William Hepburn Cozens-Hardy, 2nd Baron Cozens-Hardy, KC (25 March 1869 – 25 May 1924) was a British

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 ...

politician and lawyer.

Family

Cozens-Hardy was the eldest son of

Herbert Cozens-Hardy, 1st Baron Cozens-Hardy Herbert Hardy Cozens-Hardy, 1st Baron Cozens-Hardy, (1838–1920) was a British politician and judge who served as Master of the Rolls from 1907 until 1918. Early life and career Cozens-Hardy was born in Letheringsett, Norfolk in 1838, ...

and Maria Hepburn. Herbert Cozens-Hardy was a lawyer and Liberal

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 ...

for

North Norfolk North Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Cromer. The population at the 2011 Census was 101,149. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. It was a ...

from 1885 to 1899. He was then appointed a judge and eventually became

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

. The Barony was created in 1914 and William succeeded as 2nd Baron on the death of his father in 1920. In 1895, he married Gertrude Lilian the eldest daughter of Colonel Sir William Everett KCMG. They had one daughter.

Education

William was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

where he was leader of the school debating society and Captain of School. He then went up to

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

where he took his degree with classical honours.

Career

Like his father, William went into the law. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1893 and

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1912. He was made a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of Lincoln's Inn in 1916. He also sat as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. In 1913 he was offered the post of Chief Justice of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

but refused for private reasons. Throughout the four years of the First World War, he was a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, serving on the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

War Staff, attached to the Intelligence Department. He was awarded the Italian Order of St Maurice and St Lazarus. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1912.

Politics

Cozens-Hardy also followed his father in his political affiliation. While at Oxford University he was involved in Liberal politics, being a member of the Russell Club and he was President of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. He was elected as Liberal MP for

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 197 ...

at the 1918 general election. Although he stood as a Coalition Liberal at that election he did not receive

the Coalition coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

. One source indicates this was because he was late entering the field. He then chose to take the Coalition

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

in Parliament. William's political stance in the election has been described as a "...conventional Coalition programme: support for Lloyd George and harsh peace with Germany, jobs and houses for the returning soldiers all topped off with expressions of concern about agriculture and repeated references to his own Norfolk roots." When William succeeded his father to the peerage he had to stand down 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. ...

and in the by-election of 27 July 1920 which followed, his seat was won by George Edwards, the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate with the Liberal vote split between

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

Coalition Liberal and

Asquithian Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...

Independent Liberal candidates.

Death

Cozens-Hardy was a pioneer of motoring. In the early days of his marriage he and his wife would undertake long and hazardous trips around continental Europe. This love of cars was the cause of his death as he was killed in a motor accident at Bucchof,

Starnberg Starnberg is a German town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the " Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg. Recording a disposable per-capi ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

on 25 May 1924 aged 55. As he had no male heir, the title passed to his younger brother, Edward Herbert Cozens-Hardy (1873–1956).The Times, 25 May 1939

Arms

References

*''Who was Who'', OUP 2007 * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cozens-Hardy (2nd Baron Letheringsett), William Hepburn 1869 births 1924 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People from Letheringsett with Glandford Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs who inherited peerages People educated at University College School Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Alumni of New College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Presidents of the Oxford Union English King's Counsel Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy officers