Peter Freeman (19 October 1888 – 19 May 1956) was a British Labour Party politician, tennis champion,

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

activist,

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...

and

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

Biography

Freeman was born on 19 October 1888 in

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 ...

, one of nine children of George James Freeman who was in the tobacco industry. He was educated at the Haberdashers' School before entering the family business and he became managing directory of the Freeman factory in Cardiff, Wales. He was a noted lawn tennis player and won the

Welsh Championship The WRU National Championship (or Admiral Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the second tier of professional rugby union in Wales. The league was reformed by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in 2012. The current National Championship champion ...

in 1919 and was also described as an expert swimmer. He was elected as

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 o ...

(MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire at the 1929 general election, defeating the

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 ...

MP Walter D'Arcy Hall by only 187 votes. When Labour split at the 1931 general election over Ramsay MacDonald's formation of a National Government, D'Arcy Hall retook the seat with a majority of over 8,000. Freeman unsuccessfully stood at the 1935 general election in the Newport constituency, losing by 1,545 votes to the Conservative MP Reginald Clarry. When Clarry died in January 1945, Freeman did not contest the by-election on 17 May. However, at the general election in July 1945, he took the seat with a majority of 9,091 votes over Clarry's Conservative successor Ronald McMillan Bell. He withdrew from his company responsibilities to devote himself to "Parliamentary, philanthropic and social obligations". Freeman held the seat until his death in 1956 at the age of 67. The resulting

1956 Newport by-election The 1956 Newport by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 6 July 1956 for the British House of Commons constituency of Newport in Monmouthshire. The seat had become vacant when the constituency's Labour Member of Parliament (MP) ...

was won by the Labour candidate

Frank Soskice Frank Soskice, Baron Stow Hill, (23 July 1902 – 1 January 1979) was a British lawyer and Labour Party politician. Background and education Soskice's father, was from a family of Russian Jewish merchants. David Soskice became involved in ...

, the former Attorney General. Freeman had married Ella Drummond Torrance and they had a son and daughter.

Personal life

Theosophy

Freeman was the general secretary of the Theosophical Society in Wales from 1922 to 1944. In 1924, he authored a pamphlet ''Druids and Theosophy''. Freeman contributed the chapter "The Practical Application of Theosophy to Politics and Government" to D. D. Kanga's book ''Where Theosophy and Science Meet''.

Vegetarianism

Although his wealth came from the tobacco industry he was a non-smoker and

. Freeman was president of the

Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism. History In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed meat ...

between 1937 and 1942. Freeman supported

and colonial freedom. He was an anti-vivisection campaigner.Preece, Rod. (2011). ''Animal Sensibility and Inclusive Justice in the Age of Bernard Shaw''. UBC Press. p. 188.

Selected publications

*''Druids and Theosophy'' (1924) *''Our Younger Brothers: The Animals'' (1926) *''A Vegetarian Looks at the World'' (''The Theosophist'', 1951) *''The World Food Crisis Solved by a Vegetarian'' (1956)

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Peter 1888 births 1956 deaths Anti-vivisectionists British vegetarianism activists English animal rights activists English male tennis players English Theosophists People associated with the Vegetarian Society People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School Politics of Newport, Wales Tennis people from Greater London UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 Welsh Labour Party MPs