Major Sir Herbert Paul Latham, 2nd Baronet (22 April 1905 – 24 July 1955) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Scarborough and Whitby constituency from 1931 to 1941.

Biography

The son of Sir Thomas Paul Latham and his wife Florence Clara ''née'' Walley, he was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. Between 1928 and 1934 Latham was a member of the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, representing

Lewisham East Lewisham East could refer to: *Lewisham East (UK Parliament constituency) Lewisham East is a parliamentary constituency in South London represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the by-election on 14 June 2018 by Janet Dab ...

as a member of the Conservative-backed

Municipal Reform Party The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 194 ...

. At the 1929 general election, he stood as the Conservative candidate in

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

, a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

for the Labour Party where he was runner-up with 23% of the votes. In April 1931 the standing MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Sidney Herbert, resigned from 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 ...

. Latham was selected as the Conservative candidate for the resulting

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

on 6 May, which he won with a majority of 5% of the votes over his

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

opponent.

Arrest, attempted suicide and court-martial

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, despite being exempt from military service, Latham volunteered to join the army. In 1941, however, he was arrested for "improper behaviour", a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

act, with three gunners and a civilian (letters he had written to those involved had been discovered) while serving as an officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. Latham then tried to kill himself by riding a motorcycle into a tree. He was

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

led and found guilty of ten charges of indecent conduct and of attempted suicide and was discharged dishonourably and imprisoned for two years without

hard labour Penal labour is a term for various kinds of forced labour that prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence involving penal labour have included inv ...

. Latham's court-martial was the first time a sitting MP who was also in the army had been court-martialled since Lieutenant-General Sir John Murray in 1815. He resigned his seat in

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 ...

. After his release in 1943 Latham commented to his fellow MP

Henry Channon Sir Henry Channon (7 March 1897 – 7 October 1958), known as Chips Channon, was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. Channon moved to England in 1920 and became strongly anti-American, feeling that American ...

that he had found conditions and treatment at Maidstone Gaol better than at Eton.Henry "Chips" Channon: The Diaries (Volume 2), 22nd January 1943

Family

In 1933 Latham married Lady Patricia Doreen Moore, the daughter of

Henry Moore, 10th Earl of Drogheda Henry Charles Ponsonby Moore, 10th Earl of Drogheda (21 April 1884 – 22 November 1957) was an Anglo-Irish civil servant, British Army officer, barrister and peer. Early life He was the son of Ponsonby Moore, 9th Earl of Drogheda and Anne To ...

and Kathleen Pelham Burn. She divorced him in 1943 and died in 1947. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by their only son, Richard Thomas Paul Latham, born in April 1934. In 1932 Latham purchased

Herstmonceux Castle Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built castle, dating from the 15th century, near Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England. It is one of the oldest significant brick buildings still standing in England. The castle was renowned for being one of the fi ...

in Sussex and carried on its restoration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Latham, Paul 1905 births 1955 deaths English gay politicians Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Members of London County Council Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II British Army personnel who were court-martialled English politicians convicted of crimes People educated at Eton College British LGBTQ military personnel 20th-century British LGBTQ people Prisoners and detainees of the British military