James Arthur Dawes (16 June 1866 – 14 November 1921) was an English solicitor, businessman and Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) from 1910 to 1921.

Family and education

James Arthur Dawes was the son of Richard Dawes of Castle Hill,

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was hi ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

, a solicitor in Angel Court, Throgmorton Street, London. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

where he gained MA and

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and C ...

degrees. In 1920 he married Violet Pridmore from

Penge Penge () is a suburb of South East London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross. History Penge was once a small hamlet, which was recorded under the name Penc ...

in Surrey.''Who was Who'', OUP 2007 They do not appear to have had children.

Career

Dawes qualified as a solicitor in 1891 and was admitted to his father's firm, Mssrs. Dawes and Sons, in January 1892 He was later a Justice of the Peace for the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Governmen ...

. From the outset of the First World War, Dawes served with the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

and

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 Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

raising to the rank of acting

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

by 1918. He was engaged in mine-sweeping operations and from July 1918 he served at the Admiralty. Unsurprisingly, one of Dawes recreations was

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called '' yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboat ...

Southwark and London Politics

Dawes had a home in Kennington Park Road in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. He took a strong interest in local affairs and was Chairman of the Vestry of Newington, the equivalent of a Parish council, from 1897 to 1900. Dawes was then the first

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

of the Borough of Southwark from 1900 to 1901 and Deputy Mayor the following year. He was re-elected mayor in 1913–14 and 1914–15. He also served as a founder member of the Metropolitan Water Board in 1903–1904. He was later elected as a member of the

London County Council 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 kno ...

for the Progressive Party for Newington Walworth for various years between 1906 and 1913. In 1911 Dawes was appointed to the Joint Committee of the two Houses of Parliament to consider the Bill promoted by the Metropolitan Water Board to construct a series of new works and reservoirs on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

at Staines. From 1912 to 1914 he was Chairman of the Insurance Committee for the County of London, created to administer the medical aspects of the National Insurance Act of 1911, which for the first time established compulsory contributory insurance against illness and unemployment for workers. Dawes Street, London SE 17 was named after him to commemorate his appointment as the first Mayor of the Borough of Southwark.

Parliament

By 1908 Dawes had been selected as prospective Liberal candidate for

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the ...

in succession to Charles James O'Donnell who had decided not to contest the next election. Dawes was duly elected as Liberal MP for

at the general election of January 1910. He held the seat with a slightly increased majority in December 1910. In 1918 his constituency disappeared in boundary changes but he was selected for the new local constituency of Southwark South East. He fought the 1918 general election as a Coalition Liberal, that is as a supporter of the Coalition Government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

. He presumably received 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 in the heady atmosphere of victor ...

because he was not opposed by a Unionist candidate and won in a straight fight with Labour.

Death

On 9 November 1921 Dawes was chosen as Mayor of

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

where he had his country home. His appointment was not to last long however as he died on 14 November 1921 at Sydenham at the age of 55 years.The Times, 15 November 1921 p1 His death caused a by-election in Southwark which was won by Thomas Ellis Naylor for Labour. Dawes was buried in the churchyard at

Perivale Perivale () is an area of Greater London, west of Charing Cross. It is the smallest of the seven towns which make up the London Borough of Ealing. Perivale is mostly residential, with a library, community centre, a number of parks and open s ...

, a suburb of Ealing.

Works

Dawes wrote two associated pamphlets on National Insurance for the Liberal Party. * ''National Health Insurance: Part 1 of the National Insurance Act 1911'' – Liberal Publications Dept, 1912 * ''National Health Insurance: Part 2 of the National Insurance Act 1911'' – Liberal Publications Dept, 1912 Dawes also published a ''Dissertation on the Law of Partnership'' in 1909 and was a co-author of the ''Report of the National Committee to Promote the Break-up of the Poor Law'' in 1910.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, James Arthur 1866 births 1921 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of London County Council Mayors of places in Greater London English solicitors People educated at Harrow School Alumni of University College, Oxford Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I People from Ealing Members of Southwark Metropolitan Borough Council Politics of Devon Progressive Party (London) politicians Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Naval Reserve personnel