Herbert Dixon Asquith (11 March 1881 – 5 August 1947) was an English poet, novelist, and lawyer.
Nicknamed "Beb" by his family, he was the second son of
H. H. Asquith, British
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
, with whom he is sometimes confused, and the younger brother of
Raymond Asquith
Raymond Herbert Asquith (6 November 1878 – 15 September 1916) was an English barrister and eldest son of British prime minister H. H. Asquith. A distinguished Oxford scholar, he was a member of the fashionable group of intellectuals known a ...
.
Asquith was greatly affected by his service with the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
His poems included "The Volunteer" and "The Fallen Subaltern", the latter being a tribute to fallen soldiers. His poem "Soldiers at Peace" was set to music by
Ina Boyle
Ina Boyle (8 March 1889 – 10 March 1967) was an Irish composer. Her compositions encompass a broad spectrum of genres and include choral, chamber and orchestral works as well as opera, ballet and vocal music. While a number of her works, incl ...
. His novels include the best-selling ''Young Orland'' (set during and after the First World War), ''Wind's End'', ''Mary Dallon'', and ''Roon''.
In 1910, he married
Lady Cynthia Charteris
Lady Cynthia Mary Evelyn Asquith (née Charteris; 27 September 1887 – 31 March 1960) was an English writer and socialite, known for her ghost stories and diaries.Richard Dalby, ''The Virago Book of Ghost Stories''.Virago, London, , 1987 (p. 23 ...
, who was also a writer. She was the eldest daughter of
Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss, and his wife,
Mary Constance Wyndham.
They had three sons.
References
External links
*
Profile
1881 births
1947 deaths
Military personnel from London
English barristers
Presidents of the Oxford Union
Younger sons of earls
Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Artillery officers
Herbert Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...
English World War I poets
20th-century English male writers
People from Hampstead
20th-century English poets
20th-century English novelists
English male poets
English male novelists
20th-century English lawyers
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