Walter Francis Roch (20 January 1880 – 3 March 1965), sometime MP (Lib.) for

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

from 1908 to 1918 was a Welsh politician and landowner, whose political career ended when he continued to support

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 ...

over

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

Background

Roch was born the second son of William Francis Roch, J.P., of Butter Hill, Pembrokeshire (who died in 1889) and his wife Emily Catherine Powell (she died in 1938), the second daughter of a Welsh Liberal politician Walter R.H. Powell, of Maesgwynne,

Llanboidy Llanboidy is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. The community includes the village of Llanglydwen. Location According to the 2001 United Kingdom Census, the community had a population of 988 rising to 1,061 at the 2011 Ce ...

, Carmarthenshire, MP (Lib.) for

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

, 1880–85, and West Carmarthenshire, 1885–89. He was educated at Twyford and

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

s. He married Hon. Fflorens Mary Ursula Herbert (1879-1969), on 20 April 1911. Fflorens was a published author and Chief Commissioner for Girl Guides in Wales. Roch was also a

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 ...

at 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 ...

from 1913.

1908 Pembrokeshire by-election

The

by-election was held on 16 July 1908. The

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was held due to the elevation to the peerage of the incumbent Liberal MP, John Wynford Philipps. Roch was selected as the Liberal candidate. During the campaign he had the active support of the MPs W. Llewelyn Williams and W. Jones of the

United Kingdom Alliance The United Kingdom Alliance (UKA) was a British temperance organisation. It was founded in 1853 in Manchester to work for the prohibition of the trade in alcohol in the United Kingdom. This occurred in a context of support for the type of law p ...

and the Free Trade League respectively. The

Miners' Federation of Great Britain The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales, Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' ...

also strongly supported Roch. His opponent, John Lort-Williams, the Conservative candidate, was supported by emissaries from the

Tariff Reform League The Tariff Reform League (TRL) was a protectionist British pressure group formed in 1903 to protest against what they considered to be unfair foreign imports and to advocate Imperial Preference to protect British industry from foreign competiti ...

and the National Trade Defence Association. 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 founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...

, led by

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

came to Pembrokeshire to campaign against Roch, not because they disliked him, or supported Lort-Williams, but because

, the Liberal Prime Minister, opposed the enfranchisement of women. In fact, Roch was a supporter of Votes for Women. Roch comfortably held the seat.

Result

Roch successfully contested the seat in Pembrokeshire until 1918.Dr Jones, ''Ibid''

Retrieved 10 August 2007

Later electoral record

Roch was appointed to the Dardanelles Commission in 1916. He was the author of ''Mr. Lloyd George and the War'' (1920). In 1934 he was appointed JP for

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

. He and his wife spent the last twenty-five years of his life on their estates.

References

External links

*
Walter Francis Roch
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roch, Walter Francis 1880 births 1965 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 People educated at Harrow School People educated at Twyford School Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Pembrokeshire constituencies