Sir Henry Foreman

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(7 June 1852 – 11 April 1924) was a British Conservative politician. He was the mayor of Hammersmith and he married twice. His second wife and mayoress, Lucy Beatrice (née Randall), was the first President of Hammersmith Ladies Swimming Club.

Biography

''Lady Foreman, Wife of Sir Henry Foreman (Mayor)'' (unknown artist) Foreman was the son of Edwin George Foreman and Amelia Cox of Campden Hill,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He married first in 1893 and he became deeply involved in the municipal politics of

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

. From 1913 to 1920 he was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the

Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith Hammersmith was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was formed as a civil parish in 1834 from the chapelry of Hammersmith that had existed in the ancient parish of Fulham, Middlesex since 1631. The parish was grouped wit ...

, and was 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 ...

on the borough council from 1918. Foreman married firstly in 1873 Marion, (died 1893), daughter of William Howe, of Kensington. He married his second wife, Lucy Beatrice Randall, daughter of A. J. Randall, in 1901. She became his mayoress and was the founding President of the Hammersmith Ladies Swimming Club in 1916. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Foreman was actively involved in recruiting for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. As mayor of Hammersmith he was the honorary colonel and founder of the 20th London Cadet Corps and helped raise the 140th Heavy Battery

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

and the 40th Divisional Ammunition Column. He also presented the Parkside Orthopaedic Hospital for Officers at Ravenscourt Park to the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

. He was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for his wartime services. At the 1918 general election he stood as the Coalition Conservative candidate contesting the newly created constituency of

Hammersmith North Hammersmith North could refer to: *Hammersmith North (UK Parliament constituency) * Hammersmith North (electoral division), Greater London Council *Hammersmith North (London County Council constituency) Hammersmith North was a constituency used ...

. Foreman faced

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 ...

and National Party opponents. He was comfortably elected to become

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Hammersmith North, with a majority of 3,243 votes. 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 1921, for "municipal and local services". He was re-elected as a Conservative at the following election in 1922 with a majority of 2,903 votes over his Labour Party opponent, J P Gardner. A further general election was held in the following year on the issue of tariff reform, and Foreman took the opportunity to retire from politics. He died on 11 April 1924, aged 71, and was buried at Margravine Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foreman, Henry 1852 births 1924 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 Officers of the Order of the British Empire Members of Hammersmith Metropolitan Borough Council Mayors of places in Greater London Knights Bachelor