Thomas Edward Youd Seddon (2 July 1884 – 22 January 1972) was a New Zealand politician of 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 ...

, and a lawyer in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

. He was the son of New Zealand's longest-serving Prime Minister

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-ser ...

, and succeeded his father as MP for Westland following his death in 1906.

Early life

Seddon was born in

Kumara Kumara may refer to: Places * Kumara (Mali), a province * Kumara, New Zealand, a town * Kumara (New Zealand electorate), a Parliamentary electorate Other uses * Kumara Illangasinghe, an Anglican bishop in Sri Lanka * Kumara (surname) * The Fo ...

in 1884. His parents were Richard and Louisa Jane Seddon (née Spotswood). He was educated at Kumara School, the Terrace School (Wellington),

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

, and

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

. He graduated in law, and joined the practice of John Findlay and Frederick George Dalziell, and then became a barrister and solicitor in

. He served in the New Zealand Army 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 ...

from 1915 to 1919. Because he received a leg injury in a rugby game "behind the trenches" he was not gassed like the rest of his unit. Later he was chairman of the War Pensions Board, from 1930 to 1963, and in World War II he was Captain of the Wadestown Home Guard. He married Beatrice Ann Wood on 15 March 1922 at St Mary's Church in the

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

suburb of Merivale. Guests at the wedding included Robert Loughnan,

Joseph Grimmond Joseph Grimmond (1843 – 27 November 1924) was a gold miner and politician from the West Coast, New Zealand. He was mayor of Ross for many years, represented the Hokitika electorate in the House of Representatives for one term, and was late ...

George Fowlds Sir George Matthew Fowlds (15 September 1860 – 17 August 1934) was a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand Liberal Party, Liberal Party. Biography Early life and career Fowlds was born in Fenwick, East Ayrshire, Scotland. His father, Ma ...

, and

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the New Zealand Liber ...

Political career

He inherited the Westland electorate on the sudden death of his father

in the by-election after he had just turned 22. He held the electorate to 1922, when he was defeated by James O'Brien of the Labour Party. He won it back in , but lost it again in 1928 when he was again defeated by O'Brien. He was chairman of the War Pensions Board from 1930 to 1963, having served in the New Zealand Army in

, In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

. His son, Dick Seddon, was for several decades electorate secretary and organiser for the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...

Bibliography

His autobiography was published in 1968: *

Notes and references

Citations

References

* *''Who’s Who in New Zealand'' (1968, 9th edition)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seddon, Thomas 1884 births 1972 deaths People educated at Wellington College, Wellington Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand Liberal Party MPs New Zealand military personnel of World War I Victoria University of Wellington alumni Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election People from Kumara, New Zealand Children of prime ministers of New Zealand

Tom Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

New Zealand Army officers New Zealand military personnel of World War II Military personnel from the West Coast Region