Sir Richard James Meller (1872 - 23 June 1940) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

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 i ...

politician. He was born in London, the son of Richard Meller. He was called to the bar at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1904, and became an expert in insurance law. In 1912 he was appointed by the government to the post of official lecturer on National Health Insurance. He later became secretary of the Prudential Approved Societies. He entered politics in 1919 when he was elected to

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

, later becoming a county

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 ...

, vice-chairman in 1939-1940 and was elected chairman of the council two months before his death. In 1920 he was chosen as

Coalition Conservative The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

candidate for a parliamentary by-election at Dartford. He came in a poor third place when a swing against the government saw

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

of the Labour Party take the seat. Two years later he was again a candidate at a by-election, this time at Camberwell North. The

Coalition Government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

in power since 1916 was beginning to unravel, and the election was a straight fight between Meller for the Conservatives and

Charles Ammon Charles George Ammon, 1st Baron Ammon, PC, DL, JP (22 April 1873 – 2 April 1960) was a British Labour Party politician. Background and education The son of Charles George and Mary Ammon, he was educated at public elementary schools. He was ...

of the Labour Party, neither of whom claimed to support the coalition. Ammon was comfortably elected as public opinion turned against the coalition following the swingeing cuts of the Geddes Report. At the ensuing 1923 general election Meller was elected as Conservative

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 ...

for his home constituency of

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ha ...

. He held the seat at all subsequent elections until his death. He was knighted in 1933. In 1937, he was named as charter

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

for the new

Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington Beddington and Wallington was, from 1915 to 1965, a local government district in north east Surrey, England. It formed part of the London suburbs, lying within the Metropolitan Police District and the London Passenger Transport Board, London Passe ...

, which formed part of the Mitcham constituency.

Personal life

Richard Meller married Jeanie Sibley in 1897, and they had three sons. He died at a nursing home in

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

in June 1940, aged 67.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meller, Richard James Members of the Middle Temple 1872 births 1940 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy Lieutenants of Surrey Members of Surrey County Council UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945