Edward George Hemmerde,
KC (13 November 1871 – 24 May 1948) was an English
rower
Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...
,
barrister, politician, and
Georgist.
Education, the Law and family
Hemmerde was born at
Peckham, south London, the son of James Godfrey Hemmerde and his wife Frances Hope. His father was a bank manager with the
Imperial Ottoman Bank
The Ottoman Bank ( tr, Osmanlı Bankası), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (french: Banque Impériale Ottomane, ota, بانق عثمانی شاهانه) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank ...
. Hemmerde was educated at
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...
and
University College, Oxford
University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
. At Oxford he was a successful
single scull
A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand.
Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to mini ...
er, and won the
Diamond Challenge Sculls
The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders w ...
at
Henley Royal Regatta in 1900, beating the previous winner American
B H Howell. He was called to the Bar by the
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 ...
in 1897 and established his law practice. In 1908, he
took silk
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or a ...
and was appointed
Recorder of Liverpool
The Recorder of Liverpool or, since 1971, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool is an ancient legal office in the City of Liverpool, England. The Recorder is appointed by the Crown. The Recorder of Liverpool is also a Senior Circuit Judge of the Liv ...
in 1909, although his relations with the city authorities there were seldom good. He married Lucy Elinor Colley at
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
, London, in 1903 but they were divorced in 1922. They had a son (who was killed in 1926) and a daughter.
Liberal candidate
Hemmerde first tried to enter Parliament at the
general election of 1900 when he fought
Winchester. He was next selected by Shropshire Liberals for a by-election at
Shrewsbury expected in 1904. However, there was no by-election and he remained to contest Shrewsbury at the 1906 General Election. He was soon after elected as a
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
Member of Parliament for the
East Denbighshire constituency at
a by-election on 14 August 1906, the sitting Liberal MP,
Samuel Moss, having resigned to take up an appointment as a
county court judge.
Liberal MP
Hemmerde held his seat in East Denbighshire until 1910. In November 1910, he announced that he had been asked by the party leadership to give up his seat in Wales and fight the Conservative,
Lord Charles Beresford who, as a naval man had been involved in bitter political clashes with the government over the funding of the navy and who represented
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. Hemmerde was publicly reluctant to do so but nevertheless agreed. However it is clear that Hemmerde was encountering difficulties in East Denbighshire with the local party organisers over a number of issues. They felt he did not attend enough to constituency business or visit the seat for important local occasions. They felt he was spending too much time on his legal practice and was not spending enough money on constituency organisation. These troubles obviously made the prospect of transferring to another seat attractive. There were rumours that the Whips' Office had offered to pay Hemmerde's outstanding debts if he did so. However Hemmerde was unsuccessful in the contest in Portsmouth in the
December 1910 general election. Not wishing to be out of Parliament, Hemmerde began looking for another seat and in 1912 he was selected as the candidate for
North West Norfolk
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
for the by-election pending there following the death of
Sir George White the sitting Liberal MP. Hemmerde won the seat, albeit with a reduced majority, and represented the area until 1918. In Parliament Hemmerde was one of the principal advocates of the movement for the taxation of land values and often found himself at odds with the official land policy of the Liberal Party, although he could be emollient on the issue.
The Coupon and defection to Labour
According to one historian of the Liberal Party, Hemmerde was regarded as a supporter of
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
until the occasion of the
Maurice Debate
The Maurice Debate was a debate in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, British House of Commons which took place on 9 May 1918, during the World War I, First World War. A senior British Army Officer (armed forces), officer, Major-general ...
of 9 May 1918 when the Asquithian Liberals voted against the
Lloyd George led coalition government on a motion arising from criticisms by the recently sacked Director of Military Operations that the Prime Minister had misled Parliament concerning British troop strength on the Western Front. Hemmerde decided to support the government in the Maurice Debate and was rewarded with an invitation to No. 10 Downing Street and, according to his own account, was promised government endorsement at the forthcoming general election. In the event however he was denied the
Coalition Coupon
The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...
at the
1918 general election and finding himself out of Parliament defected to the Labour Party in 1920. He was the first Labour MP for
Crewe from 1922 to 1924.
Scandal
Hemmerde was associated with a
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
financial scandal in 1913 and in 1922 was involved in a separate court case concerning his personal finances. It was reported that although there was a just claim against him for the money lent him he avoided payment by pleading the
Statute of Limitations
A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
. After this incident, although he retained his Recordership and continued to practice law on the Northern Circuit he withdrew from political life.
Playwright
Hemmerde was also a playwright. In 1912 he wrote the play ''A Maid of Honour'' under the pseudonym, Edward Denby. He co-authored (with
Francis Neilson
Francis Neilson (26 January 1867 – 13 April 1961) was an accomplished actor; playwright, stage director; political figure; member of the British House of Commons; avid lecturer; author of more than 60 books, plays and opera librettos and the ...
, a fellow MP) the plays, ''A Butterfly on the Wheel'' (1922) and ''The Crucible.'' In his own name he wrote the plays ''Proud Maisie'' (1915) and ''A Cardinal's Romance'' and jointly with Cicely Fraser, ''The Dead Hand.
[''Who was Who'', OUP 2007]''
References
The Rowers of Vanity Fair – E Hemerde
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemmerde, Edward
1871 births
1948 deaths
People educated at Winchester College
Alumni of University College, Oxford
English male rowers
British male rowers
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1906–1910
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
British sportsperson-politicians