Major Sir Herbert Paul Latham, 2nd Baronet (22 April 1905 – 24 July 1955) was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who served 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 of ...

(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 in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. Between 1928 and 1934 Latham was a member of the

London County Council 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 kno ...

, representing

Lewisham East Lewisham East is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the by-election on 14 June 2018 by Janet Daby of the Labour Party. History Lewisham East was created for the 1918 general election. ...

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 1945 ...

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

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, a

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

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 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 parliament. ...

. 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, 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 ...

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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

opponent.

Arrest, attempted suicide and court-martial

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

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 or 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 memb ...

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. 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 Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

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), often 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 Amer ...

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. He was the son of Ponsonby Moore, 9th Earl of Drogheda and Anne Tower Moir. He ...

and

Kathleen Pelham Burn Kathleen Pelham Burn Moore, Countess of Drogheda (1887 – 18 March 1966) was a British socialite, aviator, and sportswoman. She was one of the "bright young things". Biography Pelham Burn was interested in various pursuits. Turtle Bun ...

. 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 f ...

in Sussex and carried on its restoration.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Latham, Paul 1905 births 1955 deaths 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 LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom English LGBT politicians 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 LGBT military personnel 20th-century LGBT people