Hubert William Culling Carr-Gomm
Encyclopedia
Hubert William Culling Carr-Gomm (20 June 1877 – 21 January 1939) was a British Liberal
politician and publisher.
in Buckinghamshire
but his father was a member of the Indian Civil Service and District Judge of Tinnevelly so Hubert was born in India. Through marriage, his father, originally plain Mr Francis Carr, obtained the additional surname Gomm and the lordship of the manor
of Rotherhithe
(by the 20th century a predominantly nominal title, although one internet source claims the family held some land there) both of which he passed onto his son. Hubert was educated at Eton
and Oriel College
, Oxford where he graduated with an MA in Modern History in 1900. Between 1898 and 1907 he served in the Volunteer Battalion of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
. In 1909 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace
for Buckinghamshire In 1906 he married Kathleen Rome. This marriage ended in divorce in 1913 because of his wife’s adultery with Eliot Crawshay-Williams
, Liberal MP for Leicester
, who was married with two children. It was a considerable scandal not least because, according to the poet and writer Lucy Masterman, the wife of another Liberal MP, Charles Masterman, Carr-Gomm and Crawshay-Williams had been friends at school, college and in politics. It ruined Crawshay-Williams’ political career. Carr-Gomm was remarried in 1916 to Eleanor Russell the daughter of a barrister
of the Inner Temple
.
he was elected Liberal MP for Rotherhithe
. He held the seat until 1918. From 1906 to 1908 he was Assistant Private Secretary to Liberal Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. At the 1918
general election Carr-Gomm was again adopted by the Rotherhithe Liberals but was not one of those candidates favoured with the government coupon. This was instead bestowed on his Conservative
opponent John Rolleston Lort-Williams who was successfully returned. Carr-Gomm fought Rotherhithe once more in 1922
but again lost to Lort-Williams. In the 1923 general election
he switched to being Liberal candidate in Paddington South
but lost easily to the sitting Unionist
MP, Douglas King.
Carr-Gomm continued to take an interest in political questions after leaving Parliament. In 1922 he wrote to The Times, perhaps unsurprisingly condemning the then Lloyd George led government as being a coalition around one man or one set of men rather than around established parties and ideas. In 1936 he privately published a pamphlet calling for a system of proportional representation
to be used in municipal elections in London where local government wards were ideal for its introduction.
who had been the co-founder of the imprint Bodley Head set up a successor company and Carr-Gomm became one of the directors.
. While travelling in the Canary Islands
he contracted pneumonia and died on 21 January 1939 in Tenerife
. A small collection of photo-copied papers consisting of recollections of Parliament, three letters from Winston Churchill
and a note by Carr-Gomm on his father and the treatment of the Indians by the rubber companies in Putumayo, Peru are deposited in the archive of the London School of Economic and Political Science.
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...
politician and publisher.
Early life and family
Carr-Gomm’s family came from Farnham RoyalFarnham Royal
Farnham Royal is a village and civil parish within the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the south of the county, around 22 miles west of Charing Cross, Central London....
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
but his father was a member of the Indian Civil Service and District Judge of Tinnevelly so Hubert was born in India. Through marriage, his father, originally plain Mr Francis Carr, obtained the additional surname Gomm and the lordship of the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
(by the 20th century a predominantly nominal title, although one internet source claims the family held some land there) both of which he passed onto his son. Hubert was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Oriel College
Oriel College
Oriel College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford...
, Oxford where he graduated with an MA in Modern History in 1900. Between 1898 and 1907 he served in the Volunteer Battalion of the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
The Queen's Royal Regiment was a regiment of the English and later British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence...
. In 1909 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
for Buckinghamshire In 1906 he married Kathleen Rome. This marriage ended in divorce in 1913 because of his wife’s adultery with Eliot Crawshay-Williams
Eliot Crawshay-Williams
Eliot Crawshay-Williams , was a British author, officer, and Liberal Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lloyd George and Winston Churchill....
, Liberal MP for Leicester
Leicester (UK Parliament constituency)
Leicester was a parliamentary borough in Leicestershire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1918, when it was split into three single-member divisions.-History:...
, who was married with two children. It was a considerable scandal not least because, according to the poet and writer Lucy Masterman, the wife of another Liberal MP, Charles Masterman, Carr-Gomm and Crawshay-Williams had been friends at school, college and in politics. It ruined Crawshay-Williams’ political career. Carr-Gomm was remarried in 1916 to Eleanor Russell the daughter of a barrister
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...
of the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
.
Politics
Carr-Gomm was for a time Secretary of the London Liberal Federation and in the 1906 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
he was elected Liberal MP for Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe (UK Parliament constituency)
Rotherhithe was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rotherhithe district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
. He held the seat until 1918. From 1906 to 1908 he was Assistant Private Secretary to Liberal Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. At the 1918
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
general election Carr-Gomm was again adopted by the Rotherhithe Liberals but was not one of those candidates favoured with the government coupon. This was instead bestowed on his 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...
opponent John Rolleston Lort-Williams who was successfully returned. Carr-Gomm fought Rotherhithe once more in 1922
United 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...
but again lost to Lort-Williams. In the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
he switched to being Liberal candidate in Paddington South
Paddington South (UK Parliament constituency)
Paddington South was a Parliamentary constituency in London which returned one Member of Parliament. It was a compact urban area, but predominantly wealthy, and was most famously represented by Lord Randolph Churchill during the latter part of his career....
but lost easily to the sitting Unionist
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...
MP, Douglas King.
Carr-Gomm continued to take an interest in political questions after leaving Parliament. In 1922 he wrote to The Times, perhaps unsurprisingly condemning the then Lloyd George led government as being a coalition around one man or one set of men rather than around established parties and ideas. In 1936 he privately published a pamphlet calling for a system of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
to be used in municipal elections in London where local government wards were ideal for its introduction.
Military service and publishing
In the Great War, Carr-Gomm served in France and Salonika as a Captain in the 2/22nd Battalion, The London Regiment (The Queen’s). After landing in Salonika in 1917, Carr-Gomm was appointed to command the Second Entrenching Battalion. In 1921, the publisher John LaneJohn Lane (publisher)
-Biography:Originally from Devon, where he was born into a farming family, Lane moved to London already in his teens. While working as a clerk at the Railway Clearing House, he acquired knowledge as an autodidact....
who had been the co-founder of the imprint Bodley Head set up a successor company and Carr-Gomm became one of the directors.
Death & papers
In later life Carr-Gomm and his second wife lived at Tile House, Seaford, East SussexSeaford, East Sussex
Seaford is a coastal town in the county of East Sussex, on the south coast of England. Lying east of Newhaven and Brighton and west of Eastbourne, it is the largest town in Lewes district, with a population of about 23,000....
. While travelling in the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
he contracted pneumonia and died on 21 January 1939 in Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
. A small collection of photo-copied papers consisting of recollections of Parliament, three letters from Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and a note by Carr-Gomm on his father and the treatment of the Indians by the rubber companies in Putumayo, Peru are deposited in the archive of the London School of Economic and Political Science.