Sir Edward Hall Alderson, (2 June 1864 – 7 March 1951) was a British public servant and Clerk of the Parliaments from 1930 to 1934."Alderson, Sir Edward Hall"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 2 January 2019.

Early life

Alderson was born on 2 June 1864 in New Zealand. He was a son of Francis John Alderson and Jane Irvin Black, a daughter of Dr. Thomas Black and Charlotte ( Leatham) Black. He came a legal family; his grandfather, Sir Edward Hall Alderson, was a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was a ...

(whose daughter married Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury), and his great-grandfather, Robert Alderson, was

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

of Norwich,

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

and Ipswich.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.'' Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 425. He attended

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, before he 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 ...

in 1890.

Career

He practised on the

South-Eastern Circuit Circuit judges are judges in England and Wales who sit in the Crown Court, the County Court and some specialized sub-divisions of the High Court of Justice, such as the Technology and Construction Court. There are currently over 600 circuit judg ...

only briefly, being appointed private secretary to

Lord Halsbury Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

in 1895. Five years later, he was appointed Reading Clerk and Clerk of Outdoor Committees of the House of Lords. Promotions followed: in 1917 to Clerk-Assistant, and in 1930 to Clerk of the Parliaments. He retired in 1934."Sir Edward Alderson", ''The Times'', 9 March 1951, p. 8. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1919, Alderson went on to receive two knighthoods, as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire six years later, and then as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1931.

Personal life

Alderson married Mary Emily Bonsor, daughter of

Sir Cosmo Bonsor, 1st Baronet Sir Henry Cosmo Orme Bonsor, 1st Baronet, DL (2 September 1848 – 4 December 1929) was an English brewer and businessman and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1900. Bonsor was the son of Joseph Bonsor of Pol ...

and the former Emily Gertrude Fellowes. Before her death in 1935, they were the parents of three children, including: * Richard Cosmo Alderson (1906–1944), who was killed in action in Italy during World War II; he married Gillian Mary Barrington, a daughter of merchant banker Hon. Bernard Barrington and sister to

Patrick Barrington, 11th Viscount Barrington Patrick William Daines Barrington, 11th Viscount Barrington of Ardglass (29 October 1908 – 6 April 1990), was an Irish peer and a writer of humorous verse. Early life Known to his family as "Pip," he was the only son of the Hon. Walter ''Bern ...

. He died on 7 March 1951; two children from their marriage survived him.

References

1864 births 1951 deaths English barristers Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Clerks of the Parliaments New Zealand emigrants to the United Kingdom {{UK-gov-bio-stub