1633 Charles Roberts

Constituency : Lincoln 1906-18, Derby  1922-23

Charles  took  Lincoln  from  the  Liberal  Unionist  Charles  Seely  , helped  by  a  Conservative  in  the  field  as  well.

Charles  was  a  vicar's  son  from  Sussex. He  was  educated  at  Marlborough  College  and  Oxford.  He  taught  at  Exeter  College, Oxford  from  1889  to  1895. He  stood  for  Wednesbury  in  1895  and  Lincoln  in  1900.

Charles  was  a  radical  and  a  temperance  reform  enthusiast. He  supported  female  suffrage. He  supplied  a  large  slice  of  the  Lincoln  party's  income.

Charles  retained  his  seat  in  January  1910  when  Seely  slipped  to  third  and  narrowly  in  December  when  Seely  didn't  stand.

Charles  served  as  Under  Secretary  of  State  for  India  from  1914  to  1915. He  then  became  Comptroller of  the  Household. He  was  chairman  of  the  National  Health  Insurance  Joint  Committee  from  1915  to  1916.

Charles  went  out  of  office  with  Asquith  then  came  third  in  1918  when  the  Conservative  got  the  coupon.

Charles  came  back  in  1922  at  Derby  coming  second  to  Labour's  Jimmy  Thomas. He lost  heavily  in  1923  swapping  places  with  Labour's  William  Raynes  who'd  come  fourth  in  1922.

Charles  was  married  to  the daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Carlisle  and  he  retired  to  Cumberland. He  became  involved  in  job  creation  schemes  in  the  area. He  was  chairman  of  Cumberland  County  Council  from 1938  to  1958 . He  also  chaired  the  Cumberland  branch  of  the  N.F.U. and  the  county's  wartime  agricultural  committee.

He  died in  1959  aged  93. His  son  Wilfrid  became  a  Liberal  MP  in  1935.

1632 Carlyon Bellairs

Constituency : King's  Lynn  1906-10  ( from   1906  Liberal  Unionist ), Maidstone   1915-31 ( Conservative  )

 Carlyon  took  King's  Lynn  from  the  Tories.

Carlyon  was  the  son  of  a British  army  officer.  He  was  born  in  Gibraltar  and  joined  the  navy  rising  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant  before  retiring  in  1902. He   took  up  journalism  prior  to  his  election.

Carlyon  took  even  less  time  than  Leslie  Renton  to  decide  that  the  New  Liberalism  was  not  for  him  and  he  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  October  1906. He  penned  many  articles  for  the  Evening  Standard  lambasting  Britain's  lack  of  preparation  for  war  and  calling  for  increased  naval  expenditure.

Carlyon  was  a  frequent  contributor  on  military  and  naval  matters.

In  January  1910  Carlyon  stood  unsuccessfully  at  Salford  West. In  December  he  stood  for  Walthamstow  with  the  same  result.

In  1913  Carlyon  became  a  London  County  Councillor,  giving  it  up  when  he  was  elected  as  a  Conservative  for  Maidstone  in  a  by-election  in  1915.  He  held  the  seat  until  1931  when  he  retired.

Carlyon  published  a  critical  book  about  the  Battle  of  Jutland.

Carlyon  was  a  strong  supporter  of  female  suffrage  and  bequeathed  his  estate  to  a  women's  educational  institution.

Carlyon  declined  a  baronetcy  in  1927.

He  died  in  Barbados  in  1955  aged  84.

1631 Alexander Boulton

Constituency : Ramsey  1906-10

Alexander  took  the  normally  solid  Tory  seat  of  Ramsey.

Alexander  was  a  barrister  from  Canada.

Alexander  supported  the  compulsory  purchase  of  land  for  allotments. He  opposed  the  Roman  Catholic  Disabilities  Removal  Bill  in  1909  due  to  Jesuit  activity  in  Quebec.

Alexander  was  narrowly  defeated  in  the  two  1910  elections.

Alexander  helped  found  the  English-speaking  Union.

Alexander  re-surfaced  in  the  1923  election  when  he  was  narrowly  defeated  by  the  Tories  in  New  Forest  and  Christchurch. In  1924,  a Labour  candidate  stood  and  Alexander  was  much  further  behind.

He  died  in  1949  aged  86.

1630 Leslie Renton

Constituency : Gainsborough  1906-10  ( from  1907  Liberal  Unionist )

Leslie  took  Gainsborough  from  the  Tories.

Leslie  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Sandhurst. He  joined  the  army  in  1888  and  served  in  the  Boer  War. He  travelled  in  Africa  and  Central  Asia. He  stood  for  Dorset  South  in  1900.

Once  in  Parliament  Leslie  was  taken  aback  by  the  reforming  zeal  of  the  government  and  in  1907  crossed  over  to  sit  with  the  Liberal  Unionists. He  decried  the  Licensing  Bill  of  1908  at  a  demonstration in  Hyde  Park. He  described  proposals  for  reform  of  the  Lords  as  "meddling ".

In  January  1910,  Leslie  switched  seats  but  failed  to  unseat  Rufus  Isaacs  at  Reading.

Leslie  served during  World  War  One.

