Frank Kingsley Griffith (23 December 1889 – 25 September 1962) was a British

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 ...

politician,

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 County Court judge.

Early life

Griffith was born in

Upper Norwood Upper Norwood is an area of south London, England, within the London Boroughs of Bromley, Croydon, Lambeth and Southwark. It is north of Croydon and the eastern part of it is better known as the Crystal Palace area. Upper Norwood is situated ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, the son of an officer in the Volunteer Force who also became the first Mayor of the Municipal Borough of Bromley. He was educated at

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

and

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, Oxford. In 1912 he was president of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

. Griffith served in the army throughout the Great War first in the

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

and then the

Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

, attaining the rank of captain. He was wounded twice and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. In 1915 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 Wal ...

and after the war he joined the North-Eastern Circuit.

Politics

Griffith was one time chairman of the

National League of Young Liberals National League of Young Liberals (NLYL), often just called the Young Liberals, was the youth wing of the British Liberal Party. It was in existence from 1903 to 1990. Together with the party's student wing, the Union of Liberal Students (ULS), ...

. He was well known as a good platform performer in politics and for being an outstanding young thinker ranked alongside the likes of Elliott Dodds. He contested the Bromley division of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

for the Liberal party in the general elections of

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, 1923 and

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

being unsuccessful on all three occasions. By 1927, Griffith was so well thought of in Liberal circles that he was appointed to the Liberal Organizing Committee under the Chairmanship of future party leader

Herbert Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to beco ...

. Also appointed at the time was

Archie Sinclair Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso, (22 October 1890 – 15 June 1970), known as Sir Archibald Sinclair between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party. Backgr ...

, another future leader. In March 1928 he was adopted as candidate for the by-election in the Liberal seat of Middlesbrough West which he held in a three cornered contest. The deceased Liberal incumbent,

Trevelyan Thomson Walter Trevelyan Thomson (30 April 1875 – 8 February 1928) was a British Liberal Member of Parliament, iron and steel merchant and soldier. Family and education Trevelyan Thomson (he rarely used his first name of Walter) was born in Stockton ...

, had been so entrenched in the seat that he had been unopposed at the previous general election. However Labour put up a strong challenge against Griffith at the by-election, losing by just 89 votes. Griffith got 36.3% of the poll, compared to Labour's 36% and the Conservatives’ 27.8%. Griffith fought mainly on the traditional Liberal stance 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 econo ...

but also called for a programme of public works together with social reform and industrial reconstruction. This platform anticipated the Liberal election manifesto of 1929 based on the 'coloured' books of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

and the economic models of

John Maynard Keynes John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron Keynes, ( ; 5 June 1883 – 21 April 1946), was an English economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments. Originally trained in ...

. In fact Lloyd George turned up to speak for Griffith in the campaign, as did Herbert Samuel. In 1931–32 Griffith was

parliamentary private secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to Sir Herbert Samuel, by then the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

and Liberal leader. Once elected 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. ...

he gained the respect of his peers in the Parliamentary Liberal Party, being an able speaker in the chamber with a good parliamentary style.

Law

In the law, Griffith 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 ...

Richmond, Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

, from 1932–1940 and in 1940 he was appointed a County Court Judge in Hull which required him to vacate his Commons seat and create a by-election. At this election the Liberal candidate

Harcourt Johnstone Harcourt Johnstone (19 May 18951 March 1945), nicknamed Crinks, was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. Early life and education Johnstone was born in London in 1895, the son of the Hon. Alan Johnstone (diplomat), Sir Alan J ...

was returned unopposed under the wartime electoral truce. From 1947-1956 Griffith was chairman of East Riding

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

and he retired as a judge in January 1957.

Family

In 1924 he married Eleanor Bruce who was the only daughter of Sir Robert Bruce. and they had one daughter. His wife died in 1954 and Griffith was remarried the following year to Margaret Louch. He died in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

on 25 September 1962.''The Times'', 27 September 1962

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Frank Kingsley 1889 births 1962 deaths Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers Gloucestershire Regiment officers Members of the Inner Temple Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 People educated at Marlborough College Recipients of the Military Cross Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I People from Upper Norwood Presidents of the Oxford Union County Court judges (England and Wales)