Sir Charles Edward Henry Hobhouse, 4th Baronet, TD, PC, JP (30 June 1862 – 26 June 1941) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician and officer in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

. He was a member of the Liberal cabinet of H. H. Asquith between 1911 and 1915.

Background and education

He was the third child and only son of Sir Charles Parry Hobhouse, 3rd Baronet, and his wife Edith Lucy Turton, daughter of Sir Thomas Turton, 2nd Baronet, born at

Dormansland, Surrey Dormansland is a large village and civil parish with a low population approximately one mile south of Lingfield in Surrey, England. It was founded in the 19th century and is bordered on the east by the county of Kent and on the south by West S ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, and matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1880. He then attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

.''London Gazette'', 22 August 1884.
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Military career

Hobhouse was commissioned from Sandhurst as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) on 23 August 1884, and served with the regiment until he resigned from the Regular Army on 7 May 1890 to enter politics. However, he became a captain in the part-time 7th Battalion, KRRC, (the Royal 2nd Middlesex Militia) on 17 April 1897. When a new 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment was formed in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

, he was commissioned as a major in the unit, succeeding to its command with the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 5 April 1903. He continued in that role when the battalion became the 6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment in the

in 1908. Hobhouse retired from the command on 5 April 1911, but on the death of the 6th Gloucesters' Honorary Colonel, Earl Roberts, shortly after the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was appointed to succeed him on 24 December 1914. Hobhouse continued to be the 6th Gloucesters' Hon Colonel for the rest of his life, the battalion being converted into 44th Royal Tank Regiment in 1938.

Political career

Hobhouse's first attempt to get elected was at North Buckinghamshire. He was Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

between 1892 and 1895 and for

Bristol East Bristol East is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency recreated in 1983 covering the eastern part of the City of Bristol, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of ...

between 1900 and 1918.F. W. S. Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918'' He was a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

from 1892 to 1895 and a Church Estates Commissioner from 1906 to 1907. Hobhouse was appointed to his first ministerial post in 1907 when

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 19 ...

made him

Under-Secretary of State for India This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the British India, period of British rule be ...

. The Hobhouse Commission he headed recommended a cautious expansion of the

panchayat raj The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical menti ...

system in Indian villages. The commission's report influenced later legislation for India. He then served under H. H. Asquith as

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Excheq ...

from 1908 to 1911. He was a member of Asquith's cabinet as

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

between 1911 and 1914 and as

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsible ...

between 1914 and 1915. In 1909 he was sworn of the Privy Council. Apart from his career in national politics, Hobhouse was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

Wiltshire County Council Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county. As a result of the 2009 restructur ...

from 1893 to 1924. He succeeded his father as fourth Baronet in 1916. At the Coupon election in 1918 he lost his seat, as did Asquith, McKenna, Runciman, Simon, Samuel and McKinnon Wood. In 1922 Hobhouse stood again in North Buckinghamshire but came third, behind both Conservative and Labour. Hobhouse, long associated with Bristol, was appointed President of the Western Counties Liberal Federation from 1924 to 1935 and President of the

National Liberal Federation The National Liberal Federation (1877–1936) was the union of all English and Welsh (but not Scottish) Liberal Associations. It held an annual conference which was regarded as being representative of the opinion of the party's rank and file and ...

from 1926 to 1930.

Personal life

Hobhouse married first in 1890 Georgina Fleetwood Fuller (Lady Nina), daughter of George Pargiter Fuller of

Neston Park __NOTOC__ Neston Park is an English country house and estate in the village of Neston, some 2 miles (3 km) south of Corsham, Wiltshire. The name of the village of Neston is derived from the name of the house. The present house dates fr ...

; she died in 1927. He married again in 1931, to Aimee Gladys Brendon, widow of Benjamin Adams Brendon, and daughter of David Charles Ballinger Griffith. He had no children by either marriage. They lived at Monkton Farleigh until he died on 26 June 1941, aged 78.

References

Primary sources

Secondary sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobhouse, Charles Edward Henry 1862 births 1941 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Gloucestershire Regiment officers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of Wiltshire County Council United Kingdom Postmasters General Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Presidents of the Liberal Party (UK) UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Charles Liberal Party (UK) councillors Church Estates Commissioners Territorial Force officers