Joseph Montague Kenworthy, 10th Baron Strabolgi (7 March 1886 – 8 October 1953), was a Liberal and then a Labour Party Member of Parliament in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Education and naval service

Strabolgi was born at Leamington in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

and educated at the Eastman's Royal Naval Academy at Northward Park in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

and as a cadet on H.M.S. ''Britannia'', joining the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1901 and served for seventeen years. His first posting as a

naval cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

was in January 1903 to the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

HMS ''Goliath'', serving on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

. 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 was for a short period in the Plans Division of the Admiralty War Staff. He left for an appointment in the Mediterranean which enabled him to see the latest developments of war on seaborne commerce at close quarters. He returned to the Grand Fleet in time to be present at the final surrender of German sea power. He retired from the Navy in 1920 after entering Parliament.

Politician

Kenworthy first tried to enter Parliament at the 1918 general election contesting

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

as a Liberal but finished in third place. He was soon given another chance though when he was selected to contest Central Hull at a by-election in 1919. Anti-Coalition government sentiment was riding high and he was duly elected Member of Parliament for the Liberals. Kenworthy was one of the more energetic supporters of

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

in Parliament and never lost his hostility to

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

. During the 1924-29 parliament which was dominated by a Conservative majority, he worked closely with a group of radical Liberal MPs that included:

William Wedgwood Benn William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate, (10 May 1877 – 17 November 1960) was a British Liberal politician who later joined the Labour Party. A decorated Royal Air Force officer, he was Secretary of State for India between 1929 and ...

, Percy Harris,

Frank Briant Frank Briant (30 November 1865 – 1 September 1934) was a radical British Liberal Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Lambeth North. In addition, he represented Lambeth on the London County Council and was a leading mem ...

and

Horace Crawfurd Horace Evelyn Crawfurd (13 January 1881 – 14 March 1958) was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom. Professional career Crawfurd was a lecturer at Liverpool University. In 1930, Elinor Glyn Ltd employed Crawfurd to undertake the pu ...

to provide opposition to the government.Forty Years in and out of Parliament by Sir Percy Harris When Lloyd George became Leader of the Liberal Party in 1926, despite the party taking on a more radical hue, Kenworthy resigned from the party and joined Labour. He also resigned his seat in the House of Commons and fought and won a by-election in Central Hull, standing for Labour. He retained the seat until 1931. He was an active supporter of the movement for the independence of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In 1934, he succeeded his father as Lord Strabolgi and was the opposition chief whip in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 1938 to 1942. He was disappointed not to be given a position in the postwar Labour government (1945–51).

Personal life

Lord Strabolgi married twice. Firstly, in 1913, he married Doris Whitley, daughter of his fellow Liberal MP,

Frederick Whitley-Thomson Sir Frederick Whitley-Thomson (2 September 1851 – 21 June 1925) was a British Liberal Party politician and businessman. Background He was the son of Jonathan Thomson, merchant of Glasgow, and Emma Whitley of Halifax. He was educated at Glasg ...

. They had four children, and divorced in 1941. Later that year, he married Geraldine Francis. When he died in 1953 aged 67, he was succeeded by his eldest son, David Montague de Burgh Kenworthy, 11th Baron Strabolgi, another left-wing politician and member of the Labour Party.

Writer

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 wrote numerous articles on the war, especially the war at sea. These include ''Secret Weapons'' in ''Modern World'' (27 April 1940) and ''What's Wrong with the British Army?'' in ''Colliers magazine'' (22 August 1942).

Books by Lord Strabolgi

His books include – *''Peace or war?'' (with a foreword by

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

, Boni & Liveright, New York, 1927) *''India, A Warning'' (E. Mathews & Marrot, London, 1931) *''The Campaign in the Low Countries: the first full-length account of the epic struggle in Holland and Belgium'' (London 1940) *''The Battle of the River Plate'' (Hutchinson & Co., London, 1940) *''Freedom of the Seas'' (jointly with Sir George Young) *''Our Daily Pay: the Economics of Plenty'' *''Sailors, Statesmen and Others: an Autobiography'' *''The Real Navy'' *''Narvik and After'' *''From Gibraltar to Suez: a study of the Italian Campaign'' *''Singapore and After'' *''Sea Power in the Second World War''

Appointments

* Chairman of the

English-Speaking Union The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organisation headquartered in London, England. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages ...

* Vice-president of ''The Air League of The British Empire''

Sources

Obituary in The Hindu
nbsp;– 10 October 1953
Speech at the Empire Club of Canada, 1947
* Entry by Eric J Grove in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', OUP 2004–08

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strabolgi, Joseph Kenworthy, 10th Baron 1886 births 1953 deaths 10 Kenworthy, Joseph Kenworthy, Joseph Kenworthy, Joseph Kenworthy, Joseph Kenworthy, Joseph Kenworthy, Joseph Kenworthy, Joseph UK MPs who inherited peerages Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers Royal Navy officers British non-fiction writers People educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy British male writers 20th-century British non-fiction writers British male non-fiction writers 20th-century English nobility People from Leamington Spa