937 George Whalley ( 2 )

Constituency : Peterborough  1880-3

George  took  over  from  Thomson  Hankey  at  Peterborough.

George  was  the  son  of  the  rabidly  anti-Catholic  Peterborough  MP  ( up  to  1878  )  of  the  same  name. He  was  educated  at  Brighton  College  and  became  a  naval  officer. In  1871  he  switched  to  the  army  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  captain. He  fought  in  the  Anglo-Zulu  War  where  he  successfully  defended  a  convoy  from  Zulu  attack  in  1879.

Ironically  in  the  light  of  later  events  George  raised  concerns  about  the  detention  of  Cetywayo  in  Parliament.

George  had  to  resign  his  seat  in  1883 because  of  impending  bankruptcy. In  1884  he  was  convicted  of  stealing  goods  from  his  landlord  and  sentenced  to  nine  months  hard  labour.

On  his  release  he  changed  his  name  to  George  White, emigrated  to  Australia  and  disappears  from  the  pages  of  history. Even  Hansard  doesn't  know  when  he  died.