He  died  in  1947  aged  78.

1629 Edwin Montagu

Constituency : Chesterton  1906-18, Cambridgeshire  1918-22

Edwin  took  Chesterton  from  the  Tories.

Edwin  was  the  son  of  the  former  Whitechapel  MP , Samuel  Montagu  and  cousin  to  Herbert  Samuel. He  was  educated  at  Clifton  College  and  Cambridge  where  he  became  president  of  the  Union. He  was  Jewish. He  had  a reputation  as  a  thoughtful  and  impressive  orator. He  was  a  radical  who  supported  the  direction  of  travel  towards  social  reform. He  wrote  a  book  called  Canada  and  the  Empire. He  refused  to  become  a  barrister  which  enraged  his  father.

Once  in  Parliament , Edwin  became Asquith's  parliamentary  private  secretary and part  of  his  social  set  although  the  latter  gave  him  the  charmingly  racist  nickname "The  Assyrian"  in  correspondence. He  was  a  fairly  quiet  member  at  first  but  was  observed  supporting  Asquith  and  his  ability  slowly  began  to  be  recognised.  He  also  made  enemies  of  Charles  Dilke  over  taxation  and  Rosebery  over  land  reform. In  1910  he  was  made  under  secretary  of  state  for  India.

In  1912  Edwin  holidayed  in  Sicily  with  Asquith. The  PM  was  accompanied  by  his  daughter  Violet  who  brought  along  her  friend  Venetia. Both  men  became  obsessed  with  her. While  Asquith  channelled  his  desire  into  incessant  correspondence  Edwin  proposed  to  her  the  following  year. She  declined  partly  because  he  had  to  marry  into  the  Jewish  faith  to  keep  his  inheritance  and  she  was  unwilling  to  convert.

In  1914  Edwin  was  promoted  to  Financial  Secretary  to  the  Treasury. He  briefly  relinquished  it  when  promoted  to  the  Cabinet  as  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  but  soon  took  it  up  again.

In  1915  Venetia  finally  accepted  Edwin's  proposal  and   converted  to  Judaism  before  they  were  married.

In  1916  Edwin  took  over  from  Lloyd  George  as  Minister  of  Munitions. When  Lloyd  George   became  Prime  Minister,  Edwin  was  in  a  difficult  position, wanting  to  continue  his  career  yet  not  happy  about  deserting  his  friend. Lloyd  George  initially  helped  him  out  by  not  considering  him  for  office  but  he  had  a  powerful  advocate  in  Maurice  Hankey, the  Cabinet   Secretary  and  in  1917  he  rejoined  the  Cabinet  as  Secretary  of  State  for  India.

Edwin  was  not  afraid  to  speak  his  mind  and  strongly  opposed  the  Balfour  Declaration  which  he  regarded  as  anti-semitic. In  a  memo  to  Cabinet  he  wrote  that  "Jews  will  hereafter  be  treated  as  foreigners  in  every  country but  Palestine". He  managed  to  modify  the  wording.

In  1918  Edwin  switched  to  Cambridgeshire  and  had  an  easy  victory  over  an  Independent  Labour  candidate.

Edwin  went  to  the  Paris  Peace  Conference  to  speak  for  India's  interests  and  opposed  plans  for  dismemberment  of  Turkey, fearing  the  effects  of  this  policy on  India's  Muslim  population.

Edwin  was  an  enlightened  administrator  and  dealt  with  the  rise  of  Gandhi  calmly. He  came  up  with  a  reform  plan  embodied  in  the  Government  of  India  Act  1919  leading  towards  dominion  status. He  was  viciously  attacked  in  anti-semitic  terms  by  his  supposed  Conservative  allies  in  the  Commons.

In  1922  Edwin   resigned  in  frustration  at  the  slow  pace  of  reform. In  the  election  that  year  he  came  third.

By  that  time,  Edwin's health  was  in  decline. He  died  in  1924  aged  45  possibly  from  encephalitis.

1628 Stanley Buckmaster

Constituency : Cambridge 1906-10,  Keighley  1911-15

Stanley  took  Cambridge  from  the  Tories.

Stanley  was  educated  at  Aldenham  and  Oxford. He  became  a  barrister.

Stanley  was  defeated  in  January  1910  and  failed  to  recapture  the  seat  in  December.

Stanley  supported  female  suffrage.

In  1911  Stanley  returned  to  the  Commons  for  Keighley.  He  became  counsel  to  the  University  of  Oxford. He  was  appointed  to  Solicitor-General  in  1913  and  comfortably  retained  the  seat  in  the  by-election. He  was  knighted  at  the  same  time.

In  1915  the  Tories  made  the  removal  of  Haldane  as  Lord  Chancellor  a  condition  of  joining  the  wartime  coalition. Stanley  was  chosen  as  his  replacement  and  created  Baron  Buckmaster  for  the  purpose. He  served  until  Asquith's  resignation  in  1916.

Stanley  was  chairman  of  the  Political  Honours  Review  Committee  between  1924  and  1929.

Stanley  was  upgraded  to  a  viscount  in  1933.

He  died  in  1934  aged  73.

