Gerald Archibald Arbuthnot (19 December 1872 – 25 September 1916) was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician.

Early life

The son of Major General William Arbuthnot and Selina Moncreiffe, he was vice-chancellor of the

Primrose League The Primrose League was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883. At a late point in its existence, its declared aims (published in the ''Primrose League Gazette'', vol. 83, no. 2, March/April ...

Political career

Arbuthnot was a private secretary to the

Board of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. 30) and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Boar ...

from 1895 to 1899, assistant private secretary to the

President of the Local Government Board The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the ...

in 1901 and 1902 and assistant private secretary to the

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...

in 1905 and 1906. Between January and December 1910, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. He also was the last conservative MP from Burnley, up until 2019.

Military service

In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

and reached the rank of second lieutenant, having been made 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 ...

in the service of the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

already in 1914. He fought in the

Battle of Ypres The Battle of Ypres was a series of engagements during the First World War, near the Belgian city of Ypres, between the German and the Allied armies (Belgian, French and British colonial forces). During the five engagements, casualties may have su ...

. Arbuthnot died aged 43, killed in action during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. He was buried at Citadel New Military Cemetery,

Fricourt Fricourt () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Fricourt is situated on the D147 and D64 junction, some northeast of Amiens. History Fricourt is about a kilometre from Mametz. It was close to ...

. In November 2018, Arbuthnot's name was added to the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

's World War One memorial, after a historian at the

History of Parliament Trust The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

noticed his name was missing.

Personal life

He married (Mary Johanna) Dulcie Antoinette Oppenheim, daughter of Charles Augustus Oppenheim, on 6 February 1894. They had three daughters, one of whom, Cynthia Isabelle Theresa, married rower and financier

Ian Fairbairn Ian Fairbairn may refer to: * Ian Fairbairn (rower), British financier and Olympic rower * Ian Fairbairn (actor) Ian Fairbairn (17 September 1931 – 2 December 2014) was an English actor who was a regular in children's science fiction progr ...

References

External links

* *
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
* 1872 births 1916 deaths Burials in Hauts-de-France Gerald Archibald Arbuthnott Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 Grenadier Guards officers Royal Navy officers of World War I Civil servants in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Civil servants in the Local Government Board Civil servants in Ireland (1801–1922) Private secretaries in the British Civil Service British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme Politics of Burnley Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Royal Navy officers {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1870s-stub