Gerald Ashburner France (4 August 1870 – 11 February 1935) was a British businessman and importer and

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.

Family and education

Gerald Ashburner France was the son of James Ashburner France of

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...

and was rooted in the commercial and social life of the

North East of England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...

. His home was at Newbiggin Hall,

Westerhope Westerhope is an area in the west of Newcastle upon Tyne, England (from which it takes its name). It was founded to provide housing for working families with sufficient land to grow vegetables. Westerhope expanded substantially in Victorian ti ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. In religion, France was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and he was educated at Rydal, a boarding school in

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

founded in the Methodist tradition. In 1898, he married Hilda Bainbridge from

Eshott Eshott is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Thirston, in Northumberland, England. In 1951 the parish had a population of 114. It is located north of Newcastle upon Tyne, midway between Morpeth and Alnwick. A small form ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. They had four sons and a daughter.

Career

France had a business career as an agent and importer in the North East. He rose to become governing director of the firm J A France & Co. of London and Newcastle as well as Chairman of Scott & Turner Ltd, a firm of Newcastle tinprinters. During the First World War, France served as a temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

Politics

Local politics

France became a member of

Northumberland County Council Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. The population of the non-metropolitan unitary authority at the 2011 census was 316,028. History It was formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of N ...

in 1903, representing the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

area of

Prudhoe Prudhoe ( ) is a town in south Northumberland, England, about west of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and just south of the River Tyne. Situated on a steep, north-facing hill in the Tyne valley, Prudhoe had a population of 11,675 at the 201 ...

and was made an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in 1913. He was sometime chairman of the old age pensions committee of the county of Northumberland and also served as chairman of the county's Parliamentary Committee and of its Health Establishment Committee.

Parliament

France had Parliamentary ambitions. His name was mentioned as a possible Liberal candidate for the seat of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

in 1909 to succeed the Lib-Lab MP, John Johnson but although he was not chosen he was soon selected elsewhere. He entered

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at the January 1910 general election when he held the Liberal seat of

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in the

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by a majority of 4,631 votes over the Unionist in a three-cornered contest. France held his seat at the December 1910 general election when he was returned unopposed. The Morley constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election and France was adopted as Liberal candidate for the new seat of Batley and Morley. He fought the seat as a

Coalition Liberal 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 victo ...

(as

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Gerald France) and was not opposed by a Conservative or

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description allowed in politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician as a liberal, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of a country. Those parties were the Liberal Party of Canada, ...

. He was presumably awarded 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 ...

and in a straight with

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candidate Ben Turner, France took the seat by a majority of 1,468 votes. France may have seen the political writing on the wall as he did not defend his seat at the 1922 general election when Batley and Morley fell to Ben Turner for Labour. He did not stand for Parliament again.

Electoral record

Political appointments

In 1916, France was appointed as

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 the

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, Walter Runciman. He was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland in August 1932 He was also sometime President of the Gladstone Club.

Other public appointments

France was sometime President of the National Commercial Temperance League, a body formed in the 1890s to appeal to the business and professional community in the economic and ethical field of thought to promote

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

. He was also a member of the national executive committee of the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inception ...

Death

Towards the end of his political career, France's health began to deteriorate. Just before Christmas of 1934, he went to

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

on doctors' advice for the benefit of his condition. Back in England in the new year, he was taken to hospital in

on 21 January where he was kept until he died on 11 February.''Chemist and druggist: the newsweekly for pharmacy''; Volume 122, 1935 p195

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:France, Gerlad Ashburner 1870 births 1935 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I