Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Walter Styles (4 April 1889 – 5 October 1965), known as Walter Styles, was a British soldier and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

Early life

The son of Frederick Styles, he was educated at Eton and

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

.'STYLES, (Herbert) Walter', in '' Who Was Who 1961–1970'', (London: A. & C. Black, 1979 reprint, ) At Oxford he rowed for Exeter with

Geoffrey Fisher Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Mar ...

, who later became Archbishop of Canterbury.'Colonel H. W. Styles' i
''The Barbican'' No. 41, 1966
at old-lewesians.org.uk

Career

Styles was commissioned into the

Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Que ...

before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, during which he was promoted

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and severely injured, to be invalided out of the service in 1918. In 1922, he married Violet, the only daughter of Major H. Hawkins, of

Everdon Everdon is a village in West Northamptonshire in England, some south of Daventry. The population of the civil parish (including Little Everdon) at the 2011 census was 356. Nearby, The Stubbs is a wood belonging to the Woodland Trust, a UK c ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, and they had one daughter. Styles was elected as

for

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the tradition ...

at the 1924 general election, standing as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and defeating the sitting Member, Ronald Williams, a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

.F. W. S. Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918-1949'' (Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949), p. 390 He did not contest the election of 1929 and returned to private life. In 1934, Styles settled in Sussex. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

of 1939 to 1945 he commanded the local Battalion of the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or military reserve force, reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the America ...

, when he was given the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot ...

. At the time of his death he was Chairman of the Governing Body of the Lewes Grammar School for Boys. His address in 1965 was Old Farmhouse,

Rodmell Rodmell is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located three miles (4.8 km) south-west of Lewes, on the Lewes to Newhaven road and six and a half miles from the City of Brighton & Hove and ...

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre ...

, Sussex.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Styles, Walter 1889 births 1965 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1924–1929 British Army personnel of World War I Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers British Home Guard officers Military personnel from East Sussex