Hugh Mowbray Meyler (25 June 1875 – 30 April 1929) was a British lawyer, army officer, balloon observer, and politician. After qualifying as a solicitor, and then serving in the British Army in the

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

, he was a Unionist Party member of the first

Parliament of the Union of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assem ...

from 1910 to 1914. After further army service in the First World War and in Ireland in the 1920s, he was the

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 ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in the UK from 1923 to 1924.

Early life

Meyler was born near

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, in Somerset, where his father was the

town clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

. He was educated at

King's College, Taunton King's College is an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Taunton, Somerset, England, providing education for 2 to 18-year-olds. Set across two sites, it is surrounded by Somerset countryside. A member school of the Woodard Co ...

and Allhallows Grammar School, Honiton, and then studied at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He qualified as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in 1898, briefly working in partnership with Herbert Byard Sheppard in Taunton. He was also an officer in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the

Somersetshire Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

South Africa

Meyler left Taunton to serve in the

, enlisting with the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

and serving with the Rhodesian Field Force in 1899 and early 1900. While in the field, he was commissioned into a regular army unit as a second lieutenant in the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

on 5 May 1900, and served in the 2nd battalion of that regiment, where he was promoted to

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 ...

on 29 March 1901. He took part in operations east of

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

during Summer 1900, and later served with Mounted Infantry in the

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...

. After the end of the war in June 1902, he left

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

for the United Kingdom four months later on the SS ''Orient''. For his service, he was awarded the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

, the

King's South Africa Medal The King's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to all British and Colonial military personnel who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and who were in the theatre on or after 1 January 1902 and who had completed 18 m ...

, and the

Union of South Africa Commemoration Medal The Union of South Africa Commemoration Medal is a military and civil commemorative medal which was awarded to commemorate the opening of the first Union Parliament by the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn in 1910. It may be considered as the fi ...

. He resigned his commission in the regular army in 1903, and joined the reserve of officers, and then resigned from the reserve in 1911. He provided the British army with intelligence services during the Natal Rebellion in 1906, but his application for the

Natal Native Rebellion Medal The Natal Native Rebellion Medal was a British campaign medal. It was authorised in 1907 for service in Natal during a Zulu revolt against British rule and taxation in 1906. The 1906 Clasp to the medal was awarded to those who had served for mo ...

was declined. He married the daughter of Major General Alexander Lyon Emerson, and returned to South Africa to become a lawyer in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

. He campaigned for the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

to join the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

, and was elected as a Unionist member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

in the first

Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital city, capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameralism, bicameral Parliamen ...

in 1910, defeating Frederick Robert Moor, Prime Minister of Natal.

First World War

He returned to England in 1914 to serve in the First World War, rejoining the Middlesex Regiment as a captain, and serving in France from January 1915. He was gassed at Bellewarde near Ypres in 1915 and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in June 1915. He transferred to the

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

in October 1915, and then joined the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

in March 1916, first as wing adjutant and then training as a balloon observation officer. He served as an observer in France with No.5 and No.8

Kite Balloon A kite balloon is a tethered balloon which is shaped to help make it stable in low and moderate winds and to increase its lift. It typically comprises a streamlined envelope with stabilising features and a harness or yoke connecting it to the mai ...

Company, in vulnerable hydrogen-filled balloons, and became flight commander in August 1916. Promoted to temporary major in June 1917 and temporary lieutenant colonel in November 1917, he commanded 2nd Balloon Wing. Despite his rank, he continued observing, and was injured in a parachute descent in September 1918, recording 123 hours of flying time in all. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

in June 1915 and December 1918. He was awarded the

Belgian Croix de Guerre The ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' ( Dutch) is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery or other military virtue on the battlefield. The award was reesta ...

(with palm) and the Croix de Chevalier (5th class) of the Belgian

Order of Leopold II The Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Leopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as Sovereign of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgiu ...

(with swords and palm) in August 1917, and the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

in January 1919. He was also awarded the 1914-15 Star, the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...

and the Victory Medal (known as

Pip, Squeak and Wilfred ''Pip, Squeak and Wilfred'' was a British strip cartoon published in the ''Daily Mirror'' from 1919 to 1956 (with a break c. 1940–1950), as well as the '' Sunday Pictorial'' in the early years. It was conceived by Bertram Lamb, who took the ro ...

Post-war career

Meyler stood for Parliament in the 1918 general election, coming third in the Bethnal Green South West constituency, with 23.4% of the votes. He remained in the army, rejoining the Border Regiment and serving as a Legal Officer in Ireland. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in January 1923. At the 1922 general election, he stood in the more promising

constituency, where he lost by only 166 votes to the sitting

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 ...

Leonard Molloy Major Leonard Greenham Star Molloy (1861–1937) was an Irish medical doctor and politician. Molloy was born in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, the son of Richard Molloy of Rathgar, Dublin. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin where he obt ...

. Molloy did not contest the 1923 general election, and Meyler won the seat with a majority of over 3,000 votes, and he retired from the army. However, at the 1924 general election, Sir

Walter de Frece Sir Abraham Walter de Frece (7 October 1870 – 7 January 1935) was a British theatre impresario, and later Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1920 to 1931. His wife was the celebrated male impersonat ...

retook the seat for the Conservatives. Meyler did not stand for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

again. He continued to speak in public, particularly on issues relating to South Africa. He became a "poor man's lawyer" in Westminster and Pimlico, but his legal practice did not prosper, and he shot himself in 1929.

References

* *
Magnificent lawyers in flying machines
, Law Gazette, 8 July 2015

January 2015
Dix Noonan Webb auctioneers
25 March 2015
Medical card, Lt Col H.M. Meyler
, RAF Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyler, Hugh Mowbray 1875 births 1929 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1923–1924 People educated at King's College, Taunton British recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Suicides by firearm in England British military personnel who died by suicide British politicians who died by suicide Royal Air Force officers Middlesex Regiment officers British emigrants to the Cape Colony Somerset Light Infantry officers Volunteer Force officers Military personnel from Taunton