Allen Algernon Bathurst, Lord Apsley, DSO, MC, TD, DL (3 August 1895 – 17 December 1942) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and Conservative Party politician.

Early life

Apsley was the eldest son of Seymour Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst and his wife Lilias Margaret Frances ''née'' Borthwick, daughter of Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk. He was educated at Eton and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, graduating BA hons.''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953.

Military career

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served overseas with the

Royal Gloucestershire Hussars The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars was a volunteer yeomanry regiment which, in the 20th century, became part of the British Army Reserve. It traced its origins to the First or Cheltenham Troop of Gloucestershire Gentleman and Yeomanry raised i ...

. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant in April 1916, acting

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in June 1917, receiving a substantive promotion to lieutenant from the same date, and to substantive captain in 1918. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

(MC) and

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) for his actions in Egypt:

Political and business career

He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in 1922, holding the seat until 1929. He then stood for Bristol Central in 1931, and held the seat until his death in 1942. In 1923 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the "

County of Gloucester Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the s ...

, and of the City and County of the City of Gloucester, and the City and County of the City of Bristol." During this time, he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to: the Under-Secretary of State for the Overseas Trade Department 1922–24, the

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

1925-29 and the Minister for Co-ordination Defence 1936. He had also been President of the UK Pilot's Association in 1925 and sometime chairman of Western Airways, Western Air Transport Company and a director of

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...

. Lord and Lady Apsley published a book called ''The Amateur Settlers'' in 1929 recounting their escapades and adventures travelling through in the Northern Territory of Australia. They had many encounters, including with local aborigines, in which detailed descriptions reveal their social attitudes and behaviour. He remained a member of the Territorial Army between the wars, and was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

(TD) in 1929, promoted to brevet

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1930, and promoted to substantive major in 1938. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served overseas again, with the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...

(1941–42).

Marriage

On 27 February 1924, Lord Apsley had married Viola Meeking (who succeeded him as MP for Bristol Central) and they had two sons: Henry Allen John (1927–2011) and George Bertram (1929–2010). As Lord Apsley predeceased his father, the latter's earldom later passed to Lord Apsley's eldest son, Henry.

Death

Lord Apsley was a passenger on a

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

No. 138 Squadron RAF No. 138 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force that served in a variety of roles during its career, last disbanded in 1962. It was the first 'V-bomber' squadron of the RAF, flying the Vickers Valiant between 1955 and 1962. History ...

when it crashed on take-off from Malta, killing all on board. Apsley was buried with the other victims at Kalkara Naval Cemetery in

Kalkara Kalkara () is a village in the Port Region of Malta, with a population of 3,014 as of March 2014. The name is derived from the Latin word for lime (Calce), and it is believed that there was a lime kiln present there since Roman times. Kalkara ...

References

External links

Lord Apsley8
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Apsley, Allen Bathurst, Lord 1895 births 1942 deaths People educated at Eton College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Bathurst Deputy lieutenants of Gloucestershire Royal Gloucestershire Hussars officers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Heirs apparent who never acceded British courtesy barons and lords of Parliament

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univ ...

Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Malta Royal Armoured Corps officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1942