1627 George Faber

Constituency : Boston 1906-10

George  took  Boston  from  the  Tories.

George  was  from  London. He  was  an  insurance  underwriter  specialising  in  marine  insurance. He was on  the  committee  of  Lloyd's of  London  and  The  Times  regarded  him  as  a  potential  chairman.

George's  most substantial  contribution  to  the  House  was  a  short  speech  in  favour  of  reductions  in  military  expenditure.

George  stood  down  after  one  term.

He  died  in  April  1910  aged  70.

1626 Alfred Hazel

Constituency :  West  Bromwich  1906-10

Alfred  took  West  Bromwich  from  the  Tories.

Alfred  was  educated  at  King  Edward's  School, Birmingham  and  Oxford. He  won  the  Eldon  Law  Scholarship  and  qualified  as  a  barrister. He  was  appointed  to  a  Fellowship  in  Law  at  Oxford  almost  immediately.

In  1909  Alfred  spoke  against  removing  restrictions  on  the  Jesuits  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Disabilities  Removal, Etc  Bill. He  opposed  Home Rule.

Alfred  was  defeated  in  January  1910  and  failed  to  regain  the  seat  by  just  2  votes  in  December.

Alfred  became  a  Reader  in  Constitutional  Law  at  the  Inns  of  Court  in  1910.

From  1915 to  1919,  Alfred  was  Deputy  Controller  in  the  Ministry  of  Munitions.

Alfred  was  due  to  stand  again  in  1918  but  withdrew  when  the coupon  was  given  to  his  Unionist  opponent. Labour  then  took  the  seat, a  rare  defeat  for  a  couponed  candidate.

In  1925  Alfred  became  Principal  of  Jesus  College.

He  died  in  1944  aged  75.

1625 Sir Charles Henry

Constituency : Wellington  1906-18, The  Wrekin  1918-9

Charles  took  Wellington  from  the  Liberal  Unionists  whose  long-serving  MP  Alexander  Brown  had  stepped  down.

Charles  was  born  in  Australia. He  was  educated  in  London  and  at  Gottingen  University. He  was  Jewish  and  supported  Jewish  charities. He  established  a  firm  of  metal  merchants  and  copper  importers  in  London  in  1882.  It  was  highly  successful and  he  became  a  millionaire.
He  was  a  Liberal  Imperialist  and  stood  for  Chelmsford  in  1900.

Charles  was  a  friend  of  Lloyd  George. He  paid  for  a  trip  to  Germany for  the  new  Chancellor  to  study  the  invalidity  insurance  and  old  age  pensions  schemes  in  operation  there. There  were  rumours  that  Lloyd  George  and  Charles's  American  wife  Julia  were  more  than  just  friends.

Charles  was  on  the  right  of  the  party, a  member  of  the  British  Empire  League  and  opponent  of  female  suffrage.

Charles  held  his  seat  fairly  comfortably  in  both  1910  elections.

In  1911  Charles  became  a  baronet.

Lloyd  George  later  distanced  himself  from  Julia  Henry  which  she  didn't  take  very  well.

Charles  supported  conscription  and  campaigned  for  it  a  year  before  its  introduction. He  went  on   government  missions  to America  and  Sweden  during  the  war. He  set  up  a  home  in  Berkshire  for  wounded  soldiers. His  son  was  killed  in  action  in  1915.

Charles  bought  a  share  in  the  Westminster  Gazette  and  founded  The  Jewish  Guardian  , a    journal  to  oppose  Zionism  which  he  believed  might  lead  to  Jews  losing  citizenship  rights  in  other  countries.

Charles  supported  Lloyd  George  and  sat  on  Lord  Balfour's  Committee  on  After-War  Trade. He  also  sat  on  committees  on  finance and  a  reorganisation  of  the  Ministry  of  Munitions.

In  1918  Charles  moved  an  amendment  to  the  franchise  bill  to  restrict  female  candidates  to  over  30s.

In  1918  Charles  switched  to  The  Wrekin  and  was  returned  unopposed  as  a  Coaltion  supporter.

In  1919  Henry  fell  seriously  ill. Lloyd  George  visited  him  before  he  died  aged  59.

1624 Clarendon Hyde

Constituency  : Wednesbury  1906-10

Clarendon  took  Wednesbury  from  the  Tories.

Clarendon  was  educated  at  the  Royal  Institution  School  in  Liverpool  and  King's  College, London. He  became  a  barrister  and  wrote  several  treatises  on  company  law. He  was  a  partner  in  the  construction  firm  S. Pearson  and  Son. He  contested  Southampton  in  1900  and  came  fourth.  He  sat  on  a  number  of  government  committees  both  before  and  after  his  term  as  an  MP.

Clarendon's  contributions  in  the  House  were  restricted  to  a  few  questions  on  business  matters.

Clarendon  was  defeated  in  January  1910, the  campaign  being  fought  about  tariff  reform  rather  than  the  People's  Budget.  He  was  knighted  that  summer .He  contested  Cardiff  Boroughs  in  December  where  the  sitting  Liberal  had  retired  but  lost.

Clarendon  sat  on  a  number  of  committees  determining  industrial  policy  during  the  war.

He  died  of  pneumonia  in  1934  aged  76.

