Richard Godolphin Walmesley Chaloner, 1st Baron Gisborough (né Long; 12 October 1856 – 23 January 1938) was a British soldier and politician. He was a

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 ...

Member of Parliament (MP) from 1895 to 1900 and 1910 to 1917, and a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

from 1917 until his death in 1938.

Career

Chaloner was the son of

Richard Penruddocke Long Richard Penruddocke Long JP, DL (19 December 1825 – 16 February 1875) was an English landowner and Conservative Party politician. He was a founding member of the amateur cricket club I Zingari. Long was appointed High Sheriff of Montgomerysh ...

, an MP from 1859 to 1868, and younger brother of The 1st Viscount Long. His family owned

Rood Ashton House Rood Ashton House was a country house in Wiltshire, England, standing in parkland northeast of the village of West Ashton, near Trowbridge. Built in 1808 for Richard Godolphin Long, it was later the home of the 1st Viscount Long (1854–1924). ...

in Wiltshire and had lived in the county since the end of the 14th century. Chaloner's maternal grandfather was William Dick, a member for

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

from 1852 to 1880. In 1888, he assumed the surname of Chaloner by Royal licence, this was in accordance with the

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

of his maternal great-uncle Admiral Thomas Chaloner, who had inherited the Gisborough estate and

Gisborough Hall Gisborough Hall is a 19th-century mansion house, now a hotel, at Guisborough, Redcar and Cleveland, England. It is a Grade II listed building. The manor of Gisborough and the site of the dissolved Priory of Gisborough were acquired after the ...

through his mother, a descendant of

Robert de Brus Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

. Chaloner was educated at Winchester College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, after which he was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 3rd Hussars on 30 January 1878. He served in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

1879–80, and was promoted to

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 sub ...

on 1 July 1881. Promotion to

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 ...

came on 1 July 1887, followed by

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

appointments as

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

on 10 February 1894. He transferred to the

Reserve of Officers The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Ter ...

, and became lieutenant-colonel in command of the 1st

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

Volunteer Rifles. Following the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in October 1899, many volunteer officers were commissioned as part of the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

which was created in December 1899. Chaloner was appointed in command of the 1st (Wiltshire) Company of the 1st Battalion, and left

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on the SS ''Cymric'' in March 1900. Richard Chaloner was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for Westbury in the 1895 general election. At the next general election in

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, he was defeated by the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate John Fuller. In the January 1910 general election, Chaloner was re-elected to Parliament succeeding the Liberal MP J. E. B. Seely in the constituency of Liverpool Abercromby. He retained this seat until 18 June 1917, when he was made Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, a post that expelled him from the Commons, thus effectively resigning from the Commons. On 23 June 1917, he was made the

Baron Gisborough Baron Gisborough, of Cleveland in the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the Conservative politician Richard Chaloner, who had previously represented Westbury (also known as Wiltshire West ...

, of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

in the

County of York Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, and became a member of the

. A

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

was held in Liverpool Abercromby to replace him. Lord Gisborough died in 1938 in

, aged 81, and was succeeded in the barony by his second son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Family

In 1882, he married Margaret Brocklesby Davis (died 1941) and they had two sons and four daughters. Their elder son, Richard, died in France in 1917 while guarding German

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

Arms

Notes

References

* * * * Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gisborough, Richard Chaloner, 1st Baron 1856 births 1938 deaths 3rd The King's Own Hussars officers Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War Deputy Lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire Chaloner, Richard

Richard Chaloner, 1st Baron Gisborough Richard Godolphin Walmesley Chaloner, 1st Baron Gisborough (né Long; 12 October 1856 – 23 January 1938) was a British soldier and politician. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1895 to 1900 and 1910 to 1917, and a member of t ...