His Honour John Neal MC (17 August 1889 – 8 September 1962) was an English Judge and

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 ...

politician.

Background

He was the son of

Arthur Neal Arthur Neal (23 September 1862 – 29 January 1933) was a British politician. Born in Sheffield, Neal attended Wesley College before becoming a solicitor. He was also the President of Sheffield's Chamber of Commerce. Political career Neal wa ...

MP,

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport was a junior position at the British Ministry of Transport. The office was renamed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport in 1941, but resumed its former name at the end of the ...

and Annie Elizabeth Neal. He was educated at Leys School, Cambridge and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. He married, in 1940, Rosemary Young. They had three sons.

War 1914–1918

At the age of 25 he volunteered at the outbreak of war. He served in the European War with the

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

, then in France 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 ...

as a Major. He was awarded the Military Cross 1914–15 Star.

Political career

In 1922 at the age of 33, Neal followed his father into politics, also as a supporter of Prime Minister

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

. He was

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 ...

candidate for the Wansbeck Division of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

at the 1922 General Election. This was a seat that the Liberals had held in 1918 with the help of the official endorsement from the Coalition Government. However, by 1922 the Unionists had ended the coalition and a Unionist candidate intervened in Wansbeck. While Neal still retained the endorsement of David Lloyd George and his organisation, he did not have the support of the Liberal party led by

H. H. 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 politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

who also intervened in Wansbeck. Unsurprisingly, the seat was lost with Neal finishing third in a field of four. In 1923 following reunion between the Lloyd George and Asquith factions, Neal was selected as Liberal candidate for the

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

Division of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

at the 1923 General Election. A National Liberal had come close to winning in 1922 but by 1923, the Unionists chose to intervene in the contest and Neal was edged into third place. He contested Barnsley again at the 1924 General Election. This time there was no Unionist candidate, but he narrowly failed to gain the seat; He did not stand for parliament again and concentrated on his legal career.

War 1939–1945

At the age of 49 he was placed on the Officers' Emergency Reserve from 1938 to 1940. He was assigned to the

Ministry of Economic Warfare The Minister of Economic Warfare was a British government position which existed during the Second World War. The minister was in charge of the Special Operations Executive and the Ministry of Economic Warfare. See also * Blockade of Germany (193 ...

and the

Ministry of Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

from 1940 to 1942.

Professional career

In 1920 he received a

Call to Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

. In 1942 he was appointed as a County Court judge. He was Deputy Chairman of the Quarter Sessions of the

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

of Yorkshire from 1942 to 1945. He retired in 1961.'NEAL, His Honour John', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 6 Feb 2014
/ref>

References

External links

*The Times Obituary: http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=esusslib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS271016746&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 {{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, John 1889 births 1962 deaths 20th-century English judges Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Recipients of the Military Cross County Court judges (England and Wales) Members of the Inner Temple Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I