William Mabane, 1st Baron Mabane (12 January 1895 – 16 November 1969), known as Sir William Mabane between 1954 and 1962, was a British businessman and

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 ...

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A seri ...

politician.

Background and education

The son of Joseph Greenwood Mabane and Margaret (née Steele) of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, he was educated at

Woodhouse Grove School Woodhouse Grove School ('The Grove') is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding public school and Sixth Form. it is located to the north of Apperley Bridge, West Yorkshire, England (Apperley Bridge is located in the City of Bradfor ...

and at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. He was commissioned in 1914 and served in the Near East and France in

World War I 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 ...

as a captain with the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

; he was wounded and

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He later became a businessman and merchant.

Political career

Mabane was elected

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

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and lost his seat in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

. Mabane's exact party label was confused for much of his time in the Commons. His local Liberal association was affiliated to the official Liberals until 1939, but Mabane was frequently listed as being a

, which he repeatedly sought to deny, despite supporting the National Government when the official Liberals had ceased to. He lost his seat to Labour in

, when he was opposed by an official Liberal candidate,

Roy Harrod Sir Henry Roy Forbes Harrod (13 February 1900 – 8 March 1978) was an English economist. He is best known for writing '' The Life of John Maynard Keynes'' (1951) and for the development of the Harrod–Domar model, which he and Evsey Domar dev ...

. The standard authoritative work by F.W.S. Craig indicates he was a National Liberal throughout his tenure, as does the contemporary

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. Th ...

. The town remained an area of strength for liberals and at the 1950 general election, the Liberal

Donald Wade Donald William Wade, Baron Wade, DL (16 June 1904 – 6 November 1988) was a British solicitor who became a Liberal Party Member of Parliament. Wade's time in Parliament coincided with the time the Liberals were at their lowest ebb but his job ...

won Huddersfield West in a straight fight against Labour. He entered the government as

Assistant Postmaster-General The Assistant Postmaster General is a defunct junior ministerial position in the United Kingdom Government. The title of Postmaster General was abolished under the Post Office Act 1969. A new public authority governed by a chairman was established ...

under

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 ...

in September 1939, an office he only held until October, when he was made Minister for Home Security. When

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 ...

succeeded Chamberlain as Prime Minister in May 1940, Mabane was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Home Department, a post he held jointly with

Ellen Wilkinson Ellen Cicely Wilkinson (8 October 1891 – 6 February 1947) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. Earlier in her career, as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow, s ...

from October of that year. He later served under Churchill as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food Control, later the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food was a junior Ministerial post in the Government of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1921 and then from 1939 to 1954. The post supp ...

from 1942 to 1945 and as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs between May and July 1945. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in the

1944 New Year Honours The 1944 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1944 for the Briti ...

and a Knight 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 ...

(KBE) in 1954. In 1962 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Mabane, of Rye in the

County of Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. He was tenant of

Lamb House Lamb House is a Grade II* listed 18th-century house situated in Rye, East Sussex, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust. The house is run as a writer's house museum. It has been the home of many writers, including Henry James f ...

, the National Trust property in

Rye, East Sussex is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederatio ...

.''The Age''
10 January 1963 Apart from his political career he was also chairman (1960–1963) and president (1964–1966) of the

British Travel Association British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Personal life

Lord Mabane was twice married. He married firstly Louise, daughter of E. Tanton, in 1918. They were divorced in 1926. He married secondly Stella Jane, daughter of J. Duggan, in 1944. He died in November 1969, aged 74. As he was childless, the barony became extinct upon his death.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mabane, William 1895 births 1969 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I East Yorkshire Regiment officers Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians People educated at Woodhouse Grove School UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II