Sir Derwent Hall Caine, 1st Baronet (12 September 18912 December 1971) was a British actor, publisher and

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician.

Biography

Caine was the son of British novelist

Hall Caine Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine (14 May 1853 – 31 August 1931), usually known as Hall Caine, was a British novelist, dramatist, short story writer, poet and critic of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Caine's popularity during ...

and his wife Mary Chandler. He was born at Keswick in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, and so derived his name from the nearby lake of

Derwent Water Derwentwater, or Derwent Water, is one of the principal bodies of water in the Lake District National Park in north west England. It lies wholly within the Borough of Allerdale, in the county of Cumbria. The lake occupies part of Borrowda ...

. He was a sensitive child with asthma, and attended St Cyprian's School in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

for his health.Vivien Allen ''Hall Caine: Portrait of a Victorian Romancer'' Continuum International Publishing Group 1997
He became an actor, making his stage debut in 1906 in his father's adaptation of his novel, ''

The Bondman ''The Bondman'' is a later Jacobean era stage play, a tragicomedy written by Philip Massinger, first published in 1624. The play has been called "the finest of the more serious tragicomedies" of Massinger. Performance and publication ''The ...

''. His father went to America to encourage American involvement 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 ...

and had dramatic interests there. In 1915, Derwent Caine sailed to America to look after those interests. Although he was declared unfit for active service, he was nearly prevented from travelling because of a change of rules. In America, he starred in ''The Crusher'' (1917) with Danish actress

Valda Valkyrien Valda Valkyrien (born Adele Frede; September 30, 1895 – October 22, 1956) was a Danish silent film actress. Early life and career Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, Valkyrien was born Adele Frede; although she may have been a student at the Royal ...

at the Wharton Studios in Ithaca, New York, as well as three films made by the Arrow Film Corporation. These were '' The Deemster'' (which had been written by his father), a version of ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Преступление и наказание, Prestupléniye i nakazániye, prʲɪstʊˈplʲenʲɪje ɪ nəkɐˈzanʲɪje) is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. ...

'' by

Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

, and the propaganda film ''

Huns Within Our Gates ''Huns within our gates'' ( 1918) is a silent World War I propaganda film, starring Derwent Hall Caine and Valda Valkyrien. Produced by the Arrow Film Corporation, the cast, characters and plot were used in The Crusher (1917 film), The Crusher ( ...

''. Back in England, with his brother Gordon Ralph Hall Caine, he founded the publishing house The Reader's Library. In 1929, he stood for parliament as

candidate for Liverpool, Everton and was returned as

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 ...

. In January 1931, he was charged with dangerous driving after colliding with a taxi in the early hours of the morning in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

, injuring the four taxi passengers (an army Major in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

, his wife and two friends). Caine was subsequently acquitted. When the Labour government collapsed in 1931, he carried on supporting

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

as a National Labour MP. Hall Caine was the only sitting National Labour MP to be opposed by the

Conservatives 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 in ...

at the 1931 general election. He lost his seat to

Frank Hornby Frank Hornby (15 May 1863 – 21 September 1936) was an English inventor, businessman and politician. He was a visionary in toy development and manufacture, and although he had no formal engineering training, he was responsible for the inven ...

, and finished bottom of the poll. At the same election, his elder brother Gordon Hall Caine was elected Conservative member for

East Dorset East Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council met in Wimborne Minster between 2016 and 2019. The district (as Wimborne) was formed on 1 April 1974 by merging Wimborne Minster Urban District with Wimborne and Cran ...

. He was given a

knighthood 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 ...

in 1935 and a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1937. Caine was reportedly engaged to the racing driver and actor

Paddy Naismith Paddy Naismith or Eirane Redmond Naismith (16 May 1903 – 28 November 1963) was a British actress, pilot and racing driver. She appeared in an early live colour TV demonstration. Life She was born in 1908 to parents John Naismith and Mary Fran ...

. He had at least three children out of wedlock, and one of them, Elin, was adopted by Caine's parents as their own daughter in 1912. He died in Miami.

Hall Caine Airport

In 1935, Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Caine established the

Hall Caine Airport Hall Caine Airport, also referred to as Close Lake Airfield, was an airfield on the Isle of Man located near the town of Ramsey. It was named after the author Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE by his sons Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Cain ...

on the Isle of Man. Both Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine's sons were particularly keen on the development of an aerodrome in the north of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, as they saw it as another bit of the Island as being associated with their late father.Isle of Man Examiner. Friday March 1st, 1935 (p.10) They were said to be extremely interested in the progress of the

and in particular its transport infrastructure. They also wished to include Ramsey's municipal authority in the project, as they were both of the opinion that the aerodrome would bring immense benefit to the town. Hall Caine at Hall Caine!

Amongst the ambitious plans envisaged by Derwent Hall Caine was the inclusion of the airfield as part of an air network running the length of the country from

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and staging through numerous destinations including Hall Caine Airport, terminating at Campbeltown. In an interview with the ''Ramsey Courier'' Derwent Hall Caine stated that from the introduction of air services, the site was to be known as Hall Caine Manx Airport. This was subsequently changed to the Hall Caine Airport,

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

. With all parties duly satisfied, Hall Caine Airport officially came into being on 30 April 1935. Hall Caine Airport flourished from 1935 until it ceased commercial operations in 1937.''Ramsey Courier.'' Friday, April 10, 1953; Page: 4

Filmography

*'' The Christian'' (1915) as John Storm *'' The Deemster'' (1917) as Daniel Mylrea *'' The Crusher'' (1917) as Arthur Morgan *''

'' (1917) as Rodion Raskolnikoff *''

'' (1918) as Arthur Morgan *''

Darby and Joan Darby and Joan is a proverbial phrase for a married couple content to share a quiet life of mutual devotion. Usage ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' defined the phrase as "a married couple celebrated for their mutual attachment", the ''Random House ...

'' (1920) as Patrick Gorry

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caine, Derwent Hall 1891 births 1971 deaths Actors awarded knighthoods Knights Bachelor Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom English male film actors English male silent film actors 20th-century English male actors UK MPs 1929–1931 Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies National Labour (UK) politicians People educated at St Cyprian's School British actor-politicians 20th-century British male actors British expatriate male actors in the United States