Hugh Mowbray Meyler (25 June 1875 – 30 April 1929) was a British lawyer, army officer, balloon observer, and politician. After qualifying as a solicitor, and then serving in the British Army in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, he was a Unionist Party member of the first

Parliament of the Union of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seve ...

from 1910 to 1914. After further army service in the First World War and in Ireland in the 1920s, he was the Liberal Party

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 ...

(MP) for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in the UK from 1923 to 1924.

Early life

Meyler was born near

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, in Somerset, where his father was the town clerk. He was educated at

King's College, Taunton (Strong and faithful) , established = 1880 , closed = , type = Independent day and boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label ...

and Allhallows Grammar School, Honiton, and then studied at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He qualified as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

in 1898, briefly working in partnership with Herbert Byard Sheppard in Taunton. He was also an officer in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the

Somersetshire Light Infantry The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army, which served under various titles from 1685 to 1959. In 1959, the regiment was amalgamated with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry to form the Some ...

South Africa

Meyler left Taunton to serve in the

, enlisting with the Imperial Yeomanry and serving with the

Rhodesian Field Force Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of So ...

in 1899 and early 1900. While in the field, he was commissioned into a regular army unit as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Middlesex Regiment on 5 May 1900, and served in the 2nd battalion of that regiment, where he was promoted to

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 ...

on 29 March 1901. He took part in operations east of

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

during Summer 1900, and later served with Mounted Infantry in the

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Unio ...

. After the end of the war in June 1902, he left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

for the United Kingdom four months later on the SS ''Orient''. For his service, he was awarded the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

, the King's South Africa Medal, and the

Union of South Africa Commemoration Medal The Union of South Africa Commemoration Medal is a military and civil commemorative medal which was awarded to commemorate the opening of the first Union Parliament by the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn in 1910. It may be considered as the fi ...

. He resigned his commission in the regular army in 1903, and joined the reserve of officers, and then resigned from the reserve in 1911. He provided the British army with intelligence services during the Natal Rebellion in 1906, but his application for the Natal Native Rebellion Medal was declined. He married the daughter of Major General

Alexander Lyon Emerson Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, and returned to South Africa to become a lawyer in Natal. He campaigned for the Colony of Natal to join the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

, and was elected as a Unionist member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

in the first

Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature; under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameral Parliament comprises a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces. The current twenty-seve ...

in 1910, defeating

Frederick Robert Moor Sir Frederick Robert Moor, (12 May 1853 – 18 March 1927) was a South African politician who served as the last Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal between 1906 and 1910. Biography Moor was born in Pietermaritzburg, the son of a farmer an ...

, Prime Minister of Natal.

First World War

He returned to England in 1914 to serve in the First World War, rejoining the Middlesex Regiment as a captain, and serving in France from January 1915. He was gassed at Bellewarde near Ypres in 1915 and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in June 1915. He transferred to the Border Regiment in October 1915, and then joined the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in March 1916, first as wing adjutant and then training as a balloon observation officer. He served as an observer in France with No.5 and No.8

Kite Balloon A kite balloon is a tethered balloon which is shaped to help make it stable in low and moderate winds and to increase its lift. It typically comprises a streamlined envelope with stabilising features and a harness or yoke connecting it to the main ...

Company, in vulnerable hydrogen-filled balloons, and became flight commander in August 1916. Promoted to temporary major in June 1917 and temporary lieutenant colonel in November 1917, he commanded 2nd Balloon Wing. Despite his rank, he continued observing, and was injured in a parachute descent in September 1918, recording 123 hours of flying time in all. He was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

in June 1915 and December 1918. He was awarded the

Belgian Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de guerre'' ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' (Dutch), both literally translating as "Cross of War", is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery ...

(with palm) and the Croix de Chevalier (5th class) of the Belgian Order of Leopold II (with swords and palm) in August 1917, and 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 ...

in January 1919. He was also awarded the 1914-15 Star, the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and the Victory Medal (known as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred).

Post-war career

Meyler stood for Parliament in the 1918 general election, coming third in the Bethnal Green South West constituency, with 23.4% of the votes. He remained in the army, rejoining the Border Regiment and serving as a Legal Officer in Ireland. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in January 1923. At the 1922 general election, he stood in the more promising

constituency, where he lost by only 166 votes to the sitting Conservative MP Leonard Molloy. Molloy did not contest the 1923 general election, and Meyler won the seat with a majority of over 3,000 votes, and he retired from the army. However, at the 1924 general election, Sir

Walter de Frece Sir Abraham Walter de Frece (7 October 1870 – 7 January 1935) was a British theatre impresario, and later Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1920 to 1931. His wife was the celebrated male impersonator ...

retook the seat for the Conservatives. Meyler did not stand for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

again. He continued to speak in public, particularly on issues relating to South Africa. He became a "poor man's lawyer" in Westminster and Pimlico, but his legal practice did not prosper, and he shot himself in 1929.

References

* *
Magnificent lawyers in flying machines
Law Gazette, 8 July 2015

January 2015
Dix Noonan Webb auctioneers
25 March 2015
Medical card, Lt Col H.M. Meyler
RAF Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyler, Hugh Mowbray 1875 births 1929 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1923–1924 People from Taunton People educated at King's College, Taunton Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Suicides by firearm in England British military personnel who committed suicide British politicians who committed suicide Royal Air Force officers Middlesex Regiment officers Emigrants from the United Kingdom to Cape Colony