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Raymond Herbert Asquith (6 November 1878 – 15 September 1916) was an English
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
and eldest son of British prime minister
H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...
. A distinguished
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
scholar, he was a member of the fashionable group of intellectuals known as the Coterie, which included, Lady Diana Manners (with whom he had a long flirtatious relationship), Patrick Shaw-Stewart, Charles Lister, Hugo "Ego" Charteris, Julian Grenfell and Edward Horner. The Coterie were notable for their unconventional lifestyles and lavish hospitality. Like several of them, Asquith was killed in action in 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 ...
during his father's term in office.


Career and honours

Asquith was the eldest son of British prime minister H. H. Asquith (1852-1928) by his first wife, Helen Kelsall Melland (1854-1891). He was educated at
Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...
, from where he won a scholarship to Balliol in 1896, taking with him a reputation for brilliance. He won the Ireland, Derby, and Craven scholarships, and graduated with first-class honours. Elected a
fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of All Souls in 1902, he received the Eldon Law Scholarship, and was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1904.Asquith and the Conspiracy to Sink Titanic: ET Research (2004) by Senan Molony – 9 July 2004
Encyclopedia-titanica.org. Retrieved on 2012-06-24.
The tall, handsome Asquith was a member of the Coterie, a group of
Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...
socialites and intellectuals. Asquith was junior
counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...
in the North Atlantic Fisheries Arbitration and the
British Wreck Commissioner's inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic The sinking of the RMS Titanic, sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' on 15 April 1912 resulted in an inquiry by the British Wreck Commissioner on behalf of the British Board of Trade. The inquiry was overseen by High Court of Justice, High Court judg ...
, and was considered a putative Liberal candidate for
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
. However, his rise was interrupted by the outbreak of 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 was initially commissioned, on 17 December 1914, as a second lieutenant into the 16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment ( Queen's Westminster Rifles). He was transferred to the 3rd Battalion,
Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...
on 14 August 1915, and assigned as a
staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...
, but he requested to be returned to active duty with his
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
, a request granted before the
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...
. While leading the first half of 4
Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
in an attack near Ginchy on 15 September 1916, at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, he was shot in the chest but famously lit a cigarette to hide the seriousness of his injuries so that his men would continue the attack, being shot at 16:30 pm. He died whilst being carried back to British lines. His body was buried at Guillemont in the CWGC Guillemont Road Cemetery (Plot I. Row B. Grave 3.). The grave's headstone is inscribed: 'Small time but in that small most greatly lived this star of England', a concluding line from Shakespeare's '' Henry V''. In his 1928 obituary tribute to H.H. Asquith,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
summarised Asquith's last moments:
"It seemed quite easy for Raymond Asquith, when the time came, to face death and to die. When I saw him at the Front he seemed to move through the cold, squalor and peril of the winter trenches as if he were above and immune from the common ills of the flesh, a being clad in polished armour, entirely undisturbed, presumably invulnerable. The War which found the measure of so many, never got to the bottom of him, and when the Grenadiers strode into the crash and thunder of the Somme, he went to his fate cool, poised, resolute, matter of fact, debonair. And well we know that his father, then bearing the supreme burden of the State, would proudly have marched at his side"
The writer
John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...
devoted several pages of his autobiography '' Memory Hold-the-Door'' to his friendship with Asquith. He noted of Raymond's character:
"I do not think he could ever have been called popular. He was immensely admired, but he did not lay himself out to acquire popularity, and in the ordinary man he inspired awe rather than liking. His courtesy was without warmth, he was apt to be intolerant of mediocrity, and he had no desire for facile acquaintanceships. Also – let it be admitted – there were times when he was almost inhuman. He would destroy some piece of honest sentiment with a jest, and he had no respect for the sacred places of dull men. There was always a touch of scorn in him for obvious emotions, obvious creeds, and all the accumulated lumber of prosaic humanity. That was a defect of his great qualities. He kept himself for his friends and refused to bother about the world. But as such who were to his friendship he would deny nothing. I have never known a friend more considerate, and tender, and painstaking, and unfalteringly loyal. It was the relation of all others in life for which he had been born with a peculiar genius."
Buchan's analysis of Asquith's personality is endorsed by several other contemporaries who found him clever but rather arrogant, cold, cynical and aloof.


