Sir Francis Dyke Acland, 14th Baronet, (7 March 1874 – 9 June 1939) was a British Liberal politician. He notably served as

Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs is a vacant junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to the Minister of State for Foreign Affair ...

under

Sir Edward Grey Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. An adhe ...

between 1911 and 1915. Ideologically, he was an adherent of the "New Liberalism" within the Liberal Party.

Background and education

Acland was the son of

Sir Arthur Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet Sir Arthur Herbert Dyke Acland, 13th Baronet, PC (13 October 18479 October 1926) was a Liberal politician and political author. He is best remembered for his involvement in education, serving as Vice-President of the Council of Education under ...

, and Alice Sophia Cunningham, daughter of Reverend Francis Macaulay Cunningham. He was educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. He worked as a junior examiner in the education department in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

from 1900 to 1903, and as assistant director for secondary education in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

in 1903.

Political career

Acland was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Yorkshire, in 1906, a seat he held until 1910, and later represented

Camborne Camborne ( kw, Kammbronn) is a town in Cornwall, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845. The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the South West Coast Path, Hell's Mouth and Deadman's Cove. Camborne was formerl ...

from 1910 to 1922, Tiverton from 1923 to 1924 and

North Cornwall North Cornwall ( kw, An Tiredh Uhel) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is also the name of a former local government district, which was administered from Bodmin and Wadebridge . Other towns in the area are Launceston, Bude, P ...

from 1932 to 1939. He was

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to Richard Haldane, the

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

, from 1906 to 1908. He held government office in the Liberal Ministry of

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

firstly as

Financial Secretary to the War Office The Financial Secretary to the War Office and for certain periods known as the Finance Member of the Army Council, was a junior ministerial office of the British government established in 1870. In May 1947 the office was unified with that of the ...

from 1908 to 1910. In 1911 he was promoted to

to work closely under

. He remained in this position throughout the buildup of tensions in Europe which led to the outbreak of war. In February 1915 he was moved to the post of

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the First Lord of the Treasury, first lord of th ...

before being moved again in June 1915 to

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries was a junior ministerial office in the British government, serving under the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. The title changed to Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry o ...

. When Asquith formed his Coalition Government in 1916 Acland was left out of office to accommodate Unionist nominees. In 1915 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 1917 he was appointed Chairman of the Departmental Committee "to inquire into the extent and gravity of the evils of dental practice by persons not qualified under the Dentists Act

878 __NOTOC__ Year 878 ( DCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Britain * January 6 – King Alfred the Great is surprised by a Viking attack ...

" Based on the recommendations of this committee a bill was introduced into parliament which eventually became the Dentists Act 1921 which established the Dental Board of the United Kingdom. Acland was appointed its first chairman – a position he held until his death. Acland also was influential in setting up the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

and served as a commissioner until his death, a Deputy Lieutenant of

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 ...

and a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Devon and the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

. In 1926 he succeeded his father as fourteenth Baronet.

Family

Acland married firstly Eleanor Margaret Cropper, daughter of Charles James Cropper, in 1895. They had three sons and one daughter. After Eleanor's death in December 1933 he married secondly Constance, daughter of George Dudley, in 1937. Acland died in June 1939, aged 65, and was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

. Lady Dyke Acland died in October 1940. His second son,

Geoffrey Acland Arthur Geoffrey Dyke Acland (17 May 1908 – 14 September 1964), known as Geoffrey Acland, was a British people, British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. Born near Hanover Square, London, Hanover Square in London to Liberal Party Me ...

, became a leading figure in the Liberal Party. His great-grandson, Chris Acland became the drummer for shoegaze band Lush.

Audio Recordings

* ''The Liberal Land Policy'', 20 April 1929, WA-8854-55 * ''Care of the Teeth'', 15 August 1929, WAX 5141-42Brian Rust: "Discography of historical records on cylinders and 78s", Greenwood Press, London 1979

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Francis Dyke 1874 births 1939 deaths Francis Dyke 1874 People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Acland of Columb John, 14th Baronet Deputy Lieutenants of Devon Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Camborne UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for North Cornwall Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Tiverton English justices of the peace