Reginald Cheyne Berkeley (18 August 1890 – 30 March 1935) was a

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 ...

politician in the United Kingdom, and later a writer of stage plays, then a screenwriter in Hollywood. He had trained as a lawyer. He died in Los Angeles from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

after an operation. His son Humphry Berkeley was a Conservative MP in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Berkeley was born in London to Humphry George Berkeley and Agnes Mary née Cheyne. He was educated privately and at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS or simply Modern) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowme ...

. He later went to

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

where his father was a prominent lawyer in

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

; then to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, where he studied at

Auckland University College The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loca ...

and passed the Barristers Examination of the

University of New Zealand A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He was admitted to the Bar of Fiji and New Zealand in 1912, and to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

(London) on 2 July 1919. He was a lieutenant in the 3rd (Auckland) Regiment of the territorials in New Zealand from 1911 to 1913. Berkeley served in

World War I 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 ...

as a captain in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

. He was 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 1916. His citation reads: Postwar he joined the staff of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Union in 1919 as Editor of Pamphlets then Director of Propaganda, and the League Secretariat in 1921, resigning when he entered Parliament.

Politician

He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Nottingham Central Nottingham Central was a borough constituency in the city of Nottingham. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, and ab ...

at the 1922 general election, winning the seat with a majority of only 22 votes over 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 ...

Albert Atkey Sir Albert Reuben Atkey (1 July 1867 – 9 November 1947) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. At the 1918 general election, standing as a Coalition Conservative, he was elected as member of parliament (MP) for the new ...

. He was re-elected in another two-way contest in

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 ' ...

, but did not contest the 1924 general election. Labour fielded a candidate for the first time in Nottingham Central, and the Conservatives retook the seat. He unsuccessfully contested the 1929 general election in Aberdeen North, and stood again in Nottingham Central at the by-election in 1930, where he won only 16.9% of the votes. He was defeated again in Aberdeen and Kincardine Central at the 1931 election. These defeats reflected the national decline in the fortunes of the Liberal Party and the rise of the Labour Party.

Writer

His stage plays include ''

The Lady with the Lamp Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

'' (1929), based on the life of Florence Nightingale and starring

Edith Evans Dame Edith Mary Evans (8 February 1888 – 14 October 1976) was an English actress. She was best known for Edith Evans – stage and film roles, her work on the West End theatre, West End stage, but also appeared in films at the beginning and t ...

in the title role, and ''The Man I Killed'' (1931), which was adapted for the screen as ''

Broken Lullaby ''Broken Lullaby'' (a.k.a. ''The Man I Killed'') is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and released by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay by Samson Raphaelson and Ernest Vajda is based on the 1930 play ''L'homme que j ...

'' the following year. His play ''French Leave'' (1920) was filmed twice, once in 1930, and again in 1937. His screenwriting credits include '' Dreyfus'' (1931), ''

Cavalcade A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass distance ride by a company of riders. Sometimes the focus of a cavalcade is participation rather than display and the participants do not wear costumes or ride in formation. ...

'' (1933), ''

The World Moves On ''The World Moves On'' is a 1934 American drama film directed by John Ford and starring Madeleine Carroll and Franchot Tone. It was the first Hollywood code approved film. Plot In 1825, two families, cotton merchants in England and America, ...

'' (1934), '' Carolina'' (1934) and ''

Nurse Edith Cavell ''Nurse Edith Cavell'' is a 1939 American film directed by British director Herbert Wilcox about Edith Cavell. The film was nominated at the 1939 Oscars for Best Original Score. Plot The story follows the broadly true story of Edith Cavell w ...

'' (1939).

Personal life

He had married Gwendoline Cock in 1914 and Clara Hildegarde Digby in 1926. He died in 1935 in the Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles aged 44 from pneumonia following a major operation.''The Times'' (London) 1 April 1935 p 9 He was residing at 606 North Crescent Drive,

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

References

External links