Gerald Ashburner France (4 August 1870 – 11 February 1935) was a British businessman and importer and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician.

Family and education

Gerald Ashburner France was the son of James Ashburner France of

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

and was rooted in the commercial and social life of the North East of England. His home was at Newbiggin Hall, Westerhope in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. In religion, France was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and he was educated at Rydal, a boarding school in

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

founded in the Methodist tradition. In 1898, he married Hilda Bainbridge from Eshott in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. They had four sons and a daughter.

Career

France had a business career as an agent and importer in the North East. He rose to become governing director of the firm J A France & Co. of London and Newcastle as well as Chairman of Scott & Turner Ltd, a firm of Newcastle tinprinters. During the First World War, France served as a temporary

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

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 ...

Politics

Local politics

France became a member of

Northumberland County Council Northumberland County Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Northumberland in North East England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having also ...

in 1903, representing the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

area of

Prudhoe Prudhoe ( ) is a town and civil parish in the south of Northumberland, England. It is west of Newcastle upon Tyne and situated on a steep, north-facing hill on the south bank of the River Tyne. Prudhoe had a population of 11,675 at the 2011 ...

and was made an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in 1913. He was sometime chairman of the old age pensions committee of the county of Northumberland and also served as chairman of the county's Parliamentary Committee and of its Health Establishment Committee.

Parliament

France had Parliamentary ambitions. His name was mentioned as a possible Liberal candidate for the seat of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

in 1909 to succeed the

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MP, John Johnson but although he was not chosen he was soon selected elsewhere. He entered

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at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

when he held the Liberal seat of Morley in the

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by a majority of 4,631 votes over the Unionist in a three-cornered contest. France held his seat at the December 1910 general election when he was returned unopposed. The Morley constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election and France was adopted as Liberal candidate for the new seat of Batley and Morley. He fought the seat as a

Coalition Liberal The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place soon after British victory in the ...

(as

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 ...

Gerald France) and was not opposed by a Conservative or

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description which candidates and politicians have used to describe themselves, designating them as liberals, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of their country. To avoid confusion with the Liberal Party of ...

. He was presumably awarded the

Coalition coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place soon after British victory in the ...

and in a straight with Labour candidate Ben Turner, France took the seat by a majority of 1,468 votes. France may have seen the political writing on the wall as he did not defend his seat at the 1922 general election when Batley and Morley fell to Ben Turner for Labour. He did not stand for Parliament again.

Electoral record

Political appointments

In 1916, France was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centur ...

, Walter Runciman. He was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland in August 1932 He was also sometime President of the Gladstone Club.

Other public appointments

France was sometime President of the National Commercial Temperance League, a body formed in the 1890s to appeal to the business and professional community in the economic and ethical field of thought to promote temperance. He was also a member of the national executive committee of the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

Death

Towards the end of his political career, France's health began to deteriorate. Just before Christmas of 1934, he went to

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

on doctors' advice for the benefit of his condition. Back in England in the new year, he was taken to hospital in

on 21 January where he was kept until he died on 11 February.''Chemist and druggist: the newsweekly for pharmacy''; Volume 122, 1935 p195

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:France, Gerlad Ashburner 1870 births 1935 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I