Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet, (16 February 1857 – 7 October 1928) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Early life

Knowles was the son of John Knowles and Elizabeth Lees of Green Bank, Oldham, Lancashire whose family owned Andrew Knowles and Sons, collieries in the

Irwell Valley The Irwell Valley in North West England extends from the Forest of Rossendale through the cities of Salford and Manchester. The River Irwell runs through the valley, along with the River Croal. Geology Shallow seas covered most of south-east ...

. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He was a prominent athlete at both institutions and became president of the Cambridge University Athletics Club. Knowles became the British half-mile champion after winning the AAC Championships title at the 1878 AAC Championships. He studied law, and was called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1882.

Career

Politics

Knowles was involved in Unionist politics, and stood unsuccessfully for the Conservatives at

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the 1885 general election. In the following year, another general election was held, and he was returned as Member of Parliament for Salford West. From 1887 to 1892, Knowles held an appointment as unpaid parliamentary secretary to Charles Ritchie,

President of the Local Government Board The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the ...

. On 24 April 1890, he brought a motion before the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

and was subsequently appointed to formulate the

Royal Commission on Tuberculosis The Royal Commission on Tuberculosis (1896–1898), also known as the First Royal Commission on Tuberculosis, was an early investigation into the history of tuberculosis (TB). On 25 April 1895 the report was published as a parliamentary paper. ...

.TUBERCULOSIS IN CATTLE ''Parliament'', The Times, 11 April 1891. Knowles remained unpaid parliamentary secretary when Ritchie became

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centur ...

in 1895. From 1896 to 1906, he was

Second Church Estates Commissioner The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, "of Westwood in the County of Lancaster", in the 1903 Birthday Honours. In December 1904, he was knighted as a Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John (KStJ). His parliamentary career came to an end when he lost his seat at the 1906 general election.

Military

Knowles had a great interest in military history, and wrote a number of books on the life of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. In 1912 he made a bequest to his ''

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

'', Trinity College. This established the Lees Knowles Lectureship, an annual series of talks on military science given by distinguished military and naval figures. He held a commission as an officer in the

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

and its successor 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 ...

, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. After a stint as Honorary Colonel of the 3rd (Volunteer) battalion of the

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, and the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. It had many diffe ...

, he was on 14 May 1902 appointed lieutenant-colonel in command of the battalion. At various times he commanded the 3rd, 7th and 8th

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s of the

. He subsequently became the vice-chairman of the Lancashire Territorial Army Association. Knowles was a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, supporting a number of charities, notably the Guinness Trust for Housing the Poor. He died in on 7 October 1928, aged 71, at his home in Westwood,

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester, north-west of Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford and south-east of Bolton. Histori ...

Family

In 1915, Knowles married Lady Nina Ogilvy-Grant, youngest daughter of Francis Ogilvy-Grant, 10th Earl of Seafield. Lady Nina was presumably the Lady Nina Ogilvy-Grant who appeared at a meeting of the Conservative and Unionist Women's Franchise Association on 11 May 1909 at 52

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the 3rd Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to the BBC's headquarters Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Insti ...

in London, as reported by

Votes for Women Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, the organ of the

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom founded in 1903. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and p ...

. They had no children.

Arms

Works

Lees Knowles, A day with corps-students in Germany
* ;As editor *

References

*'Obituary: Sir Lees Knowles. A Life of Public Service.', ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 8 October 1928, p. 18

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Lees 1857 births 1928 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Rugby School Members of Lincoln's Inn Lancashire Fusiliers officers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Salford West Church Estates Commissioners Lees Volunteer Force officers Territorial Force officers 20th-century British Army personnel British Army honorary colonels Military personnel from the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham People from Oldham