Sir William Henry Seager (1862 – 10 March 1941) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

shipping magnate and Liberal Party politician who spent four years as a

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).

Life

The Seager family were originally from Ilfracombe,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, but moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in the 1850s. William Henry Seager was born in Cardiff and initially worked as a clerk but established his own business, W. H. Seager & Company, ship's chandlers, at 109, Bute Street, Cardiff in 1892. In 1904 he bought a new ship, the 'Tempus'. By 1910 he was buying more ships, another new ship which Seager called the ''Amicus'', then three older ships which he renamed ''Beatus'', ''Salvus'' and ''Virtus'', and also by 1914 the ''Campus'' had been added to the line. After 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 ...

three vessels were sold, but more were bought, and by 1928 W. H. Seager & Co. had a total of seven.W.H.SEAGER & CO
at angelfire.com, accessed 8 July 2008 A Liberal in politics, Seager was elected at the 1918 general election to the House of Commons as MP for Cardiff East and held the seat until he stood down at the 1922 general election. He was

knight 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed 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 ...

. In memory of his son Willie who was killed in action in 1916 at the age of 23, he built the William Seager Memorial Homes in Cardiff for retired Merchant Seamen and their wives and an operating theatre in

Cardiff Royal Infirmary Cardiff Royal Infirmary ( cy, Ysbyty Brenhinol Caerdydd) (also known as the CRI or YBC) is a hospital in central Cardiff, Wales. It is managed by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. History The hospital has its origins in the Cardiff ...

at urbexforums.co.uk accessed February 2011 this page shows a photograph of the plaque in memory of Willie He lived at Croft-Y-Bwla, near Monmouth and served as

High Sheriff of Monmouthshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Monmouthshire, an office which was created in 1536 but not fully settled until 1540. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, the shrievalty of Monmouthshire was abolished, and replac ...

in 1932. During the

Second World War 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 ...

, all the company's ships except the ''Campus'' were lost by enemy action. Seager died in March 1941.

Family

William Henry Seager was the son of William and Mary Jane Seager, originally of Ilfracombe. He married Margaret Annie Elliot in Cardiff in 1890. His sons John Elliot Seager and Leighton Seager (granted a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

as Baron Leighton of St Mellons in 1962) were also leading Cardiff business men.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors), ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (New York: St Martin's Press, 1990)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seager, William Henry 1862 births 1941 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1918–1922 Politicians from Cardiff British businesspeople in shipping 20th-century Welsh businesspeople 19th-century Welsh businesspeople Businesspeople from Cardiff High Sheriffs of Monmouthshire Deputy Lieutenants of Glamorgan Knights Bachelor