Sir William Henry Prescott, 1st Baronet,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, DL (1874 – 15 June 1945) was a British engineer and Conservative Party politician. The son of John Prescott, he initially studied law and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1909. He subsequently took up a career in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, acting as a consultant to a number of government committees on water supply and roads. During the

First World War 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 commanding officer of 222nd Field Company,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, part of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. He was invalided home to the United Kingdom in 1915. He was elected at the 1918 general election as

Coalition Conservative The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place soon after British victory in the ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham North. Unusually for a Conservative, he was sponsored by a trade union, the

National Association of Local Government Officers The National and Local Government Officers' Association was a British trade union representing mostly local government "white collar" workers. It was formed in 1905 as the National Association of Local Government Officers, and changed its full ...

, of which he held membership. Prescott stood down at the 1922 election. He was appointed a

in 1920 for his role is raising troops in

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1921. He was also awarded the

King Albert Medal The King Albert Medal (, ) was a Belgian medal established by royal decree on 7 April 1919 and awarded to both Belgians and foreigners who were exceptionally meritorious in promoting, organising or administering humanitarian and charitable work ...

Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. He is popularly referred to as the Knight King (, ) or Soldier King (, ) in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I ...

. A longtime member of

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the cou ...

where he served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and vice-chairman, he represented the authority on the

Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functio ...

(MWB). He was chairman of the MWB from 1928 to 1940, and two massive steam-driven pumping engines at Kempton Park Pumping Station were named "William" and "Bessie" after Prescott and his wife. He co-founded the Tottenham War Services Institute in 1920. He was appointed in 1924 as a Deputy Lieutenant of Middlesex, and in 1929 served as High Sheriff of the county. He was also a member of a number of other committees connected with Middlesex, a member of the Worshipful Company of Paviors and the

Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass is one of the livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Guild of Glaziers, or makers of Glass, the company's forerunner, existed as early as the fourteenth century. It ...

and a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. Prescott retired to

Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman roads ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

. In the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

1938, he was honoured for his work with the water board by being made a baronet, of Godmanchester in the county of Huntingdon. In the same year he served as

High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire This is an ''incomplete'' list of sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in England from 1154 until the abolition of the office in 1965. Exceptionally, the two counties shared a single sheriff. Sheriffs had a one-year term of office, bei ...

. In 1898 he married Bessie Stanley of

Ambleside Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...

, and they had four children. He died at his Godmanchester home in June 1945 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Richard Stanley Prescott. His second son, William Robert Stanley Prescott was MP for

Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road, A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to ...

. Another family relative is the actress

Sue Johnston Sue Johnston (born Susan Wright; 7 December 1943) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy '' The Royle Family'' (1998–2012), G ...

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prescott, William 1874 births 1945 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1918–1922 Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Middlesex High sheriffs of Middlesex High sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire English civil engineers Members of Gray's Inn Royal Engineers officers