Memorials

A memorial tablet to Asquith's memory was erected in
Amiens Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Amiens. It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River Somme in Amiens, the administra ...
. The inscription, in French and Latin, states:
Priez pour l'âme de RAYMOND ASQUITH Lieutenant aux Grenadiers de la Garde Royale. Fils ainé de Herbert Henry Asquith premier ministre du Royaume Uni. Né le 6 Nov. 1878. Tombé au champ d'honneur près de Guinchy le 15 Sept. 1916. [''Pray for the soul of RAYMOND ASQUITH Lieutenant of the Grenadiers of the Royal Guard. Eldest son of Herbert Henry Asquith, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Born Nov. 6 1878. Fell on the field of honour near Guinchy Sept. 15 1916.'']
O Antiphons, O ORIENS SPLENDOR LUCIS AETERNAE VENI ET ILLUMINA SEDENTES IN TENEBRIS ET UMBRA MORTIS. Gloriae memor posuit conjux. [''O dawn of the east, brightness of light eternal, and sun of justice: come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.'']
He is also the subject of a memorial in St Andrew's Church, Mells, St Andrew's Church near the family home in Mells in
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, and is listed on Mells War Memorial; both memorials were designed by
Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
, a friend of the Asquith family. The St Andrew's Church memorial wording is:
''In piam memoriam Raymondi Asquith Coll. Wintoniensis et Balliolensis scholaris Coll. Omnium Animarum socii qui in foro et republica ad omnia ingenii virtutisque praemia spe et votis aequalium destinatus medio in flore aetatis armis pro patria sumptis fortiter pugnans occidit defunctum terra tenet longinqua et amica desiderio inexpleto prosequuntur sui''
N. VI NOV. MDCCCLXXVIII OB. XV SEPT. MCMXVI
In English the text reads:
In loving memory of Raymond Asquith Scholar of Winchester College and Balliol College Fellow of All Souls College Who was destined by the hopes and desires of his contemporaries To win all the rewards of intellectual talent and virtue. In the middle of the flower of his life He took up arms for his native-land and died fighting bravely. A distant and friendly land holds him now he is dead. His family and friends mourn him with unrequited longing. Born on 6 November 1878, died on 15 September 1916.
Asquith and his wife Katharine are portrayed in Phoebe Traquair's apse mural in All Saints Church, at Thorney Hill, he also appears in William Rothenstein's unfinished mural "War Cartoon" located at the
University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...
.


Family

Raymond Asquith was married on 25 July 1907 to Katharine Frances Horner (1885–1976), younger daughter of Sir John Francis Fortescue Horner, of Mells, Somerset, descended from Thomas Horner, the Tudor figure on whom the nursery rhyme '
Little Jack Horner "Little Jack Horner" is a popular English nursery rhyme with the Roud Folk Song Index number 13027. First mentioned in the 18th century, it was early associated with acts of opportunism, particularly in politics. Moralism, Moralists also rewro ...
' is sometimes said to be based. Her mother, Lady Horner (d. 1940), was Frances Jane Graham, elder daughter of William Graham, a rich merchant, passionate art collector, and Liberal member of parliament for Glasgow. Lady Horner was a notable hostess and patron of the arts, especially the Pre-Raphaelites and
John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...
. The Horners had four children – Cicely (born 1883), Katharine (1885), Mark (who died in his teens), and Edward (1888). Asquith and his wife had three children: *Lady Helen Frances Asquith OBE (1908–2000), a school teacher and inspector who died unmarried *Perdita Rose Mary Jolliffe, Baroness Hylton (nee Asquith) (1910–1996) who married the 4th Baron Hylton (d 1967) * Julian Edward George Asquith, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KCMG (1916–2011), nicknamed Trim, who was born a few months before his father's death on active service. The new baby was reputedly named "Trim" in honour of the Roman gourmand Trimalchio, after his father saw his newborn son for the first time while on leave from the war. Asquith died nearly ten years before his father was raised to the House of Lords in 1925 as Earl of Oxford and Asquith. Katharine eventually inherited Mells Manor because her younger and only surviving brother, Edward Horner (1888–1917), was also killed in the war. He was buried in France, but his memorial in St Andrew's Church, Mells, St Andrew's Church, Mells was designed by his mother's friend
Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
, who was a patron of Monsignor Ronald Knox. Katharine converted to Roman Catholicism after being widowed and became a friend of
Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World ...
, who also converted, following her example. She also remained in touch with
Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
, another convert."Without Waugh, there would be no adventure – Telegraph"
Telegraph.co.uk (27 May 2003). Retrieved on 2012-06-24. All three of her children were brought up as Roman Catholics.


References


Sources

* Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. K. D. Reynolds, 'Horner, Frances Jane, Lady Horner (1854/5–1940)’, first published September 2004, 580 words, with portrait illustration
Oxford DNB: Frances Horner (citation only)full article
available via subscription only. * Jolliffe, John (ed.) ''Raymond Asquith: Life and Letters'' (Collins, 1980)


External links


Photographs of Raymond Asquith and his wife at the NPG
taken by
Lady Ottoline Morrell Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (née Cavendish-Bentinck; 16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English Aristocracy (class), aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befri ...
.
A fuller profile of Raymond Asquith
including the text of his Times obituary.
Mells, Somerset
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asquith, Raymond 1878 births 1916 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Raymond Asquith (d. 1916) British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme English barristers Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Grenadier Guards officers Queen's Westminsters officers People educated at Winchester College People from Hampstead Presidents of the Oxford Union 19th-century English lawyers Military personnel from the London Borough of Camden Children of H. H. Asquith Territorial Force officers