William Henry Davison, 1st Baron Broughshane, KBE, FSA, JP, DL (1872 – 19 January 1953) was a British peer and

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

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 Kensington South for twenty-four years.

Early life

Davison was born in

Broughshane Broughshane ( , formerly spelt Brughshane, ) is a large village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is northeast of Ballymena and north of Antrim, on the A42 road. It is part of Mid and East Antrim District Council and had a population of 2 ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, the son of Richard Davison and his wife Annie ''née'' Patrick. He was educated at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

and graduated from

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

, in 1895 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

. In 1895, he was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

as a barrister and earned his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from Keble three years later in 1898. The same year, he married Beatrice Mary Roberts, a daughter of Sir

Owen Roberts Owen Josephus Roberts (May 2, 1875 – May 17, 1955) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1930 to 1945. He also led two Roberts Commissions, the first of which investigated the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the seco ...

(and future great-aunt of

Anthony Armstrong-Jones Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, (7 March 1930 – 13 January 2017), was a British photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his portraits of world notables, many of them published in '' Vogue'', '' Vanity F ...

), and they later had four children.

Political career

In 1913, he became

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, where he was resident. During the

Great 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 ...

, he was solely responsible for raising, equipping, clothing, housing and selecting the officers for the 22nd 'Kensington battalion' of the Royal Fusiliers. The new volunteer battalion was greeted with great enthusiasm, Davison enthusing their patriotism, encouraging his heroes to great efforts. He was a popular figure in the Royal Borough. In taking the rank of Major, he went with them to train on the

Sussex Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...

. In 1917, the GOC General Barker wrote, "The 22nd never lost a trench or failed their comrades in the day of battle". For that effort, he was knighted in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

, when he was selected for the seat of Kensington South and elected for the Coupon on 14 December 1918. Davison was a very active Unionist member in regular attendance at debates. Although an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

backbencher, he had spent time in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and took its historical disadvantages very seriously. In 1919, he supported the police application to the Coalition government for extra taxes, pay and pension arrangements in that troubled province. As well as the armed services, he promoted pensions for millions of servicemen and women after demobilisation. He called on the government to give more transparent explanations as to the cost of its taxation demands and early on was one of the MPs behind a deposit system towards responsible candidate selection at election time. Davison commented widely on industrial matters and pointied out that he was neither a miner nor an owner. His truly impartial position, in his opinion, was supporting "improved conditions" and a decent standard of living for miners and a fair price for coal. Fairness extended for him also to bacon and butter for the

Irish people The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...

in the midst of a war against

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and also towards the defeated

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, who should not, in his opinion, have lost so much in reparations. Davison believed in free trade, commodification and price reduction of items like tobacco. In one speech, he linked "high prices resulting in national unrest" to the need for increased industrial production. Davison did much for the conservation of the Royal Borough. In Prliament, he spoke against demolition of listed buildings by the council. In 1930, after he had been for decades a Unionist, he became Conservatrice. During the war, he was a loyal friend to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

and defemded the Prime Minister when the Conservatives were verbally attacked in the Commons by truculent Labour left-wingers. From the very outset, Davison had pressed

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...

to take prompt action against the

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...

' leader,

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

. Davison stood up for the poor in war-torn London and asked for workmen's dwellings to be exempt from being taxed by the War Damage Contribution. Observing in one debate that in his constituency there was a "notable lack of panic."

Family

He married Beatrice, daughter of Sir Owen Roberts of

Henley Park Henley Park is a country house and landscape garden in Bix and Assendon civil parish in the Chiltern Hills of South Oxfordshire, England. The house is about north of Henley-on-Thames. The park adjoins the county boundary with Buckinghamshire. ...

and Plas Dinas in 1898. They had two sons later to inherit the title, and two daughters. In 1929, he divorced his wife and remarried on 6 June to Louisa Mary Constance, daughter of Major Charles Marriott.

Later life

On 19 September 1945, Davison resigned his seat by being raised to the peerage as Baron Broughshane ''of

in the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

'' shortly after the general election.. In the subsequent by-election, the Conservative candidate held on to the constituency. Lord Broughshane was a Freeman of the City of London and a wartime Master of the Clothworkers Company. He died in 1953.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, William, 1st Baron Broughshane 1872 births 1953 deaths People from Broughshane Davison, William Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Davison, William People educated at Shrewsbury School Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Davison, William Davison, William Davison, William Davison, William Davison, William Davison, William Davison, William Davison, William UK MPs who were granted peerages Davison, William Deputy Lieutenants of the County of London UK MPs 1945–1950 Barons created by George VI Politicians from County Antrim