Sir Ian Macdonald Horobin (16 November 1899 – 5 June 1976) was a

British Conservative Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It is the current governing party, ...

politician, poet, and veteran of the First and Second World Wars. Horobin served as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Power from 1958 to 1959, but stood down from politics shortly before his conviction for indecent assault, for which he served four years in prison.

Biography

Horobin was the son of J. C. Horobin, the principal of

Homerton College, Cambridge Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of Protestant dissenters with origins in the seventeenth century. In 1894, the co ...

, and his wife, Maud Adeline née Ford (known after her second marriage as M. A. Cloudesley Brereton)."Sir Ian Horobin.", ''The Times'', London, 8 July 1976, pg. 18 He was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate ...

and

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

. Horobin initially served with the

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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 ...

before joining the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. Upon the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Horobin rejoined the Royal Air Force, and was promoted to squadron leader. In 1941 Horobin was captured by the Japanese and detained as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

until his release in 1945. The Japanese tortured and beat Horobin after he refused to reveal the methods of escape by key prisoners led by Laurens van der Post, and he played an important role in facilitating morale among prisoners at the Soekaboemi prison camp after volunteering as the camp's hygiene officer. In 1923, Horobin became the warden of the Mansfield House

University Settlement The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

in London's

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, which worked with vulnerable young men and children. Horobin helped raise over £500,000 for the settlement, and left it when he was elected as the

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Member of Parliament (MP) for Southwark Central, a seat he held until 1935. Horobin returned to work at the settlement after the Second World War. He was given a knighthood in 1955 for his work at the institution. Horobin stood in the

Oldham West Oldham West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Oldham in the north-west of Greater Manchester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament ...

seat in the 1950 general election, where he lost to

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Leslie Hale Charles Leslie Hale, Baron Hale (13 July 1902 – 9 May 1985) was a British Liberal Party then Labour Party politician. Background Hale was the son of Benjamin George Hale, a managing director. He went to the Ashby Grammar School and trained to ...

. In 1951 Horobin successfully contested Oldham East, and held the seat with a narrow majority of 380 in the 1955 election. Horobin was the first member of the Conservative government to lose his seat at the 1959 general election. Horobin presented two episodes of BBC radio's ''The Week in Westminster'' in 1932. In 1935 a judge found in favour of Horobin in a case of trespass at his home in Essex, Blue House Farm in Lambourne End. Horobin had put a gate across a lane leading to

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having been disturbed by the parking of cars on the lane, and it had been torn down by a woman who claimed that it had always been used for this purpose. The judge ruled that the nature of the lane had not been that it was to be presumed a place to park vehicles. Horobin sold paintings from his collection at

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in March 1962. It was announced on 29 March 1962 that Horobin was to receive a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

age, but he withdrew his acceptance on 13 April, stating that the demands of the role would be too much for him.

Indecency trial

After denunciation by a clergyman, Horobin was held on indecency charges in May 1962, accused of several charges of indecent assault on boys aged under 16 in 1958 and 1959. A 17-year-old boy was also held with Horobin and he was jointly charged with committing two acts of indecency with Horobin in 1961, and attempting to procure another man for an act of indecency with Horobin. As Warden of Mansfield House University Settlement, Horobin lived in a small flat there. According to

Michael Bloch Michael Anthony Bloch (born 24 September 1953) is an author and historian. Educated at Portadown College and St John's College, Cambridge, he was call to the bar, called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1978 and in 1979 became an assistant to ...

, Horobin's homosexual tastes were common knowledge among the residents, who were rewarded for yielding to Horobin's demands. He apparently formed "affectionate relationships" with some of them. At the trial in June 1962, where Horobin was defended by Peter Rawlinson, QC, the prosecution alleged that Horobin had told his secretary that he was "virtually married" to the 17-year-old. Several witnesses at the trial testified to Horobin's behaviour and the manner of his assaults. Horobin admitted ten charges of assault in July 1962, and was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Horobin had told the secretary of the settlement that his relationships with boys had been going on for over 40 years and described homosexuals as "... us poor devils who are born like this; nothing can change me. It is natural for us to love boys in this way." Unrepentant, Horobin told his friend

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

: "''I broke the law with me eyes open all my life until I went to prison. I broke it in prison. I broke it immediately I came out of prison, and I have not the slightest intention of ever paying any attention to it.''"

Death

Horobin moved to Tangier, Morocco, after his release from prison, and died there in 1976.

Bibliography

*''The Pleasures of Planning'' (1935) *''Poems'' (1935) *''More Poems'' (1939) *''Collected Poems'' (1973)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horobin, Ian Macdonald 1899 births 1976 deaths Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge British expatriates in Morocco British non-fiction writers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English people convicted of child sexual abuse English people convicted of indecent assault British politicians convicted of crimes Gay politicians English LGBT politicians Knights Bachelor British male poets People educated at Highgate School Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 World War II prisoners of war held by Japan 20th-century British poets LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Violence against men in the United Kingdom Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 20th-century non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers LGBT military personnel 20th-century English LGBT people Royal Naval Reserve personnel