Lt.-Col. Albert Buckley (10 April 1877 – 13 November 1965) was a British

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 ...

politician and businessman.

Early life and education

Buckley was born in

Great Crosby Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England and is historically, part of Lancashire. Location In 1907, the Victoria County History described Great Crosby's location thus: 'The anci ...

, Lancashire, the son of wool broker William Buckley and Mary Hannah Buckley. His father was a nephew of Edmund Buckley and became a partner in his firm. He was educated at

Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby ("Small things grow in harmony" - Sallust) , established = , closed = , type = Public School Independent school; Day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Mr Deiniol Wil ...

and

Aldenham School Aldenham School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged eleven to eighteen, located between Elstree and the village of Aldenham in Hertfordshire, England. There is also a preparatory school for pupils from the ages of five to ele ...

War service

In the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, he was awarded the Queen's Medal with three clasps. During 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 fightin ...

, he commanded the 5th Battalion of the

King's Liverpool Regiment The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which were ...

. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Bar and wounded.

Career

Buckley entered Parliament for Waterloo in the 1918 general election. He held office under Bonar Law as a

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

from 1922 to 1923 and under Bonar Law and later Stanley Baldwin as

Secretary for Overseas Trade The Secretary for Overseas Trade was a junior Ministerial position in the United Kingdom government from 1917 until 1953, subordinate to the President of the Board of Trade. The office was replaced by the Minister of State for Trade on 3 Septem ...

from March to November 1923. However, as a proponent of

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

, Buckley was in disagreement with Baldwin, and his local party withheld its support of him as a prospective candidate. He retired from politics at the 1923 general election and never returned to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. A wool broker by trade, Buckley was a partner in the family firm of Edmund Buckley & Co. He was also chairman and later president of Morris and Jones, Ltd., wholesale grocers in Liverpool. He was chairman of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce from 1924–28 and served on the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board from 1928–51. He was a magistrate for the city of Liverpool. From 1931–48, he led the savings movement in Liverpool. He was chairman of the Liverpool Savings Committee from 1931 until its 1942 amalgamation with the Liverpool War Bond Committee, at which point he was appointed chairman of the new body, the Liverpool National Savings Committee. He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 1946 Birthday Honours for his work in the savings movement. Buckley was also chairman of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, the Liverpool Gas Company, the Birkenhead Brewery Company, Ltd., and the Bury Felt Manufacturing Company. He was chairman of Lloyd's Bank North-West Committee from 1957–59.

Personal life

Buckley married Elsie Juanita Fisher in 1919.''England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916-2005'' They had three sons and two daughters. He died in November 1965, aged 88, at his home in

Hoylake Hoylake is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historically part of Cheshire, the Domesday ...

, Cheshire.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Albert 1877 births 1965 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English people of Irish descent UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People from Crosby, Merseyside Commanders of the Order of the British Empire