Sir Edmund Hope Verney, 3rd Baronet

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, DL, JP (6 April 1838 – 8 May 1910) was a British naval officer, author and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in two periods between 1885 and 1891.

Background and education

Verney was the eldest son of

Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet PC, DL, JP (8 September 1801 – 12 February 1894) was an English soldier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1832 and 1885. Background and education Born Harry Calvert, he w ...

, and his first wife Eliza Hope, daughter of Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope. Verney was educated at

Windlesham House School Windlesham House School is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 4 to 13 on the South Downs, in Pulborough, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 1837 by Charles Robert Malden and was the first boys' preparatory school ...

and

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and entered the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1851. He succeeded his father as

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 ...

in 1894.

Career

Verney served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

between 1854 and 1855 being afterwards honoured with the

Crimea Medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of th ...

and its Sebastopol clasp and the

Turkish Crimean War medal The Turkish Crimean War Medal ( tr, Kırım Harbi Madalyası) is a campaign medal issued by Sultan Abdülmecid I of the Ottoman Empire to allied military personnel involved in the Crimean War of 1854–56. It was only awarded to those who survive ...

. Following his service during the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

between 1857 and 1858, where he was mentioned in despatches and received the

Indian Mutiny Medal __NOTOC__ The Indian Mutiny Medal was a campaign medal approved in August 1858, for officers and men of British and Indian units who served in operations in suppression of the Indian Mutiny. The medal was initially sanctioned for award to troops ...

with the Lucknow clasp, he was promoted to lieutenant. From 1862, he commanded HMS ''Grappler'' and in 1866 he was transferred as a commander to HMS ''Oberon''. Verney was on board HMS ''Growler'' from 1870 and in 1875 he was attached to

Her Majesty's Coastguard His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the ...

, division Liverpool until 1877, when he was promoted to captain. He retired seven years later. Verney contested unsuccessfully

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the Ha ...

in 1868,

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

in 1874 and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1880. He entered the

in 1885, sitting as a

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(MP) for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

until the following year. He represented the constituency again from 1889 until 1891, when he was expelled after being sentenced to one year of imprisonment after being convicted of procuring a girl under 21 years of age for immoral purposes. Verney was a member of the

Isle of Anglesey County Council The Isle of Anglesey County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn) is the local authority for the county of Anglesey, one of the principal areas of Wales. Since 2022 the council has 35 councillors who represent 11 multi-member electoral wards. Hi ...

as well as the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and in 1887 was appointed chairman of the Quarter Sessions, Anglesey, a post he held for the next three years. He was a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

and was 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 ...

and deputy lieutenant for

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. Verney was a supporter of the

Irish Home Rule movement The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

and subscribed to the idea of a Celtic identity, referring to the Irish as the "Celtic brethren" of the Welsh.

Family

On 14 January 1868, he married Margaret Maria Williams, daughter of Sir John Hay Williams, 2nd Baronet and had by her three daughters and a son. Verney died in 1910 and was succeeded in

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 ...

by his son

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

. In June 1858, Verney's father married Frances Parthenope Nightingale after the death of his first wife. She was the sister of

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...

, who became Aunt Florence to Verney's children.

Works

*''The Shannon's Brigade in India''; (1862) *''The Last Four Days of the Eurydice''; (1878) *''Village Sketches''; (1879) *''Four Years of Protest in the Transvaal''; (1881) *''The Parish Charities of North Buckinghamshire''; (1887 and 1905) *''War With Crime''; (1889)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Verney, Edmund 1838 births 1910 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Harrow School UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

British politicians convicted of crimes Members of London County Council Councillors in Wales Progressive Party (London) politicians Deputy Lieutenants of Anglesey Deputy Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Expelled members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom People educated at Windlesham House School