Major Sir Herbert Paul Latham, 2nd Baronet (22 April 1905 – 24 July 1955) was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Scarborough and Whitby Scarborough and Whitby is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Robert Goodwill, a Conservative. History The constituency name has had two separate periods of existence. ;1918–1974 A Scarborou ...

constituency from 1931 to 1941.

Biography

The son of Sir Thomas Paul Latham and his wife Florence Clara ''née'' Walley, he was educated at Eton College and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. Between 1928 and 1934 Latham was a member of the London County Council, representing Lewisham East as a member of the Conservative-backed Municipal Reform Party. At the 1929 general election, he stood as the Conservative candidate in Rotherham, a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

for the Labour Party where he was runner-up with 23% of the votes. In April 1931 the standing MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Sidney Herbert, resigned from the House of Commons. Latham was selected as the Conservative candidate for the resulting by-election on 6 May, which he won with a majority of 5% of the votes over his Liberal Party opponent.

Arrest, attempted suicide and court-martial

During World War II, despite being exempt from military service, Latham volunteered to join the army. In 1941, however, he was arrested for "improper behaviour", a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

act, with three gunners and a civilian (letters he had written to those involved had been discovered) while serving as an officer in the Royal Artillery. Latham then tried to kill himself by riding a motorcycle into a tree. He was

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

led and found guilty of ten charges of indecent conduct and of attempted suicide and was discharged dishonourably and imprisoned for two years without hard labour. Latham's court-martial was the first time a sitting MP who was also in the army had been court-martialled since Lieutenant-General Sir John Murray in 1815. He resigned his seat in Parliament. After his release in 1943 Latham commented to his fellow MP Henry Channon that he had found conditions and treatment at Maidstone Gaol better than at Eton.Henry "Chips" Channon: The Diaries (Volume 2), 22nd January 1943

Family

In 1933 Latham married Lady Patricia Doreen Moore, the daughter of Henry Moore, 10th Earl of Drogheda and Kathleen Pelham Burn. She divorced him in 1943 and died in 1947. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by their only son, Richard Thomas Paul Latham, born in April 1934. In 1932 Latham purchased Herstmonceux Castle in Sussex and carried on its restoration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Latham, Paul 1905 births 1955 deaths Gay politicians Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom English LGBT politicians Members of London County Council Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II British Army personnel who were court-martialled English politicians convicted of crimes People educated at Eton College LGBT military personnel 20th-century LGBT people