Sir George Heynes Radford (17 June 1851 – 5 October 1917) was an English solicitor and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician. He was a member of parliament for

Islington East Islington East was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United ...

from 1906 to 1917.

Family and education

Radford was born in Plymouth, the eldest son of George David Radford and Catherine Agnes Heynes.''Who was Who''; OUP online, 2007 He went to

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

to study law, where he graduated

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with honours. In 1882, he married Emma Louisa Radford, the daughter of a

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 ...

. They had four daughters and a son; Barbara, Katherine, Cecily, Ursula and George Lawrence.

Career

Radford was admitted as a solicitor in 1872. He joined the firm of Radford and Frankland which had its offices in Chancery Lane, eventually becoming senior partner.

Politics

Radford was first involved in London local politics. He was Progressive Party member for West

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

on the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

from 1885 to 1907. In the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...

he became MP for

, a seat he went on to hold, albeit by small majorities, until his death in 1917. Radford always took a prominent part in London County Council elections and was for two years Chairman of the Council's Parliamentary Committee.

Other appointments and honours

Radford served as Chairman of the

National Liberal Club The National Liberal Club (NLC) is a London private members' club, open to both men and women. It was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 to provide club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate f ...

Buildings Co. Ltd and was a Vice-Chairman of the Club. He also served as a Justice of the Peace in

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. ...

, where he had his home at Ditton Hill, now part of

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

1916 Birthday Honours The 1916 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

Transport

Radford had a particular interest in transport in London and a passion for tramways. He noted the advanced use of trams in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

and led a British Parliamentary delegation to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

in 1906. In 1908, the first cross-river tram in London departed from Holborn Station and it is believed that Radford was responsible for the honour of the maiden trip starting in Islington.

Papers

A collection of scrapbooks of news cuttings, notices, posters etc. donated by Miss U Radford in 1975, documenting Radford's career is deposited in the London Metropolitan Archives . A collection of documents including correspondence, books, photographs, campaign flyers etc. belonging to George Radford and several family members is deposited in the

Islington Local History Centre Islington Local History Centre is a local studies centre and archive which holds material documenting the history of the London Borough of Islington. History Islington Local History Centre, which is located in Finsbury Library, was opened in 2003 ...

Archive.

Publications

Radford had an interest in literature and published occasional verses and essays. In 1894 he wrote ''Shylock and Others'' a selection of eight literary studies (published by T Fisher Unwin) and in 1917 he published ''Verses and Versicles'' (T Fisher Unwin). But he also had an interest in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. In 1884, the Liberal politician

Augustine Birrell Augustine Birrell King's Counsel, KC (19 January 185020 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers t ...

published a collection of essays entitled ''Obiter Dicta'' (Elliot Stock). Radford had anonymously written one of the essays, on Sir John Falstaff, and this was made public in 1887.Birrell, Augustine
''Obiter Dicta, Second Series'', p.''v''
(New York,

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

, 1887) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2023).

Death

Radford died at his residence, Chiswick House, Ditton Hill on 5 October 1917, aged 66 years.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, George Heynes 1851 births 1917 deaths Politicians from Plymouth, Devon Alumni of the University of London English solicitors Members of London County Council Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politics of London Politics of the London Borough of Islington UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 English justices of the peace Knights Bachelor 19th-century English lawyers