Sir Robert Chapman, 1st Baronet (3 March 1880 – 31 July 1963) was a British soldier and

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politician.

Early life

Chapman was the son of Henry Chapman, a Chartered Accountant and prominent businessman in South Shields, and Dora Gibson. He was educated at South Shields High School, Robert was one of seven brothers who went to the school, and came to be School Captain in 1896. He left to go to London University, where he gained a BA. When he finished at university he joined the family's accountancy firm.

Military service

Chapman commissioned into the 3rd Durham Royal Garrison Artillery in 1902, becoming a Captain in 1904. In 1908, upon the creation of 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 i ...

his unit was transferred to the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, becoming the 4th Durham (Howitzer) Brigade, after which he was promoted to the rank of Major in December 1908 (with authority dated 1 April 1908), thus taking command of his unit. He served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, reaching the rank of

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and being awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1916. In 1917 he was awarded the Legion 'd'Honneur. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in 1918. He was awarded a

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

in 1919,. He became a Brevet Colonel in 1924 and substantive Colonel in 1925. He became the Honorary Colonel of his former regiment in 1935, retiring from the army in 1937. He was awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the Auxiliary Military Forces, was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time officers after twe ...

in 1955.

Political career

In 1921, Chapman was elected to be one of the first Councillors for the new Harton Ward, in the same year he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant for County Durham. In 1931 he became Mayor of South Shields. He was elected at the 1931 general election 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 the Houghton-le-Spring constituency in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. It was usually a

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for the

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, but fell to the Conservatives as one of their many gains that year, when Labour split over budgetary policy and

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

formed a National Government. Chapman was defeated by the Labour candidate at the 1935 general election, and did not stand for

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again. He was

High Sheriff of Durham This is a list of the High Sheriffs of County Durham, England. In most counties the High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. In the Palatinate of Durham the officeholder was appointed by and was accountable to the Bishop of D ...

in 1940. On 8 June 1944 he was appointed a

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, and on 1 January 1945 he was created a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. In 1949, he was created Vice-Lieutenant of County Durham. On 14 March 1950 he was appointed

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of St John on 23 June 1950. On 30 January 1958 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

Cleadon Cleadon is a suburban village in South Tyneside in the North East of England. Prior to the creation of Tyne and Wear in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, the village was part of the historic County Durham. In the 2011 UK Census the pop ...

in the

County of Durham The County Palatine of Durham and Sadberge, commonly referred to as County Durham or simply Durham, is a historic county in Northern England. Until 1889, it was controlled by powers granted under the Bishopric of Durham. The county and Northum ...

Personal life

Chapman married Hélène Paris (1894–1980), daughter of James George MacGowan, in 1909. He died on 31 July 1963, aged 83, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son Robert.

Honours

*30 January 1958:

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 ...

, 1st Baronet Chapman of Cleadon *23 June 1950:

Officer of the Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

*14 March 1950:

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

*1 January 1945:

*8 June 1944:

*1 January 1918:

*1 May 1917:

Chevalier de Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(France) *11 January 1916:

*4 November 1919:

*1 January 1955:

Honorary Military Appointments

*1935 – 1950: Honorary Colonel, 74th (Northumbrian) Field Regiment Royal Artillery

Arms

References

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Robert 1880 births 1963 deaths Royal Field Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1931–1935 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Bachelor Deputy Lieutenants of Durham High Sheriffs of Durham Royal Garrison Artillery officers Chapman baronets