1623 Thomas Berridge

Constituency : Warwick  and   Leamington  1906-10

Thomas  took  Warwick  and  Leamington  from  the  Liberal  Unionist  Alfred  Lyttelton. Llyd  George  came  to  speak  for  him  duing  a  rowdy  campaign.

Thomas  was  a  vicar's  son  from  Lancashire. He  was  educated  privately  and  at  Upholland  Grammar  School  where  his  father  was  headmaster. He  became  a  solicitor  and  held  positions  in  a  number  of  legal  bodies. In  1903  he  contested  the  by-election  at  Warwick  and  Leamington  when  Lyttelton  was  appointed  Colonial  Secretary. Thomas  reduced  the  Unionist  majority  to  190. In  1904  he  was  secretary  of  a  committee  of  leading  Liberals to  mark  Harcourt's  retirement  and  commissioned  two  paintings  on  its  behalf.

Thomas  was  defeated  in  January  1910  and  again  in  December.

Thomas  was  knighted  in  1912.

Thomas  organised  hospitals  for  the  Royal  Flying  Corps  during  World  War  One.

He  died  in  1924  aged  67.

1622 Edward Dunne

Constituency : Walsall  1906-10

Edward  took  over  from  Arthur  Hayter  at  Walsall.

Edward  was  from  a  wealthy  military  family. He  was  educated  at  Wellington  College  and  Sandhurst. He  joined  the  army  in  1884 and  served  until  resigning  his  commission  in  1896  when  his  father  died. He  re-enlisted  for  the  Boer  War  and  became  a  brigade  major. In  1905  he  stood  in  a  by-election  at  Kingswinford.

Edward  supported  the  Land Tenure  Bill  of  1906. Despite  his  background,  he  also  supported  reductions  in  the  Army  Estimates.

In   January  1910  Edward  was defeated  by  545  votes. In  December  he  stood  at  Melton  but  was  unsuccessful.

Edward  re-enlisted  for  the  First  World  War  and  became  a  lieutenant-colonel. However  he  mainly  served  in  the UK.

After  the  war  Edward  became  a  country  gentleman  and  chaired  the  education  committee  on  Herefordshire  County  Council.

He  died  in  1944  aged  79. His  son  Philip  was  a  Conservative  MP  in  the  1930s.

1621 Thomas Kincaid-Smith

Constituency : Stratford-on-Avon  1906-09

Thomas  took  Stratford  from  the  Tories.

Thomas  was  a  professional  soldier,  a  captain  at  the  time  of  his  election. He  served  during  the  Boer  War  but  had  suffered  from  ill  health  since  then.

Thomas  felt  that  compulsory  military  service  was  necessary  and  fell  out  with  the  Liberal  Party  over  the  issue. His  maiden  speech  called  for  it  in  1906. He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Navy  League.

In  1909  Thomas  resigned  his  seat  hoping  to  be  re-elected  as  an  independent  backed  by  the  National  Service  League. Instead  he  received  a  derisory  vote  and  the  seat  went  back  to  the  Conservatives.

Thomas  was  recalled  for  service  in  World  War  One  and  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel. He  commanded  a school  of  instruction, a  musketry  camp  and  a  reception  camp.

Thomas  stood  for  the  National  Party  at  Frome  in  1918  but  received  just  over  1%  of  the  vote.

Thomas  retired  from  the  army  in  1929.

He died  in  1938  aged  64.

1620 John Ward

Constituency : Stoke-upon-Trent  1906-29

John  took  Stoke-upon-Trent  from  the  Tories  as  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate  sponsored  by  the  North  Staffordshire  Trades  Council.

John  was  a  plasterer's  son  from  Weybridge. He  had  no  real  education  and  worked  as  a  navvy  for  a  number  of  years, educating  himself  as  he  went. He  joined  the  army  in  1885  and  served  in  the  Sudan. The  following  year  he  joined  the  Social  Democratic  Federation  and  became  a  close  friend  of  John  Burns . He  was  fined  for  taking  part  in  the  protest  meeting  in  Trafalgar  Square  organised  by  the  SDF  that  year. In  1889  John  founded  the  Navvy's, Bricklayers'  Labourers and  General  Labourers Union  and  became  its  general  secretary. In  1901  he  was  elected  to  the  management  committee  of  the  General  Federation  of  Trade  Unions, becoming  its  treasurer  from  1913. He  stood  for  the  SDF  in  local  elections. In  1900  he  switched  to  the  more  moderate  National  Democratic  League. He  refused  to  sign  the  LRC  constitution  in  1903.

As  John  was  neither  a  miner  nor  a  potter  he  was  able  to  rise  above  the  mutual  jealousies  within  the  local  party.

John  rejoined  the  army  in  1914  and  raised  five  labour  battalions  for  which  he  was  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel. He  served  in  France  then  the  Far  East, surviving  a shipwreck  on  the  way  there. In  1918  he  went  to  Siberia  to  help  Admiral  Kolchak  against  the  Bolsheviks. He  witnessed  atrocities  by  the  latter  that  confirmed  his  anti-socialism.  He  wrote  a  book  With  the  Diehards  in  Siberia    and  became  secretary  of  the  Russian  Relief  and  Reconstruction  Fund  helping  victims  of  the  Bolsheviks.

