Brigadier-General John Sanctuary Nicholson (19 May 1863 – 21 February 1924) was a British Army 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 ...

. He was a

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 of Parliament (MP) from 1921 to 1924.

Early life and education

Born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the son of William Nicholson and his wife Isabella. He was educated at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and then, in 1882, the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He was commissioned in

7th Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

in February 1884 and in 1886 he spent eight years in India with his regiment before in 1894 being sent to

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 ( ...

BSAP, Second Boer War and First World War

The 7th Hussars joined a force at Mafeking to suppress a native rising in Matabeleland. During these operations he raised and commanded a corps of

British South Africa Police The British South Africa Police (BSAP) was, for most of its existence, the police force of Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia (renamed Zimbabwe in 1980). It was formed as a paramilitary force of mounted infantrymen in 1889 by Cecil Rhodes' Britis ...

(BSAP). He became Commandant-General of the BSAP and Inspector-General of Volunteers in

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

from 1898 until 1903. 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 ...

took place in neighbouring

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

from 1899 to June 1902, and to recognize his contribution, Nicholson was appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in the South Africa honours list published on 26 June 1902. In 1903 he succeeded

Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder of The Boy Scouts Association and its first Chief Scout, and founder, with ...

as Inspector-General of South African Constabulary and retired from the post as a colonel in 1907. During 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 joined the British Expeditionary Force and from April 1915 to December 1918 was base commandant at

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

. He had been promoted to brigadier-general in 1916 and retired from the Army in 1920.

Political career

With a father and brother both being members of parliament Nicholson contested a seat in

East Dorset East Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council met in Wimborne Minster between 2016 and 2019. The district (as Wimborne) was formed on 1 April 1974 by merging Wimborne Minster Urban District with Wimborne an ...

in the 1910 general election. He lost by 426 votes to Captain Guest but after a petition Guest was unseated. Nicholson stood again as a Conservative candidate in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

against Guest's brother

Henry Guest Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Henry Charles Guest (15 February 1874 – 9 October 1957), usually known as Henry Guest, was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom. Family He was the second son of Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne and his ...

but was defeated again by a small margin. In the second general election of 1910 in December, he tried to get elected at

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

but was defeated by 755 votes. In 1921, he was elected the Member of Parliament for the

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

constituency in a

following the death of the incumbent MP

William Burdett-Coutts William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett Burdett-Coutts (20 January 1851 – 28 July 1921), born William Lehman Ashmead-Bartlett, was an American-born Conservative Party (UK), British Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons of the Unite ...

. He was re-elected in the following two general elections in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

Death

Nicholson, who had never married, died on 21 February 1924 of pneumonia at his house at

South Audley Street South Audley Street is a major shopping street in Mayfair, London.'South Audley Street: Introduction', in Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings), ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1980), pp. 290–291. Bri ...

, Mayfair aged 60. A

was held to replace him as an MP.

References

* *''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume III 1919-1945'', edited by M. Stenton and S. Lees (The Harvester Press 1976)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, John 1863 births 1924 deaths British Army brigadiers People from Kensington Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Deaths from pneumonia in England People educated at Harrow School People of the Second Matabele War Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers British military personnel of the Second Boer War British Army cavalry generals of World War I British South Africa Police officers