Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet (16 February 1857 – 7 October 1928) was a British barrister,

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians nor ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician.

Early life

Knowles was the son of John Knowles and Elizabeth Lees of Green Bank,

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

whose family owned

Andrew Knowles and Sons Andrew Knowles and Sons was a coal mining company that operated on the Manchester Coalfield in and around Clifton near Pendlebury, in the historic county of Lancashire, England. Robert Knowles who died 1780, started pits in Eagley Bank and Sha ...

, collieries in the

Irwell Valley The Irwell Valley in North West England extends from the Forest of Rossendale through the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal. Geology Shallow seas covered most of south-east ...

. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He was a prominent athlete at both institutions and became president of the Cambridge University Athletics Club. He studied law, and was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1882.

Career

Politics

Knowles was involved in Unionist politics, and stood unsuccessfully for the Conservatives at

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Sta ...

in the 1885 general election. In the following year, another general election was held, and he was returned as

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 ...

for Salford West. From 1887 to 1892 Knowles held an appointment as unpaid parliamentary secretary to Charles Ritchie,

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 Bo ...

. On 24 April 1890, he brought a motion before the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

and was subsequently appointed to formulate the

Royal Commission on Tuberculosis The Royal Commission on Tuberculosis (1896–98), also known as the First Royal Commission on Tuberculosis was an early investigation into the history of tuberculosis (TB). On 24 April 1890, Lees Knowles, then parliamentary secretary to Charles Rit ...

.TUBERCULOSIS IN CATTLE ''Parliament'', The Times 11 April 1891 Knowles remained unpaid parliamentary secretary when Ritchie became

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

in 1895. From 1896 to 1906 he was

Second Church Estates Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, "of Westwood in the County of Lancaster", in the

1903 Birthday Honours The 1903 Birthday Honours were announced on 9 November 1903, to celebrate the birthday of King Edward VII that day. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and the British Empire. The list was published ...

. In December 1904, he was knighted as a Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John (KStJ). His parliamentary career came to an end when he lost his seat at the 1906 general election.

Military

Knowles had a great interest in military history, and wrote a number of books on the life of Napoleon. In 1912 he made a bequest to his '' alma mater'', Trinity College. This established the Lees Knowles Lectureship, an annual series of talks on military science given by distinguished military and naval figures. He held a commission as an officer in the

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

and its successor the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. After a stint as Honorary Colonel of the 3rd (Volunteer) battalion of the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 2 ...

, he was on 14 May 1902 appointed lieutenant-colonel in command of the battalion. At various times he commanded the 3rd, 7th and 8th

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

s of the

. He subsequently became the vice-chairman of the Lancashire Territorial Army Association. Knowles was a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, supporting a number of charities, notably the Guinness Trust for Housing the Poor. He died in on 7 October 1928, aged 71, at his home in Westwood,

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester city centre, north-west of Salford and south-east of Bolton. Historically in Lancas ...

Family

In 1915, he married Lady Nina Ogilvy-Grant, youngest daughter of

Francis Ogilvy-Grant, 10th Earl of Seafield Francis William Ogilvy-Grant, 10th Earl of Seafield, 2nd Baron Strathspey (9 March 1847 – 3 December 1888), styled as Viscount Reidhaven from 1884 to 1888, was a New Zealand farmer, labourer, and ephemeral Scottish peer. Early life Francis Wil ...

. Lady Nina was presumably the Lady Nina Ogilvy-Grant who appeared at a meeting of the Conservative and Unionist Women's Franchise Association on 11 May 1909 at 52

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the Third Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to BBC Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Institute of Britis ...

in London, as reported by

Votes for Women A vote is a formal method of choosing in an election. Vote(s) or The Vote may also refer to: Music *''V.O.T.E.'', an album by Chris Stamey and Yo La Tengo, 2004 *"Vote", a song by the Submarines from ''Declare a New State!'', 2006 Television * ...

, the organ of the

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

. They had no children.

Memorials

Two roads in Llandudno, North Wales, are named in his honour: Lees Road and Knowles Road.

Arms

Works

Lees Knowles, A day with corps-students in Germany
* ;As editor *

References

*'Obituary: Sir Lees Knowles. A Life of Public Service.', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'', 8 October 1928, p. 18

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Lees 1857 births 1928 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Rugby School Members of Lincoln's Inn Lancashire Fusiliers officers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Salford West Church Estates Commissioners Lees