__NOTOC__ Commander Carlyon Wilfroy Bellairs (15 March 1871 – 22 August 1955) was a British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Bellairs was born at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, the son of Lieutenant-General Sir

William Bellairs Major-General Sir William Bellairs, (28 August 1828 – 24 July 1913) was a British army officer. Military career Bellairs was born on 28 August 1828, the youngest son of Sir William Bellairs, of Mulbarton, Norfolk, who had served with the 15t ...

, KCMG, and Blanche St. John Bellairs. He was a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

of the Royal Navy, and was placed on the retired list 15 March 1902. In the 1906 general election he was elected to Parliament for

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

as a Liberal, but in October 1909

crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

to sit as a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

.David Butler and Gareth Butler, ''Twentieth Century British Political Facts 1900-2000'', eighth edition, Macmillan 2000, p. 244 In the January 1910 general election he unsuccessfully stood for election at West Salford and in December 1910 was also defeated at

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

. In 1911 Bellairs was married to Charlotte, daughter of Colonel H. L. Pierson of Long Island, USA. From 1913 he was a member of the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

Municipal Reform Party The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 194 ...

member for Lewisham, resigning on 17 April 1915. He returned to Parliament as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

member for

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

at a by-election in February 1915, and was re-elected for the Maidstone division of Kent in 1918. He retired from Parliament at the 1931 general election, having declined a

baronetcy 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 14th ...

in 1927. Charlotte Bellairs died in 1939. Carlyon Bellairs lived at 10

Eaton Place Eaton Place is a street in London's Belgravia district. It runs off the top left hand corner of Eaton Square and then parallel to it until a junction with Upper Belgrave Street. Notable events, establishments and inhabitants * The Embassy of ...

, London and Gore Court, Maidstone, Kent, and was a member of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, England. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and elect ...

and the Coefficients dining club of social reformers set up in 1902 by the Fabian campaigners Sidney and

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociology, sociologist, economist, feminism, feminist and reformism (historical), social reformer. She was among the founders of the Lo ...

. He died in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

in 1955 aged 84. Carlyon Bellairs bequeathed his Barbados home, called Seabourne, as a research institute dedicated to the study of marine biology.

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, founded

Bellairs Research Institute The Bellairs Research Institute, located on the Caribbean island of Barbados, was founded in 1954 as a marine biology field-station for McGill University. The main campus of McGill University is in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bellairs' initial fu ...

in 1954 on the property. The institute has been expanded since, but the original house can still be seen close to shore and is often used as accommodation for visiting academics.

Works

References

* Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament Volume III 1919-1945'', Harvester Press, 1979, p. 26

External links

* * * 1871 births 1955 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Navy officers UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 Members of London County Council Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1870s-stub

Works

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Further reading

External links