Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Richard Hamilton Rawson, JP, DL (21 February 1863 – 11 October 1918) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and later 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 ...

and

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

politician.

Personal life

Rawson was born in

Aigburth Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Toxteth and Dingle to the north, Mossley Hill to the east, and Garston to the south, with the River Mersey forming its western boundary. Desc ...

, Lancashire, the son of Philip Rawson and his wife Octavia, née Gilmour. He attended

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

. A keen cricketer, he played for the Eton Ramblers. After Oxford, he joined the

1st Regiment of Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadi ...

(now Life Guards) until he retired, with the rank of captain, in 1892. He later joined the

Sussex Yeomanry The Sussex Yeomanry is a yeomanry regiment of the British Army dating from 1794. It was initially formed when there was a threat of French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars. After being reformed in the Second Boer War, it served in the World Wa ...

, and in 1909, was given command of the regiment with the rank of Hon.

. Following this, he was appointed High Sheriff for Sussex in 1899, and was a Justice of the Peace and from 1900 a Deputy Lieutenant of the county. He married Lady Beatrice Anson, the second daughter of

Thomas Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield Thomas George Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield (15 August 1825 – 7 January 1892), known as Viscount Anson from 1831 to 1854, was a British politician from the Anson family. Early life Lichfield was the eldest of four sons and four daughters born ...

, in 1890 at St George's, Hanover Square. Lady Beatrice was the granddaughter of

James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn (21 January 1811 – 31 October 1885), styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and The Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a Conservative statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. ...

and a founding member, along with Lady Montagu of Beaulieu, of the Ladies' Automobile Club. Together they had three children. Richard Geoffrey Hamilton Rawson, also educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

, died young as a result of a horse-riding accident, leaving a son. The eldest daughter, Beatrice Violet Rawson (later Lady Leconfield) married Charles Wyndham, and went on to live at

Petworth House Petworth House is a late 17th-century Grade I listed English country house, country house in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England. It was built in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the desi ...

, Sussex. It was during this time that much of Petworth House and the surrounding estate were handed over to the National Trust. Rawson's youngest daughter, Dorothy Etta Rawson (later Lady Bruntisfield) went on to marry Sir Victor Warrender, a member of

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, ...

's war-time coalition government.

Political career

After standing unsuccessfully against the

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 ...

in the 1896 and 1906 elections as a candidate for

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

, Rawson took a prominent part in reorganising the forces of the Conservative Party in the constituency. As a result, he was successful in the 1910 general election, winning Reigate by a large majority and defeating the incumbent

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

MP, Harry Cunningham Brodie. Reigate has been a Conservative safe seat ever since. In 1917, unhappy with the new Lloyd George coalition government and angry at the alleged sale of honours, Rawson left the Conservative Party to join the

, a right-wing split from the Conservatives. Although the Party was xenophobic, a trait exacerbated by the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, many National Party policies were progressive and years ahead of their time; they included a call for "honest politics", increased rights for employees and help for soldiers reintegrating into civilian life.

Death

Colonel Rawson died in

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

a month before the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

was signed, ending 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 ...

, and consequently never saw victory. He was still MP for Reigate at the time. The National Party was disbanded soon after.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawson, Richard 1863 births 1918 deaths People educated at Eton College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 British Life Guards officers Sussex Yeomanry officers