Sir Henry Kenyon Stephenson, 1st Baronet DSO (16 August 1865 – 20 September 1947) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and businessman. His father was

Henry Stephenson Henry Stephenson (born Harry Stephenson Garraway; 16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He portrayed friendly and wise gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Sir Joseph Banks in ''Mutiny on the Bo ...

Career

Stephenson was born into a family of Typefounders in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

. He became the chairman and managing director of Stephenson, Blake & Co Ltd, (1927) and later the Chair of the

Sheffield Gas Company Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...

.Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, ''Who's Who of British MPs: Volume III, 1919–1945'' He became the treasurer of the University College of Sheffield, and later the first treasurer of its successor, the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

. Stephenson joined the

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 ...

and was elected to

Sheffield City Council Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under No Overall Contr ...

, becoming lord mayor in 1908–09 and again in 1910–11. In 1910, he also became the pro-chancellor of the University of Sheffield, succeeding

Sir Frederick Mappin ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

.''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953: 'Stephenson of Hassop Hall'. He had been an officer in the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

for many years and was Sheffield University's representative on the West Riding Territorial Association. He had been awarded the

Volunteer Decoration The Volunteer Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was instituted in 1892 as an award for long and meritorious service by officers of the United Kingdom's Volunteer Force. Award of the decoration was discontinued in the United Kingdom ...

, held the substantive rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

from 1898 and the honorary rank of

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. On the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

he was officer commanding 8th West Riding Battery in the III West Riding Brigade,

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

(the 'Sheffield Artillery'). Appointed to command the 1/IV West Riding Brigade, RFA, he took it to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in April 1915. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and twice

Mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

.248 Bde War Diary, May 1915–October 1916, The National Archives, Kew, file WO 95/2782/2.
/ref> At the 1918 general election, he became the first

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 the Sheffield Park constituency, holding the seat as a

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

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 ...

, but dropping to a distant third place in

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

. He served as

High Sheriff of Derbyshire High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

in 1932.He also served as

Master Cutler The Master Cutler is the head of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire established in 1624. Their role is to act as an ambassador of industry in Sheffield, England. The Master Cutler is elected by the freemen of the company on the first Monday of ...

in 1919 and later retired to

Hassop Hall Hassop Hall is a 17th-century country house near Bakewell, Derbyshire, which was operated as a hotel until it closed on 29 September 2019. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The Manor was owned by the Foljambe family until the 14th cent ...

. In 1936 he was created a Baronet, of Hassop Hall in the County of Derby.

Family

On 10 January 1894 he married Frances, eldest daughter of Major William Blake of Mylnhurst,

Eccleshall Eccleshall is a town and civil parish in the Stafford district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is located seven miles northwest of Stafford, and six miles west-southwest of Stone. Eccleshall is twinned with Sancerre in France. His ...

, Sheffield. They had eight children: * Sir Henry Francis Blake Stephenson, 2nd Baronet, born 3 December 1895 * William Raymond Shirecliffe Stephenson, born 27 August 1898 * Percival John Parker Stephenson, born 18 May 1900 * Charles Eustace Kenyon Stephenson, born 7 September 1903 * Evelyn Mary Stephenson, married 5 April 1923 Anthony Henry Mather Jackson * Helen Millicent Frances Stephenson * Cynthia Margaret Stephenson * Emma Letitia Gertrude Stephenson, married 25 October 1941 Group Captain Philip Charles Fenner Lawton, DFC Sir Henry died on 20 September 1947 and was succeeded by his eldest son.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Henry Kenyon 1865 births 1947 deaths Military personnel from Sheffield Royal Artillery officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Lord Mayors of Sheffield UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 British Army personnel of World War I Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom High Sheriffs of Derbyshire National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians Master Cutlers Politicians from Sheffield