994 Gerard Smith

Constituency : Wycombe  1883-85

Gerard  took  over  from  William  Carington  at  Wycombe.

Gerard  was  the  son  of  Martin  Smith, former  MP  for  the  seat.  He  was  educated  at  Eton. In  1857  he  joined  the  Royal  Scots  Fusiliers  as  an  ensign. He  served  in  Canada  before  retiring  from  the  army  in  1874  as  a  lieutenant-colonel. He  joined  the  family  bank  and  also  got  involved  in  railways  around  Hull  and  the  Yorkshire  Insurance  Company..

On  entering  parliament  Gerard  was  made  a  groom-in-waiting  to  Queen  Victoria.  He  had  a  business  dispute  with  rival  railway  magnate  Joseph  Pease, the  MP  for  South  Durham  and  this  accounted  for  most  of  his  parliamentary  contributions.

In  1885  Gerard  switched  to  Holderness  but  was  unsuccessful.

In  1895  Gerard  was  appointed  Governor  of  Western  Australia. He  served  until  1900  when  he  was  sued  over  a  business  failure.

He  died  in  1920  aged  81.