Sir Cuthbert Morley Headlam, 1st Baronet, (27 April 1876 – 27 February 1964) 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 i ...

politician.

Career

Born in

Barton upon Irwell Barton upon Irwell (also known as Barton-on-Irwell or Barton) is a suburb of the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 12,462 in 2014. History Barton Old Hall, a brick-built house degraded to a farmhouse, was the sea ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the third of the five sons of Francis John Headlam (1829–1908), stipendiary magistrate of Manchester, and his wife, Matilda Ann, ''née'' Pincofts. The Headlams were a minor gentry family with roots in north Yorkshire. Headlam was educated at

King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

, and then read modern history at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, where he received his BA in March 1900. He was a Clerk in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

1897–1924 and became a barrister,

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1906. He served with the

Bedfordshire Yeomanry The Bedfordshire Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. Serving intermittently between 1797 and 1827, it was re-raised in 1901 for the Second Boer War. It participated in the First World War before being converted to an artillery re ...

from 1910–1926, was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in 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 ...

and awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and appointed an

Officer 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 o ...

, retiring as lieutenant colonel. Headlam was elected as

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 bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

at the 1924 general election. After the loss of his seat in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, he stood in the Gateshead by-election in June 1931, coming a close second in what had been a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

for Labour. He regained the Barnard Castle seat at the general election in October 1931, but was defeated again at the 1935 general election. He was 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. ...

for a third time at a by-election in June 1940 as MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North, after standing as an "Independent Conservative" and beating the official Conservative Party candidate.Craig, page 203 He held the seat until he retired from

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the 1951 general election. Headlam served in government as

Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

from 1926–1929; as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions was a junior Ministerial office at Parliamentary Secretary rank in the British Government, supporting the Minister for Pensions. Establishment and history The office was established in 1916 ...

from 1931–1932; and as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport was a junior position at the British Ministry of Transport. The office was renamed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport in 1941, but resumed its former name at the end of the S ...

from 1932–1934."Headlam, Lt-Col Rt Hon. Sir Cuthbert Morley, (27 April 1876–27 Feb. 1964), PC 1945"
''Who's Who & Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2020 Headlam was a Durham County Councilor from 1931–1939, and

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for the County of Durham. He was Chairman of the

National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations The National Conservative Convention (NCC), is the most senior body of the Conservative Party's voluntary wing. The National Convention effectively serves as the Party's internal Parliament, and is made up of its 800 highest-ranking Party Office ...

in 1941. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in the 1935 Birthday Honours and appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in 1945. He died in 1964 at his home in Bath,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

aged 87.Ball, Stuart
"Headlam, Sir Cuthbert Morley, baronet (1876–1964), politician and diarist"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 22 November 2020

References

Sources

* ''Parliament and politics in the age of Churchill and Attlee: the Headlam diaries, 1935–1951'' (1999), edited by Stuart Ball

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Headlam, Cuthbert 1876 births 1964 deaths People educated at The King's School, Canterbury Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of World War I Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in County Durham Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire UK MPs 1924–1929 Military personnel from Lancashire UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 Clerks English barristers Members of the Inner Temple Deputy Lieutenants of Durham Bedfordshire Yeomanry officers