Basil Barton
Encyclopedia
Major
Basil Kelsey Barton MC
(1879 – 2 July 1958) was a British solicitor
and Conservative Party
politician from Hull
. He held a seat in the House of Commons from 1931 to 1935.
, and was admitted as a solicitor
in November 1903, practising in Hull.
He served during World War I
as a Second Lieutenant
with the Royal Field Artillery
, winning a Military Cross
in 1917, and attaining the rank of Captain. On the Roll of Honour
in St Helens Church in Welton
, he is listed as having been a prisoner of war
.
After the war he resumed practise as a solicitor in Hull.
Barton was elected at the 1931 general election
as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Hull Central
.
The seat had been held since 1919 by Lieutenant-Commander Hon. Joseph Kenworthy, who had first been elected as a Liberal Party
and had been comfortably returned in 1926 when he sought re-election after joining the Labour Party
. Kenworthy's share of the votes had never fallen below 52%, and in three-way contests in 1926 and 1929 this had given him generous majorities over his Liberal and Conservative opponents. However, the Liberals did not contest any of Hull's four seats in 1931, and The Times
newspaper reported during the campaign that despite vigorous campaigning by Kenworthy, who was personally very popular, Barton was winning "the support of many Liberals". When the votes were counted, Barton won with a majority of 3,660 votes (10.2%) over Kenworthy.
Kenworthy succeeded to the peerage in 1934 as Baron Strabolgi
, and at the 1935 general election
Barton defended his seat against the Labour candidate Walter Windsor
. Windsor was a former Communist
who had been MP for Bethnal Green North East
in the 1920s, and he defeated Barton with an 8% swing.
Barton did not stand for Parliament again. He died aged 79 on 2 July 1958, at his home in Brough-on-Humber
, near Hull.
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Basil Kelsey Barton MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(1879 – 2 July 1958) was a British solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician from Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
. He held a seat in the House of Commons from 1931 to 1935.
Career
Barton was educated at OundleOundle School
Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...
, and was admitted as a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
in November 1903, practising in Hull.
He served during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
with the Royal Field Artillery
Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery of the British Army provided artillery support for the British Army. It came into being when the Royal Artillery was divided on 1 July 1899, it was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery in 1924....
, winning a Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
in 1917, and attaining the rank of Captain. On the Roll of Honour
Roll of Honour
Roll of Honour may refer to:*A memorial list of names of people who have died in military, police service or other services*Roll of Honour , an Irish Republican song praising the participants in the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike...
in St Helens Church in Welton
Welton, East Riding of Yorkshire
Welton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north of the town of Brough on the north side of the A63 road to Kingston upon Hull....
, he is listed as having been a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
After the war he resumed practise as a solicitor in Hull.
Barton was elected at the 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
as the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Hull Central
Kingston upon Hull Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Kingston upon Hull Central was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Kingston upon Hull in East Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
.
The seat had been held since 1919 by Lieutenant-Commander Hon. Joseph Kenworthy, who had first been elected as a Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
and had been comfortably returned in 1926 when he sought re-election after joining the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Kenworthy's share of the votes had never fallen below 52%, and in three-way contests in 1926 and 1929 this had given him generous majorities over his Liberal and Conservative opponents. However, the Liberals did not contest any of Hull's four seats in 1931, and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper reported during the campaign that despite vigorous campaigning by Kenworthy, who was personally very popular, Barton was winning "the support of many Liberals". When the votes were counted, Barton won with a majority of 3,660 votes (10.2%) over Kenworthy.
Kenworthy succeeded to the peerage in 1934 as Baron Strabolgi
Baron Strabolgi
The title Baron Strabolgi in the Peerage of England was drawn out of abeyance in 1916; whether it ever existed before then is open to serious dispute. Complete Peerage declines to list it, on the grounds that it did not exist before the twentieth century; their coverage ends with the death of Queen...
, and at the 1935 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
Barton defended his seat against the Labour candidate Walter Windsor
Walter Windsor
Walter Windsor was a British Labour Party politician. A native of Bethnal Green in the East End of London, he held a seat in the House of Commons from 1923 to 1929, and from 1935 until his death.- Bethnal Green :...
. Windsor was a former Communist
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
who had been MP for Bethnal Green North East
Bethnal Green North East (UK Parliament constituency)
Bethnal Green North East was a parliamentary constituency in London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
in the 1920s, and he defeated Barton with an 8% swing.
Barton did not stand for Parliament again. He died aged 79 on 2 July 1958, at his home in Brough-on-Humber
Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire
Brough , or Brough-on-Humber, is a small town in the civil parish of Elloughton-cum-Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town has a population of around 7,000.-Location:...
, near Hull.