baron Tredegar.

Frederic, who was suffering from osteoarthritis himself, was presented with an immediate problem - death duties.

More than £1 million (the equivalent of roughly £32 million today) had been paid out in death duties tax following Evan’s death.

Mr Busby said: “By this stage Frederic was a 75-year-old man and he was thinking about his own mortality.

“John and Frederic knew that should Frederic die now then there would be double death duties to pay.

“And paying double death duties at this point would have wiped out the family’s wealth.”

So the fifth Baron Tredegar crafted a clever plan, which would not require his son to pay out a single penny in death duties.

It was agreed that Frederic would keep the title but transfer the whole estate to John to run.

“This decision made Fred Lord of Tredegar only in name,” said Mr Busby.

“It was a smart move for Frederic.

“I’m guessing the pair of men must have sat down and decided on what would happen when Evan died.

“By his own admission, Frederic was temperamentally unsuited to running a great estate in the tax-drenched 1950s. He might have been a fine lord Tredegar in a different time.”

So when Frederic died aged 80 in 1954, John did not pay any death duties.

Even before Frederic’s death, his son had started selling off land in a desperate attempt to balance the accounts. But in 1950 it had become clear that the huge burden could not be overcome and it was decided the estate needed to be sold.

“This is a historic home which has never been sold or bought in living memory and now all of a sudden it’s up for sale,” said Mr Busby.

“This is an enormous announcement for people.

“It’s worth mentioning that John was a Catholic convert and sold Tredegar House to nuns for £40,000 in 1951 because it was good for his bank balance and his soul.”

He added: “John did ask the nuns if one room could have portraits of his ancestors in. He wanted to make sure that his family’s presence was still there.”

Ruperra Castle was sold slightly later to Eagle Star Insurance Company.

With the family influence now finished, John - who in 1954 became sixth Baron Tredegar - became a tax exile and decided to spend retirement in Monte Carlo.

It was also rumoured that John cut all links with South Wales in this period, after he failed to receive an invitation to meet Queen Elizabeth II during a trip to Newport.

In Monte Carlo, he led a quiet life with his wife, Joanna Russell, whom he had married in 1954.

Neither John nor his sister Avis had children. So when he died tragically, at aged 54, due to septicaemia, his death marked the end to the Lords of Tredegar.

Mr Busby said: “Poetry had been written about this family for hundreds of years. This semi-legendary Welsh dynasty had now come to an end.

“He was the last in a glittering line of Morgans, he inherited the estate when a lot of the glitter had come off. He literally had to sell the family silver.

“Selling off an estate, especially one so ingrained in the history of the area, was always likely to make him the bad guy.

“In truth, he had limited options in a rapidly changing world.”