Sir Edgar Bonham-Carter (2 April 1870 – 24 April 1956) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and administrator in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In his younger days he was a rugby player of some note and represented England at international level.

Early life and rugby career

Bonham-Carter was born in London, the son of the businessman and lawyer Henry Bonham Carter and his wife Sibella Charlotte (''née'' Norman), and was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he took second class honours in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

in 1892. While at Oxford Bonham-Carter played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for the University team and won two sporting 'Blues' in 1890 and 1891. While still at Oxford he was selected to play for the England national team, in the

1891 Home Nations Championship The 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 1891 Championship was won ...

, against Scotland. This was his only international appearance, but he continued playing rugby after leaving university, joining

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, before turning out for invitational tourists the Barbarians in 1892.

Service in Sudan and Iraq

Bonham-Carter was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1895 and in 1899 was appointed Legal Secretary of the Sudan. In Sudan, he had to devise an entirely new legal system, the criminal part of which was largely based on the

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in ...

. He held the post, latterly also an Official Member of the Council of the

Governor-General of the Sudan This is a list of Egyptian and European colonial administrators (as well as leaders of the Mahdist State) responsible for the territory of the Turkish Sudan and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, an area equivalent to modern-day Sudan and South Sudan ...

, until 1919, when he was appointed Senior Judicial Officer of Mesopotamia (later Iraq), newly under British Mandate after long being a part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Here he also had to devise a new legal system, adapting the Ottoman system to fit in with modern British ideas of justice, but not imposing too many foreign ideas on the country's longstanding legal system. While in Iraq, he interested himself in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. At the request of the family of

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highly ...

he became honorary secretary of the

British School of Archaeology in Iraq The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI) (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq) is the only body in Britain devoted to research into the ancient civilizations and languages of Mesopotamia. It was founded in 1932 and its aim ...

, which he established on a firm basis. He was chairman of the school until 1950.

Later life

On his retirement in 1921, he returned to England. He contested the London County Council election in 1922 as a Progressive candidate for Bethnal Green North East and was elected. He served for one three-year term. From 1929 to 1939 he was chairman of First Garden City Ltd, which was responsible for the development of

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

and from 1940 to 1942 he was chairman of the National Housing and Town Planning Council. He was also a member of the council of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, which took up much of his time, and was president of the

Commons Preservation Society The Open Spaces Society is a campaign group that works to protect public rights of way and open spaces in the United Kingdom, such as common land and village greens. It is Britain's oldest national conservation body and a registered charity. Foun ...

. He was also a member of the council of the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

. Bonham-Carter was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in 1909,

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

(CIE) in 1919, and

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(KCMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours for his work in Iraq. He was also awarded the Ottoman

Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh or Order of Osmaniye ( ota, نشانِ عثمانیہ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i ...

, third class, by the Khedive of Egypt in 1902, and the Egyptian

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

1st Class in 1916. Bonham-Carter's brothers included General Sir Charles Bonham Carter and the politician Sir Maurice Bonham Carter, who was the grandfather of the actress

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award a ...

Footnotes

References

*Biography, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' *Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 25 April 1956 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonham-Carter, Edgar 1870 births 1956 deaths Lawyers from London People educated at Clifton College Alumni of New College, Oxford English barristers Members of Lincoln's Inn British colonial governors and administrators in Africa Members of London County Council Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union forwards Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players Oxford University RFC players Progressive Party (London) politicians

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

British people in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Mandatory Iraq judges Rugby union players from London British people in Mandatory Iraq

Early life and rugby career

Service in Sudan and Iraq

Later life

See also

Footnotes

References