Although  still  overseas  during  the  1918  election, John  received  the  coupon  as  a  Coaltion  Liberal  and  was  unopposed. He  was  comfortably  returned  against  Labour  in  1922  but  it  was  much  tighter  in  1923  when  his  majority  was  reduced  to  617. In  1924  he  stood  as  a  Constitutionalist  although  the Tories  hadn't  opposed  him  since  1910   and  was  returned  more  comfortably. He  took  the  Liberal  whip  in  Parliament.

In  1929  John  was  soundly  defeated  by  the  unlikely  Labour  candidate  Lady  Cynthia  Mosley.

Now  suffering  from  heart  problems, John  decided  to  retire  from  politics. He  remained  active  in  the  British  Legion.

He  died  in  1934  aged   68.

1619 Henry McLaren

Constituency : Staffordshire  West  1906-10, Bosworth  1910-22

Henry  took   Staffordshire  West  from  the  Liberal  Unionist  Alexander  Henderson.

Henry  was  the  son  of  Charles  McLaren  the  MP  for  Bosworth. He  was  educated  at  Eton  and  Oxford  and  became  a  barrister. He  was  a  prominent  industrialist  and  chaired  a  number  of  companies  in  ship  building  and  iron  and  coal.

Henry  was  private  secretary  to  Lloyd  George  until  1908.

Henry  was  narrowly  defeated  by  a Liberal  Unionist  in  January  1910. His  father  vacated  Bosworth  for  him  in  December.

Henry  supported  fixing  a  minimum  wage  for  the  miners  to  settle  the  strike  in  1912.

Henry  easily  defeated  Labour  as  a  Lloyd  George  supporter  in  1918  but  came  third  in  1922.

Henry  succeeded  his  father  as  Baron  Aberconway  in  1934.

Henry  was  a  keen  horticulturalist  who  bred  rhododendrons.

He  died  in  1953  aged  74. His  youngest  son  Christopher  is  still  alive.

1618 William Johnson

Constituency : Nuneaton  1906-09, 1909-14  ( Labour ), 1914-18

William  took  Nuneaton  from  the  Tories  as  a  Liberal-Labour candidate.

William  was  a  miner's  son   from  a  village  close  to  the  town. He  was  educated  locally  then  started  work  in  the mines. In  1885  he  became  secretary  of  the  Warwickshire  Miners  Association. He  was  a  Warwickshire  county  councillor. He  stood  for  Tamworth  in  1892  and  Nuneaton  in  1900.

William  was  an  infrequent  contributor  in  the  House.

William  obeyed  the  decision  to  affiliate  to  Labour in  1909  although  both  his  union  and  his  constituency  party  refused  to  follow  suit. In  1914 , Labour  finally  set  up  an  alternative  constituency  party  in  the  town  and  withdrew  the  whip  from  William  who  was  still  addressing  Liberal  meetings. William  promptly  reverted  to  being  a  Liberal  once  more.

William  stood  down  in  1918.

He  died  in  1919  aged  70.

1617 Arthur Richardson

Constituency : Nottingham  South 1906-10, Rotherham 1917-18

Arthur  took  Nottingham  South  from  the  Tories as  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate.

Arthur  was  from  Nottinghamshire  and  educated  locally. He  became a  tea  merchant. Although  styling  himself  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate  he  was  not  sponsored  by  any  trade  union.

Arthur  was  defeated  in  January  1910  and  failed  to  win  back  the  seat  in  December.

Arthur  was  returned  unopposed  at  Rotherham  in  1917  under  the  wartime  electoral  truce.

Arthur  switched  to  Nottingham  West  in  1918  but  failed  to  hold  the  seat  for  the  Liberals  against  Labour  in  a  two-cornered  contest.

Arthur  then  switched  to  Melton. In  three  straight  fights  with  the  Tories  he  came  a  respectable  second  in  1922, a  very  close  second  in  1923  and  was  well  beaten  in  1924.

He  died  in  1936  aged  76.  

1616 Henry Cotton

Constituency : Nottingham East  1906-10



Henry  took  Nottingham  East  from  the  Tories.

Henry  was  born  in  India  to  ex-pats  who  had  settled  there. He  went  to England  for  his  education  at  Magdalen College School  and  King's  College, London. He  then  took  and  passed  the  Indian  Civil  Service  Examinations. He  gradually  worked  his  way  up  the  ranks  to become  Chief  Commissioner  of  Assam  from  1896  to  1902. At  the  same  time  Henry  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Indian  Home  Rule and  in  1904  became  President  of  the  Indian  National  Congress. He  opposed  the partition  of  Bengal  and  invasion  of  Tibet.

Once  in  Parliament,  Henry  formed  a  radical pro-Indian  faction  and  wasn't  afraid  to  criticise  his  own  government's  actions. He  was  a  frequent  contributor  on  Indian  issues. He  edited  the  weekly  journal  India.

Henry was  in  poor  health   and  financial  difficulty  going  into  the  January  1910  election. He  was  defeated  by 152  votes.

