Philip Hugh Dalbiac (20 September 1856 – 28 April 1927) was a British

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer, publisher, author and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician.

Early life

He was the third son of Henry Eardley Aylmer Dalbiac of

Durrington, West Sussex Durrington is a neighbourhood of Worthing and former civil parish, now in the borough of Worthing in West Sussex, England. Historically in Sussex, in the rape of Bramber, it is situated near the A27 road, northwest of the town centre. Since 19 ...

and his wife, Mary Mainwaring, daughter of Sir Henry Mainwaring, 1st Baronet. Following education at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot in 1875, but exchanged to the 45th (Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot in the same year. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1879. The 45th Foot became the 1st Battalion of the

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to ...

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The ...

, and he was promoted to captain in 1883. He retired from the successor regiment, with the rank of major in 1890.

Political career

In June 1895 the Liberal government led by

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...

lost a

vote of confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

. A general election was duly called, and Dalbiac was chosen by the Conservatives to contest the constituency of Camberwell North, which was held the

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 ...

member of parliament, Edward Hodson Bayley. A third candidate, Nelson Palmer, subsequently entered the contest, claiming to be of "independent of party", but representing the labouring classes. The Conservatives secured a large majority at the election, and Bayley was one of many Liberal MPs to lose their seats. Dalbiac secured a majority of 693 votes over Bayley. Palmer's intervention had no effect, as he received only 32 votes. Dalbiac only served one term in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, choosing to step down at the next election in 1900. Although no longer a regular army officer, Dalbiac served in the part-time

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

, joining the 18th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers ( Paddington Rifles) in 1891, and was the commanding officer of the unit from 1896 to 1908. When the volunteers were reorganised as the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

in 1908, Dalbiac was given command of the 2nd London Divisional Transport and Supply Column, with the honorary rank of colonel. He was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

in 1911 and made a

Companion of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

in the coronation honours of the same year. Dalbiac resigned his commission in 1912, but with the outbreak of 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 fightin ...

in 1914 returned to the army, and was given the task of forming a second line duplicate of the supply column for the newly raised 60th Division. He travelled with the new unit to

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, and was mentioned in despatches. A partner in the publishing company of Swan Sommenschein & Co., he became a director of

George Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

Limited in 1914.

Personal life

Dalbiac married Lillian Seely, fourth daughter of Sir Charles Seely of Brooke House,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, in 1888. They lived in Tooting Common, South London. They had two sons and four daughters. His younger son, Charles James Shelley Dalbiac (1896–1915), was killed in action in the First World War. Sir John Henry D'Albiac (who added the apostrophe back to the French surname) was his nephew.''1861 England Census''''1901 England Census'' Dalbiac died at

Freshwater, Isle of Wight Freshwater is a large village and civil parish at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. The southern, coastal part of the village is Freshwater Bay, named for the adjacent small cove. Freshwater sits at the western end of the ...

in 1927, aged 72.

Publications

Dalbiac wrote a history of his former regiment, the 45th Foot, and a description of the war service of the 60th Division, which was published posthumously. He also worked on two dictionaries of quotations. * * * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalbiac, Philip 1855 births 1927 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1895–1900 People educated at Winchester College People from Worthing (district) Publishers (people) from London Sherwood Foresters officers Companions of the Order of the Bath Volunteer Force officers in Middlesex units Royal Army Service Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Date of birth unknown Place of birth unknown People from Freshwater, Isle of Wight