John William Howard Thompson (1861-17 October 1959) was a British

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, solicitor and soldier.

Background

He was educated at

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton ...

and

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. He married Antoinette Ebden Keene of

Crewkerne Crewkerne ( ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, England, southwest of Yeovil and east of Chard all in the South Somerset district. The civil parish of West Crewkerne includes the hamlets of Coombe, Woolminstone and Henley – and b ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. They had two daughters. His wife died in 1940. His daughter Antoinette Winifred Thompson married the 6th

Marquess Conyngham Marquess Conyngham, of the County of Donegal, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1816 for Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham. He was the great-nephew of another Henry Conyngham, 1st Earl Conyngham, a member of a family of ...

Career

He worked 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 ...

. He was Liberal MP for

Somerset East Somerset East ( af, Somerset-Oos) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from Pearston, via S ...

from 1906 to 1910. He gained the seat at the 1906 General Election from the Liberal Unionists. He served just one parliamentary term before losing his seat back to the Liberal Unionists at the General Election in January 1910. He stood again at the General Election of December 1910 but was unable to regain his seat. He was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Devonshire 11th Service battalion in 1915 and a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the 24th (County of London) Battalion (The Queen's) in 1916.The Times Guide to the House of Commons 1931 He did not contest the 1918 General election. He did however contested the 1920 Ilford by-election, where he finished third; He remained at Ilford to contest the seat at the 1922 General Election, when he came second, pushing Labour into third place. He did not contest the following three General Elections but remained a supporter of the Liberal Party. His return to the electoral fight came at the 1931 General Election, when he returned to Somerset and fought the Conservative seat of

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

. Much of the Wells constituency was part of the Somerset East constituency that he had represented before the First World War. He came second with a credible vote share; He did not stand for parliament again.

Sources

*Who Was Who *British parliamentary election results 1885–1918, Craig, F. W. S.

References

External links

*Thompson newsreel footage from 192
Pathe
*Who Was Who; http://www.ukwhoswho.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, John William Howard 1861 births 1959 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910