Henry  was  married  to  Mary  Ryan , a photographer's  assistant  of  very  humble  origin.

He  died  in  1915  aged  70.

1615 Josiah Wedgwood

Constituency : Newcastle-under-Lyme  1906-19, 1919-42 ( Labour )


Josiah  easily  defeated  the  Liberal  Unionist  incumbent  Alfred  Haslam  to  take  the  seat.


Josiah  was  a  direct  descendant  of  the  famous  potter. He  was  educated  at  Clifton  College  and  then  the  Royal  Naval  College, Greenwich.  Josiah  began  work as  a  naval  constructor  for  an  arms  manufacturer. He  fought  in  the  Boer  War  as  a  captain  then  settled  in  the  Transvaal  for  a  time. He  became  a disciple  of  Henry  George  and  his  ideas  for  a  Single  Tax  on  property.


Josiah  stood  for  the  Liberals  but  warned  he  would  take  an  independent  line  where  necessary.He  became  President  of  the  League  for  Taxation of  Land  Values  in  1908. He  became  frustrated  at  the  government's  reluctance  to  fully  embrace  the  Single  Tax and  the  opposition  to  female  suffrage. He  did  not  like  the  Mental Deficiency  Bill  in  1913  and  staged  a  two  day  filibuster  in  Parliament  against  it  which  brought  him  to  natiomnal attention.


Josiah  enlisted  as  a  lieutenant-commander  in  the  navy  for  the  First  World  War  ,undertaking  mechanical  work. He  served  in  France  in  1914  and  was  wounded  during  the  Dardanelles  campaign  of  1915. He  won  the  D.S.O. Back in  Parliament  he  complained  of  under  staffing  although  he  also  upheld  the  rights  of  conscientious  objectors. He  later  served  in  South  Africa  rising  to  the  rank  of  colonel. In  1918  he  was  sent  to  Siberia  to  encourage  the  Russians  to  stay  in  the  war.


Josiah  did  not  know  which way  to  go  in  the  Maurice  debate  and  his  ambivalence  somehow  secured  him the  coupon. He  had  the  backing  of  his  local  Liberal  association  and  was  unopposed. He  had  no  intention  of  supporting  Lloyd  George  and  attended  the  first  meeting  of  the  parliamentary  Liberal  party.


In  1919  Josiah  and  his  wife  agreed  to  divorce  on  the  grounds  of  adultery  and  desertion  by  him  although  it  wasn't  true. He  was  publicly  criticised  for  this  and  the  criticism  actually  increased  when the  divorce  was  finalised  and  he  remarried, admirtting  that  the  adultery  was  staged.


That  same  year,Josiah  changed  allegiances  and  joined  the  Independent  Labour  Party. He  was  appointed  joint  vice-chair  of  the  P.L.P.  in  1921. He  was  free  to  take  an  independent  line  supporting  Zionism, refugees  and  indian  independence.


The  local Liberals  continuerd  to  give  Josiah  tacit  support  and  he  was  unopposed  in  1923. McDonald  did  not  particularly  like  him  and  he  was  made  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  in  the  first  Labour  government. Later  in  the  year  he  succeeded  Henderson  as  Chief  Industrial  Commissioner. He  was  against  making  a loan  to  the  Soviet  Union. In  opposition  he  was  critical  of  McDonald's  leadership. He  was  not  offered  a  post  in  the  second  Labour  government  and  occupied  himself  by  becoming  a  serious  scholar  of  parliamentary  history.  His  work  led  to  the  formation  of  the  History  of  Parliament  Trust  in  1940.  In  1930-31   he  was  Mayor  of  Newcastle.  In  1931   he  stood  as  an "Independent  Labour"  candidate  but  was  still  unopposed  and  had  rejoinerd  the  fold  by  1935. He  opposed  appeasement  and  supported  asylum  for  European  Jews. This  led  to  streets  being  named  after  him  in  Israerl.


In  1940  Josiah  joined  the  Home  Guards. In  1941  he  toured  America  putting  the  case  for  U.S. intervention in  the  war. A  grateful Churchill gave  him a  peerage  as  Baron  Wedgwood.


He  died  in  1943  aged  71. His  neice  wrote  his  biography  The  Last  of  the  Radicals  , a  title  Josiah  had  chosen  himself.

1614 Henry Walker

Constituency : Melton 1906-10


Henry  defeated  the  Tories  to  become  the  only  Liberal  MP  in  the  constituency's  history.


Henry  was  educated  at  Winchester  and  Cambridghe.He  became  a  clerk  at  the  Foreign  Office  and  was  posted  all  over  the  world. He  contested  Stowmarket  in  1895  and  Plymouth  in  1900.


Henry  held  on  in  January  1910  by  123  votes  then  decided  not  to  contest  the  December  election.


Henry  became  a  Progressive  councillor  in  London  in  1913.


He  died  in  1923  aged  56.

1613 Alan Gardner

Constituency : Ross  1906-07


Alan  unseated  the  Liberal  Unionist  Percy  Clive.


