Sir Worthington Laming Worthington-Evans, 1st Baronet, (23 August 1868 – 14 February 1931) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician.

Background and education

Born Laming Evans, he was the son of Worthington Evans and Susanah Laming. He assumed the prefix surname of Worthington by Royal Licence in 1916, although he had been calling himself Worthington Evans (without a hyphen) for many years. He trained as a solicitor.

Military career

Worthington-Evans was commissioned into the part-time 2nd Middlesex Artillery Volunteers in 1891 and was promoted

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 ...

in 1893 and

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 1897. He served as temporary Major in the

First World War 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 fig ...

Political career

Worthington-Evans unsuccessfully contested the Colchester constituency in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, a ...

. He won the seat in January 1910. Worthington-Evans was made a Baronet, of Colchester in the County of Essex, in 1916. He served in

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 ...

's coalition government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions from 1916 to 1918, and as Minister of Blockade (not a member of the small wartime War Cabinet) in 1918. In 1919 he was sworn of the Privy Council, and served in Lloyd George's Cabinet as Minister of Pensions from 1919 to 1920, as

Minister without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...

from 1920 to 1921 and as

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

from 1921 to 1922. Whilst Worthington-Evans was Secretary of State for War he famously said "If the Arab population realised that the peaceful control of Mesopotamia (

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

) ultimately depends on our intention of bombing women and children, I’m very doubtful if we shall gain that acquiescence of the fathers and husbands of Mesopotamia to which the Secretary of State for the Colonies ( Winston Churchill) looks forward." He was a member of the British delegation that negotiated the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

. He was one of the British delegates to the International Economic Conference at Genoa in 1922. He was appointed a GBE in 1922. As with many Cabinet Ministers in the Lloyd George Coalition, Worthington-Evans declined office in Bonar Law's new government when Lloyd George fell in October 1922. Alone amongst the "Coalition Conservatives" he accepted an invitation the following May when Law retired and was succeeded by

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingd ...

. He served under Baldwin as

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsibl ...

between May 1923 and January 1924. He also served on various Cabinet Committees, including those relating to Northern Ireland and Unemployment. He became chairman of the latter in August 1923. Worthington-Evans also served in Baldwin's second government (1924-29) as Secretary of State for War. He was a member of several Conservative and Unionist Party committees including the Policy committee which he chaired in 1927. At the

1929 United Kingdom general election The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 30 May 1929 and resulted in a hung parliament. It stands as the fourth of six instances under the secret ballot, and the first of three under universal suffrage, in which a party h ...

he transferred to the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

seat of

Westminster St George's Westminster St George's, originally named St George's, Hanover Square, was a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency in Central London. It returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the Ho ...

. His death caused the 1931 Westminster St George's by-election at which the seat was won by

Duff Cooper Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian. First elected to Parliament in 192 ...

, a result seen as an endorsement of the continued leadership of

Family

He married Gertrude Hale in 1898 and had one son and one daughter. He died in February 1931, aged 62, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, William. The papers of Worthington-Evans (from 1895 to 1931) are held at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

Sources

*''Who Was Who'' *''Dictionary of National Biography''

External links

* *
Bodleian Library
''holdings of personal papers''
Laming Worthington-Evans on 'How to Vote at the Election'
- sound recording from the British Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington-Evans, Laming 1868 births 1931 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Artillery officers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British Secretaries of State Secretaries of State for War (UK) United Kingdom Postmasters General Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 Worthington-Evans, Laming, 1st Baronet British Army personnel of World War I