Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry Webb, 1st Baronet, JP (28 July 1866 – 29 October 1940) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

(1911–1918) and

Cardiff East Cardiff East () is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, first contested at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, following the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies. It is currently represented by Jo St ...

(1923–1924), and as

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a Government agency, commission for the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer, Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the ...

(1912–1915).

Biography

Educated at

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and

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, known as "Harry", he trained as a mining engineer and became a director of several South Wales collieries. He was

High Sheriff of Monmouthshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Monmouthshire, an office which was created in 1536 but not fully settled until 1540. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, the shrievalty of Monmouthshire was abolished, and replaced ...

for 1921 and a JP in three counties. 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 raised and commanded the 13th Battalion

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

and the 13th Battalion

Worcestershire Regiment The Worcestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment in the British Army, formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot and the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. The regiment ...

. He also commanded the 23rd (Works) Battalion, the

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 when a single battalion was raised as The Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. ...

and the Western Command Labour Centre.

Baronet

On 28 January 1916, he was made a

baronet 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 ...

, of Llwynarthen,

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

. On his death the baronetcy became extinct.

Marriages

He was married twice: in 1894 to Ellen Williams, who died in 1919; and then to Helena Kate de Paula.

Basil Webb

His only son, Second Lieutenant Thomas Harry Basil Webb (1898–1917), known as "Basil",

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WLSH GDS; ), part of the Guards and Parachute Division, Guards Division, is one of the Foot guards, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the World War I, First ...

, was killed in action in World War I, on 1 December 1917, at the age of 19. Basil Webb had been the model for the famous Welsh sculptor Sir William

Goscombe John Sir William Goscombe John (21 February 1860 – 15 December 1952) was a prolific Welsh sculptor known for his many public memorials. As a sculptor, John developed a distinctive style of his own while respecting classical traditions and forms o ...

RA when he produced the bronze sculpture, "The Boy Scout" in 1910. At the age of 12, Basil also composed the Refectory Prayer for

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...

, which remains in use today. In 1919 Sir Henry Webb bore the costs of renovating the crypt and altar of Chester Cathedral, where an inscription may still be found identifying the restoration work "in memory of his gallant son and his companions".

References

Sources

* Sir Henry Webb, Obituary, ''The Times'', London, 31 October 1940 * "New Lord of the Treasury. A By-Election in the Forest of Dean", ''The Times'', 17 April 1912

External links

*
Lady Webb
image, Lafayette Negative Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Henry 1866 births 1940 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cardiff constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies British Army personnel of World War I Gloucestershire Regiment officers King's Regiment (Liverpool) officers UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1923–1924 High sheriffs of Monmouthshire Military personnel from Hereford Worcestershire Regiment officers