William Cope, 1st Baron Cope, (18 August 1870 – 15 July 1946), known as Sir William Cope, Bt, between 1928 and 1945, was a Welsh Conservative Party politician, who was also notable as an international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. He was Member of Parliament for Llandaff and Barry from 1918 to 1929, was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

in 1928 and elevated to the peerage as Baron Cope in July 1945.

Background and education

He was born in

Roath Roath ( cy, Y Rhath) is a district and community to the north-east of the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. There is no community council for the area which is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdo ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, in 1870, the son of Matthew Cope from St Mellons and Margaret Harrison. He was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, independent, day and boarding school in the English public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school whi ...

and matriculated at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...

in 1888, graduating B.A. in 1891 and M.A. in 1895. He was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

, and in 1894 was called to the bar. He practised as a London barrister for about nine years. His father, who died in 1933, was described in an obituary as "a pioneer of the South Wales coal trade". He was associated with

Cardiff Docks Cardiff Docks ( cy, Dociau Caerdydd) is a port in southern Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost . Once the main port for the export of South Wales coal, the Port ...

, and chaired the board of the Albion Steam Coal Company, which ran the Albion colliery. William Cope joined the board in 1907. The position came to an end in 1910, with a takeover by the Cambrian Combine.

Political career

With 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 ...

in 1914, Cope joined the

Glamorgan Yeomanry The Glamorgan Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army originally raised in the late 18th century as a result of concern over the threat of invasion by the French. It was re-raised in the Second Boer War and saw service in both the Fi ...

, rising to the rank of major. He failed a medical test for military service abroad. In 1918, he ran for Parliament, winning for the seat of . In 1923 he became a

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

, a post he held until 1928, with a break during the brief Labour Government of 1924. In 1928 he was created a

, of St Mellons in the County of Monmouth. After the Treasury Cope was given the role of Comptroller of the Royal Household, a role he undertook for just a year when he left government in 1929. He held several offices in his home county of Glamorgan. He was a Justice of the Peace, and a Deputy Lieutenant and in 1932 was made High Sheriff of Glamorgan. In 1933 he was invested as a King's Council. In July 1945 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Cope, of St Mellons in the County of Monmouth.

Rugby career

Cope first came to note as a rugby player when he played for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

while a student. In 1891 he played in

The Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars. Since 1921, the game has ...

against Oxford, gaining a sporting Blue. From 1891 through to 1895 Cope turned out for his home club of

,Davies (1975), p. 238. and after leaving university he also represented first class English team Blackheath. During the 1891–1892 season Cope became a member of invitational team the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

in only their second year. Four years later, Cope was selected to represent Wales as part of the

1896 Home Nations Championship The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

in a match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Cope was brought in to a much changed team after a disastrous opening match of the tournament against England; the selectors reacting to a 25–0 scoreline by selecting five new caps in the pack. Cope was one of the new members, who under the leadership of Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, managed to beat Scotland 6–0. Despite the victory, this was Cope's only international game, being replaced by a returning

Arthur Boucher Arthur Boucher (29 June 1870 – 25 April 1948) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport. Boucher was an adaptable player, who although selected mainly as a forward, often played at centre. He was strong, ...

in the next match of the Championship.

Family

William Cope married Helen Shuldham (died 21 January 1961), daughter of Alexander Shuldham of Flowerfield, County Londonderry, Ireland, on 5 September 1900. They had two children. He died in July 1946, aged 75, when the baronetcy and barony became extinct: their son and heir to the titles William Shuldham Cope had died in Australia in the preceding years. Quarry Hill House in Cardiff was a family property. William Shuldham Cope was born in 1902. 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 joined the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

. In 1928 he was a sheep farmer in New Zealand. Later he was in Calgary, working for the Quaker Finance Corporation. The daughter, Helen Margaret Letitia, married in 1940 Stephen John Valentine Simpson of Spitchwick.

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, William 1870 births 1946 deaths Alumni of University College London Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players British Army personnel of World War I British sportsperson-politicians Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Cardiff RFC players Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Glamorgan Yeomanry officers High Sheriffs of Glamorgan Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cardiff constituencies Barons created by George VI People educated at Repton School Politicians from Cardiff Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Cardiff Treasurers of the Household UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs who were granted peerages Wales international rugby union players Welsh barristers Welsh rugby union players