Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes (known as Tommy) (22 May 1880 – 30 September 1915) was a British Liberal politician.

Background and education

Tommy Agar-Robartes was the eldest son and heir of

Thomas Agar-Robartes, 6th Viscount Clifden Thomas Charles Agar-Robartes, 6th Viscount Clifden (1 January 1844 – 19 July 1930), styled The Honourable Thomas Agar-Robartes between 1869 and 1882 and known as The Lord Robartes from 1882 to 1899, was a British landowner and Liberal politici ...

, and his wife Mary (née Dickenson) and was brought up at Lanhydrock House,

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

. He was the eldest of ten (including a twin sister). Educated at Oxford and a keen horseman, he played in the Oxford University polo team that beat Cambridge in 1903. Memorial to Thomas Agar-Robartes in Truro Cathedral

Memorial to Thomas Agar-Robartes in Truro Cathedral

Public life

He was elected 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 o ...

for

in the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting electi ...

, but lost his seat in June 1906 following a controversial

election petition An election petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a Parliamentary election. Outcomes When a petition is lodged against an election return, there are 4 possible outcomes: # The election is declared void. The result is q ...

by the defeated candidate alleging illegal payments to potential voters. He was elected to the St Austell Division of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

in a by-election in 1908 and held the seat until his death.

Military career

He was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in the Royal 1st Devon Imperial Yeomanry on 4 June 1902. At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Royal Bucks Hussars as an officer. Tommy then joined the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

and was subsequently posted to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. Captain The Honourable Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes, in command of No. 2 Coy, 1st Bn, the Coldstream Guards, was wounded in the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

on 28 September and killed by a sniper on 30 September 1915 after rescuing a wounded comrade under heavy fire for which he was recommended for the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

Memorials

Agar-Robartes is buried in Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, near

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

. He is commemorated by a memorial in

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It ...

and in stained glass at

Selsey Abbey Selsey Abbey was founded by St Wilfrid in AD 681 on land donated at Selsey by the local Anglo-Saxon ruler, King Æðelwealh of Sussex, Sussex's first Christian king. The Kingdom of Sussex was the last area of Anglo-Saxon England to be evangeli ...

Wimpole Wimpole is a small village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. Until 1999, the main settlement on the A603 was officially known and signed as ''New Wimpole and Orwell, Cambridge Road''. On 1 April 19 ...

and Church Norton. Agar-Robartes memorial seat unveiling

Agar-Robartes is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall, one of 22 MPs who died during World War I to be named on that memorial. Agar-Robartes is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war who are commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber. A further act of commemoration came with the unveiling in 1932 of a manuscript-style illuminated book of remembrance for the House of Commons, which included a short biographical account of the life and death of Agar-Robartes. As Agar-Robartes never married and had no children, his younger brother

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

later succeeded their father in the viscountcy.

List of memorials

* Headstone at Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, near

* Wooden battlefield marker

St Hydroc's Church, Lanhydrock St Hydroc's Church, Lanhydrock is a Grade I listed in the Church of England in Lanhydrock, Cornwall. History The church dates from the 15th century. Sir Richard Robartes, 1st Baronet made some alterations around The church was restored and the ...

, Cornwall * Granite memorial seat at Truro Road,

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell ...

, Cornwall * Stained glass window at St Hydroc Church, Lanhydrock, Cornwall * Stained glass window at

, Sussex * Stained glass window at

, Cambridgeshire *Stained glass window at St Wilfrid's Chapel, Church Norton, West Sussex * Marble bust at

* Wooden armorial shield at 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. T ...

* Brass plaque in Holy Trinity Church, St Austell

Notes

References

* *
Wimpole War Memorial

External links

''The Honourable Thomas Charles Reginald Robartes (1880-1915), MP''
by Richard Jack {{DEFAULTSORT:Agar-Robartes, Thomas 1880 births 1915 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bodmin UK MPs 1910–1918 Coldstream Guards officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Politicians from Cornwall People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People from Lanhydrock Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry officers English twins

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry officers Deaths by firearm in France Heirs apparent who never acceded Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall