Pierse Creagh Loftus (29 November 1877 – 20 January 1956) was an

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-born

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businessman and

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politician. A notable figure in the public life of

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

and East Suffolk for several decades, he sat in the

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from 1934 to 1945 as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for the Lowestoft division of Suffolk.

Early life

Loftus was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland. When he was eight years old, he and his brother changed their surnames to Loftus, adopting their grandmother's

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also used ...

. He was educated at St. Augustine's School in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

and at

The Oratory School The Oratory School () is an HMC Co-educational independent Roman Catholic day and boarding school for pupils aged 11–18 located in Woodcote, north-west of Reading. Founded in 1859 by Saint John Henry Newman, The Oratory has historical ties t ...

in Birmingham. After working in

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for three years, where he served with the Maritzburg Defence Force in 1899, he returned to England; in 1902 he bought a share in

Adnams Brewery Adnams is a regional brewery founded in 1872 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, by George and Ernest Adnams. It produces cask ale and bottled beers. Annual production is around 85,000 barrels. In 2010, the company established the Copper House d ...

, in

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is a ...

, with his brother Jack. 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 fightin ...

he served with the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

in France, reaching the rank of captain. He was elected to

East Suffolk County Council East Suffolk County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of East Suffolk in east England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and acted as the governing authority for the county until it was amalgamated with West Suf ...

in 1922, and the following year became vice-chairman of the Lowestoft Conservative Association. In 1931 he became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the council. Loftus was the author of a number of books. In 1912, he published 'The Conservative Party and the Future', intended as a contribution to the then vexed debate on his the Conservatives could return to government. More on the business side, Loftus tried to answer the vexing question of job shortages in 'A Main Cause of Unemployment' (1923). In 1926 Loftus published 'The Creed of a Tory', in which he sought to describe what a Conservative was and set out a political programme quit different from that of the Conservative Party nationally. This book included proposals for the indirect election of MPs by county councils, and suggestions of corporate representation. When

Gervais Rentoul Sir Gervais Squire Chittick Rentoul KC (1 August 1884 – 7 March 1946) was a British Conservative politician. He was the eldest son of Judge James Alexander Rentoul, M.P. for East Down 1890–1902, and his wife, Florence Isabella Young. Jame ...

, the Conservative MP for Lowestoft, resigned his seat in 1934 to become a

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magistrate, Loftus was selected as the Conservative candidate for the resulting by-election. The Conservative Party was part of the

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, and Loftus stood as a "National Conservative", i.e. a supporter of the government, with the backing of the other parties in the government. He was opposed by the Labour Party and by an independent Liberal candidate. The campaign was dominated by the issues facing Lowestoft's

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

, who had suffered from the loss of

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as a market for

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

. Polling took place on 15 February, and Loftus won the seat with 48% of the votes. Loftus had a majority of 5.9% over the Labour Party candidate, former Leyton West MP

Reginald Sorensen Reginald William Sorensen, Baron Sorensen (19 June 1891 – 8 October 1971) was a Unitarian minister and Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over thirty years between 1929 and 1964. Early life ...

, whom he beat by 1,920 votes. This was significantly below Rentoul's majority in the 1931 general election, but Loftus was re-elected in the 1935 election with over 60% of the votes, and held the seat until his defeat at the

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by the

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candidate, Edward Evans. While he was a

, he concentrated on agriculture and fishing. Loftus was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Suffolk for over 25 years, and High Steward of

from 1945 until his death. After leaving Parliament, he became chairman of the Rural Reconstruction Association.

Family

Loftus was married twice, firstly in 1910 to Dorothy Reynolds, with whom he had two sons. Reynolds died in 1943, and in 1945 he married again to Eileen Elkington, the widow of Brigadier-General R. J. G. Elkington and daughter of Claude Marzetti. He died at his home in Southwold on 20 January 1956, aged 78.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loftus, Pierse 1877 births 1956 deaths Politicians from County Kilkenny Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Members of East Suffolk County Council People educated at The Oratory School People from Lowestoft Suffolk Regiment officers Irish soldiers in the British Army Irish people of World War I British Army personnel of World War I English brewers British people of Irish descent