Alan  was  a  former  army  captain  in  the  Hussars  who'd  fought  in  the  Anglo-Zulu  War  of  1879  being  one  of  only  5  officers  to  survive  the  Battle  of  Isandlwana. He  was  seriously  wounded  at  the  Battle  of  Kambula. He  also  served  in Ireland  and  South  Africa. Her  reached  the  rank  of  colonel.He  contested  Marylebone  East  in  1895.


Alan  fell  ill  in  the  winter  of  1907  and  went  to  the  Mediterranean to  recuperate. He  died  of  pneumonia  in  Algeciras  on  Christmas  Day  1907. He  was  61. Clive  reclaimed  the  seat  at  the  by-election.

1612 Edmund Lamb

Constituency : Leominster  1906-10


Edmund  took  Leominster  from  the  Tories.


Edmund  was  the  son  of  a  colliery  proprietor  and  landowner  in  Northumberland. He  was educated  at  the  Oratory  School, Edgbaston  and  Oxford. He  was  a  catholic  who  supported  scrapping  religious  disabilities.


Edmund  was  a  radical  who  advocated  the  abolition  of  the  Lords. His  maiden  speech  supported  the  Pure  Beer  Bill  in  1906.


Edmund  was  defeated  in  January  1910. He  declined  to  stand  in  December  or  in  the  1912  by-election  which  meant  no Liberal  stood. However,  he  remained  involved  in  his  local  party  and  became  its  President.


Edmund  was  persuaded  to  stand  in  1918  when  he  faced  a  couponed  Conservative  and  another  Liberal  standing  as  an "Agriculture"  candidate  who  was  backed  by  the  Herefordshire  Farmers  Union  and  expressed  support  for  Lloyd  George. Edmund  came  second.


Edmund  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. He  published  a  family  history.


He  died  in  1925  aged  61.

1611 Robert Pearce

Constituency : Leek  1906-10, 1910-18


Robert  took  Leek  from  the  Tories.


Robert  was  born  in  Ipswich  and  educated  at  its  grammar  school. He  became  a  solicitor. He  stood  for  Leek  in  1895  and  1900.


Robert's  maiden  speech  criticised  the  Public  Trustee  Bill  in  1906. He  objected  to  a  publicly  funded  official  overseeing  private  funds and  appealed  to  Labour  MPs  for  support . In  1908  Robert  introduced  the  Daylight  Saving  Bill  in  the  Commons.


Robert  lost  by  10  votes  in  January  1910  but  recaptured  the  seat  in  December.


Robert  was  not  happy  about  the  events  in  Hanley  in  1912  and  publicly  condemned  the  Liberal  candidate  Robert  Outhwaite  for  standing.


Robert  was  knighted  in  1916.


Robert's  last  maiden  speech  in  1917  suggested  extending  income  tax  to  charities.


Robert  stood  down  in  1918.


He  died  in  1922  aged  82.

1610 Edmund Barnard

Constituency  : Kidderminster  1906-10


Edmund  took  Kidderminster  from  the  Tories. He  defeated  the  future  Tory  PM, Stanley  Baldwin.


Edmund  was  the  son  of  a  maltster  and  local  landowner . He  was  educated  at  Brighton  College  and  Cambridge. Edmund  became  a  philanthropic  country  gentleman. He  served  on  Hertfordshire  County  Council  from  its  inception  and  was  chairman  of  its  education  committee  championing  village  schools. He  stood  for  Epping  in  1900, Maldon  in  1886  and  Kidderminster  in  1900. Edmund  became  chairman  of  the  Metropolitan  Water  Board  in  1904.


Edmund  stood  down  in  January  1910  but  tried  to  win  the  seat  back  for  the  Liberals  in  December. He  narrowly  failed.


During  the  First  World  War, Edmund  left  the  Liberal  Party  and  signed  up  to  the  breakaway  Tory  faction's  new  National  Party. He  stood  for  them in  the  Islington  East  by-election  in  1917  but  came  a  distant  third.


In 1918  Edmund  contested  Hertford  for  his  new  party, coming  second  to  the  independent right  winger  Noel Pemberton  Billing  in  the  absence  of  a  Tory  candidate. Neither  man  was  issued  with  the  coupon.


Edmund  was  knighted  in  1928.


Edmund  was  an  accomplished  polo  player.


Edmund  died  of  a  heart  attack  while  chairing  a  meeting  of  Hertfordshire  County  council  in  1930, aged  73.

1609 Rudolf Lehmann

Constituency : Harborough  1906-10


Rudolph  took  over  from  Philip  Stanhope  at  Harborough.


Rudolph  was  the  son  of  a  steel  manufacturer  but  through  his  mother  he  was  connected  to  a literary  circle  that  included  Darwin  and  Browning. He  was  educated  at  Highgate  School  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  keen  rower  and  fencer. He  started  working  as  a  barrister  but  was  more  interested  in  writing. He  was  an  editor  of  Granta  and  soon  started  submitting  articles  to  Punch. These  were  well  received  and  he  soon  became  part  of  the  editorial  staff.  He  also  wrote  light  verse  and  comic  operas.  He  stood  for  Cheltenham  in  1885.


Rudolph's  maiden  speech  was  in  favour  of  the  provision  of  school meals.


