Wednesday 1 February 2017

1458 Henry Norman




Constituency  : Wolverhampton  South  1900-10, Blackburn  1910-23

Henry  recaptured  Charles  Villiers ' old  seat  for  the  Liberals  , defeating  the  Liberal  Unionist  candidate by  169  votes.

Henry  was  a  merchant's  son  from  Leicester. He  was  educated  there  and  at  Leipzig  and  Harvard  Universities. He  was  a  Unitarian  who  started  out  as  a  preacher  but  soon  moved  into  journalism. He  was  instrumental  in  divining  the  truth  behind  the  Dreyfus  Affair.He  became  Assistant  Editor  of  the  News  Chronicle  in  1895  but  gave  it  up  four  years  later  and  travelled  around  the  world. He  wrote  a  number  of  books  on  his  travels. He  also  held  directorships  in  coal  and  iron  companies.He  founded  a  magazine  The  World's  Work   to  promote  his  interest  in  technology.

In  1907  Henry  married  the  daughter  of  his  fellow MP  Charles  McLaren. She  was  a  moderate  suffragist  and  Henry  himself  supported  the  cause

Henry  organised  the  Budget  League  in  1909.

Henry  was  appointed  Assistant  Postmaster-General  in  January  1910  but  was  narrowly  defeated  by  the  Tories  a  few  days  later. He  returned  for  Blackburn  in  December.

Henry   manifested  an  interest  in  wireless  telegraphy  which  led  to  appointment  to  a  couple  of  important  committees  on  the  subject  in  1912  and  1920.

When  World  War  One  broke  out  Henry  and  his  wife  maintained  a  small  voluntary  hospital  in  Northern  France.

Henry  was  created  a  baronet  in  1915.

 Henry  sided  with  Lloyd  George  and  was  appointed  to  the  Air  Council  where  he  pushed  for  saturation  bombing  of  German  cities.

Henry  received  the  Coupon  in  1918. He  was  chief  propagandist  for   Lloyd  George's  National  Election  Committee.    He  topped  the  poll  and  was  returned  alongside  a  Unionist. In  1922  he  stood  as  a  National  Liberal  and  was  returned  in  second  place.

Henry  stood  down  in  1923.

Henry  was  a  keen  motorist  and  vice-president  of  the  Wolverhampton  Automobile  Club.

He  died  in  1938  aged  80. He  was  the  great  -grandfather  of  Tory  MP  Jesse  Norman.

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