George Hopwood Hume
Encyclopedia
Sir George Hopwood Hume was a British
Conservative
politician and leader of the London County Council
.
He was born in the Ukrainian
city of Poltava
, then in the Russian Empire
. His father was George Hume, a Scottish
mechanical engineer, and British vice consul at Kiev
and Kharkov. He was educated in Russia, Lausanne
, Switzerland
and at the Finsbury Technical College
, London. He was apprenticed as an electrical engineer
at Siemens Brothers, later studying law and was called to the bar
at the Middle Temple
in 1900. In 1901 he married Jeanne Alice Ladrierre of Lausanne, who died in 1922.
as a member of the Conservative-backed Moderate grouping. He topped the poll in the Charlton
ward, and became leader as the Moderates took control of the new council.
, the title used by the Conservatives, on the county council. He was re-elected in 1913, and was appointed chairman of the Highways Committee. In this capacity in May 1914 he presided over a ceremony to commission new turbines at the Greenwich Power Station
of the London County Council Tramways
.
as leader of the Municipal Reformers and thus the council. Although the party had a majority of seats, they had formed a wartime coalition with the opposition Progressives
. Hume, who was re-elected in 1919, continued this agreement until 1922. Hume was elevated to the rank of county alderman
in 1922 which he was to hold until his death. In 1924 he was knighted
. In 1925 he resigned as council leader, and in 1926 was elected to the ceremonial post of Chairman of the L.C.C.
Hume was nominated as Conservative candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Greenwich
. He was elected by a large majority over his Labour Party
opponent, Edward Palmer. A further election was held in 1923
, and Palmer unseated Hume. Hume unseated Palmer at the 1924 election
, only for the situation to be reversed in 1929
. In 1931
Hume regained the seat, with Palmer's vote reduced by the presence of a Communist
candidate, and was re-elected four years later
.
Apart from his municipal and parliamentary offices, Hume was a member of the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee
, the Thames Conservancy Board and the London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority.
In 1932 he married Dorothy Hunt Blundell. In 1938 he indicated his intention to stand down at the next election. In the event, elections were postponed due to the Second World War, and he remained in the Commons until 1945
.
Sir George Hume died at his home at Blackheath, London
in September 1946, aged 80.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Conservative
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 and leader of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
.
He was born in the Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
city of Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
, then in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. His father was George Hume, a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
mechanical engineer, and British vice consul at Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Kharkov. He was educated in Russia, Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and at the Finsbury Technical College
City and Guilds of London Institute
The City and Guilds of London Institute is a leading United Kingdom vocational education organisation. City & Guilds offers more than 500 qualifications over the whole range of industry sectors through 8500 colleges and training providers in 81 countries worldwide...
, London. He was apprenticed as an electrical engineer
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
at Siemens Brothers, later studying law and was called to the bar
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
at the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1900. In 1901 he married Jeanne Alice Ladrierre of Lausanne, who died in 1922.
Greenwich Borough Council
Hume entered politics in November 1900 when he was elected to the newly constituted Greenwich Borough CouncilMetropolitan Borough of Greenwich
The Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965. Within the area of the borough were the Royal Naval College , the Royal Observatory and Greenwich Park. It bordered the boroughs of Woolwich, Deptford, Lewisham...
as a member of the Conservative-backed Moderate grouping. He topped the poll in the Charlton
Charlton, London
Charlton is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Greenwich. It is located east-southeast of Charing Cross. Charlton next Woolwich was an ancient parish in the county of Kent, which became part of the metropolitan area of London in 1855. It is home to Charlton...
ward, and became leader as the Moderates took control of the new council.
London County Council
In March 1910 Hume was elected to the London County Council to represent Greenwich. He was a member of the majority Municipal Reform PartyMunicipal Reform Party
The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945.-Formation:...
, the title used by the Conservatives, on the county council. He was re-elected in 1913, and was appointed chairman of the Highways Committee. In this capacity in May 1914 he presided over a ceremony to commission new turbines at the Greenwich Power Station
Greenwich Power Station
Greenwich Power Station is a standby oil, gas, and formerly coal-fired power station on the River Thames at Greenwich in south-east London. Despite being over one hundred years old, the station is still available as a back-up electricity source for the London Underground...
of the London County Council Tramways
London County Council Tramways
The London County Council Tramways was an extensive network of public street tramways that was operated by the council throughout the County of London, UK, from 1899 to 1933, when they were taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board....
.
Leader of the council
In 1918 Hume succeeded Ronald Collet NormanRonald Collet Norman
Ronald Collet Norman JP was a banker, administrator and politician.He was chairman of the Board of Governors of the BBC from 1935 to 1939 and of the London County Council from 1918 to 1919. He was the son of Frederick Henry Norman of the Norman family, long prominent in banking.In 1907 he was...
as leader of the Municipal Reformers and thus the council. Although the party had a majority of seats, they had formed a wartime coalition with the opposition Progressives
Progressive Party (London)
The Progressive Party was a political party based around the Liberal Party that contested municipal elections in the County of London.It was founded in 1888 by a group of Liberals and leaders of the labour movement. It was also supported by the Fabian Society, and Sidney Webb was one of its...
. Hume, who was re-elected in 1919, continued this agreement until 1922. Hume was elevated to the rank of county alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
in 1922 which he was to hold until his death. In 1924 he was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
. In 1925 he resigned as council leader, and in 1926 was elected to the ceremonial post of Chairman of the L.C.C.
Member of parliament for Greenwich
In 1922United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
Hume was nominated as Conservative candidate for the parliamentary constituency of Greenwich
Greenwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Greenwich was a parliamentary constituency in South-East London, which returned Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1997 by the first past the post system.-History:...
. He was elected by a large majority over his 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...
opponent, Edward Palmer. A further election was held in 1923
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, and Palmer unseated Hume. Hume unseated Palmer at the 1924 election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
, only for the situation to be reversed in 1929
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
. In 1931
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...
Hume regained the seat, with Palmer's vote reduced by the presence of a 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:...
candidate, and was re-elected four years later
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...
.
Apart from his municipal and parliamentary offices, Hume was a member of the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee
London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee
The London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee was established in 1924 to advise the Minister of Transport on issues concerning traffic and transport in the London Traffic Area. It was abolished in 1965....
, the Thames Conservancy Board and the London and Home Counties Joint Electricity Authority.
In 1932 he married Dorothy Hunt Blundell. In 1938 he indicated his intention to stand down at the next election. In the event, elections were postponed due to the Second World War, and he remained in the Commons until 1945
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
.
Sir George Hume died at his home at Blackheath, London
Blackheath, London
Blackheath is a district of South London, England. It is named from the large open public grassland which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west...
in September 1946, aged 80.