Rudolph  held  his  seat  in  January  1910  then  stepped  down  before  the  December  contest.


He  died  in  1929  aged  73.

1608 Enoch Edwards

Constituency : Hanley  1906-09 , 1909-12  ( Labour )


Enoch  took  Hanley  from  the  Tories  as  a  Liberal-Labour  candidate.


Enoch  had  a  brief  education  at  a  Methodist  day  school  before  going  into  the  mines.  He  became  involved  in  trade  union  politics  as  well  as  sitting  on  Staffordshire  County  Council. He  became  President  of  the  Midland  Counties  Miners  Federation  in  1886,  the  first Treasurer  of  the  MFGB  in  1889  and  then  President  of  the  MFGB  in  1904. He  stood  for  Hanley  in  1900  but  failed  to  impress  many  of  the  potters. He  was  Mayor  of  Burslem  in  1900. He  was  a  Primitive  Methodist  Sunday  school  treasurer.


Enoch's  maiden  speech  was  in  favour  of  old  age  pensions. His  last  speech  supported  a  minimum wage  in  the  mining  industry. He  sat  on  the  Royal  Commission  on  the  mines  in  1909.


Enoch  obeyed  the  instruction  to  switch  to  Labour  in  1909  and  held  his  seat  in  both  1910  elections  without  Liberal  opposition.


Enoch  died  in  1912  after  suffering  a  stroke,  aged  60.  It  was  thought  that  leading  the  disastrous  strike  of  that  year  hastened  his  demise. His  death  caused  a  bitter  by-election  with  both  Liberals  and  Labour  feeling  they  had  a  prior  claim  on  the  seat.

1607 Arthur Hooper

Constituency  : Dudley  1906-10


Arthur  took  Dudley  from  the  Tories.


Arthur  was  a  Congregationalist.He  played  cricket  as  a  young  man. He  was  a  local  solicitor  and  served  on  Dudley  Town  Council. He  won  by  754  votes.


Arthur  held  his  seat  in  January  1910  but  lost  by  360  votes  in  December.


He  died  in  1940 aged  83.

1606 Cecil Harmsworth

Constituency : Droitwich  1906-10, Luton  1911-22


Cecil  took  Droitwich  after  the  Liberal  Unionist Richard  Martin, stepped  down.


Cecil  was  the  younger  brother  of  the  newspaper  proprietor  Alfred  Harmsworth. He  was  educated  at  St  Marylebone  Grammar  School  and  Trinity  College, Dublin. He  first  stood for  Droitwich  in  1900  ,losing  by  268  votes, then  at  the  North  East  Lanarkshire by-election in  1901. He  was  joint  editor  of  the  New  Liberal  Review.


Cecil was  defeated  in  January  1910. He  returned  the  following  year  at  a  by-election  in Luton.


Cecil  was  parliamentary  private  secretary  to  Walter  Runciman  from  1911  to  1915 . He  was  briefly  under  secretary  at  the  Home  Office  in  1915  but  was  dropped  when  the  coalition  government  was  formed.


In  1912  Cecil  bought  Dr  Johnson's  house  in  London  to  save  it  from  demolition  and  set  it  up  as  a  museum.


When  Lloyd  George's  government  was  formed, Cecil  became part  of  the  Secretariat. He  was  under  secretary  of  state  for  Foreign Affairs  from 1919  to  1922.  His  Diaries  are  a  major  historical  source  for  the  period.


Cecil  stood  down  in  1922.


Cecil  was  created  Baron  Harmworth  in  1939.


Cecil  was  a  director  of  Amalgamated  Press  and  chairman  of  Associated  Newspapers. He  published  a  handful  of  books  on  assorted  subjects.


He  died  in  1948  aged  78.

1605 Herbert Raphael

Constituency : Derbyshire  South  1906-18


Herbert  took  Derbyshire  South  from  the  Tories.


Herbert  was  the  son  of  a  Jewish  banker. He  was  educated  in  Europe  before  going  to  Cambridge. He  became a  barrister  but  was  more  interested  in  politics. In  1889  he  became  a  Progressive councillor  in  London. He  stood  for  Romford  in  1892  and  1897  and  St  Pancras  North  in  1900. He  was  a  member  of  the  London  School  Board. He  was  a  millionaire.


Herbert's  maiden  speech  supported  the  eight  hour  day  for  miners. He  called  for  a  restriction  of  the  Lords'  power. However  he  also  opposed  the  socialistic  trend  of  party  policy.


In  1911, Herbert  was  created  a  baronet.


From  1910  Herbert  began to  develop  his  estate  in  Essex into  Gidea  Park, a  garden  suburb  demonstrating  the  work  of  prominent  architects.


Herbert  served  in  World  War  One, initially  as  a  private in  the  Royal  Fusiliers. Later  , he  was  given  the  rank  of  Major  and  raised  two  battalions including  one  from  Gidea  Park. He  was  a member  of  the  Liberal  War  Committee  supporting  conscription.


Herbert  was  an  art  collector  and  donated  several  paintings  to  the  National  Gallery  in  1916.


Herbert  died  of  a  heart  attack  whilst  out  shooting  on  his  estate  in  1924. He  was  64.