William Ewart Morse
Encyclopedia
William Ewart Morse was an English businessman and Liberal Party
politician, briefly member of parliament
for Bridgwater
and later a member of Wiltshire County Council
.
, a prominent Swindon
shopkeeper and the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Wilton or South Division
of Wiltshire
from 1906-1910. He was educated at the High School, Swindon. In 1910 he married Alma the daughter of Hawthorn Thornton of South Africa
, a civil engineer
. They appear to have two sons and a daughter. Their second son, Stanley, was killed on active service with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
in 1941.
and was a Freemason for 40 years, Past Master
of the Royal Sussex Lodge of Emulation, 355 and held the office of Provincial Grand Standard Bearer.
and served as Mayor
of Swindon for two years. Morse was also elected to Wiltshire County Council
and sat for 30 years on that authority. He also served as a Justice of the Peace
and was Chairman of one of Swindon’s three rotas of Justices.
in the Bridgwater Division
of Somerset
. He narrowly failed to defeat the sitting Conservative
MP, Sir Robert Sanders
, losing by 119 votes in a three-cornered contest. The Labour
candidate, T. S. B. Williams
, came in third place losing his deposit
. Morse was Liberal candidate again in Bridgewater at the 1923 general election
. This time he gained the seat from Sanders in a straight fight by a majority of 1,431 votes. He fought the seat again in 1924
, this time in another three-cornered contest. Sanders had announced he would not fight the Bridgwater Division again after his defeat and stood down as Tory
candidate. He had been replaced for the Tories by Brooks Crompton Wood. The Labour Party was represented by a local trade union official, and a former Liberal Party worker, Mr J M Boltz. Boltlz's intervention threatened to split the anti-Tory vote depriving Morse, who was said to be a strong candidate, of a seat he was otherwise predicted to hold. Boltz gained 1,966 votes and Labour again forfeited their deposit. Wood took the seat from Morse by a majority of 3,441.
In the 1929 general election
Morse switched Somerset constituencies, this time standing for the seaside seat of Weston-Super-Mare
. In a three-cornered contest in which the Labour candidate Mrs C E M Borrett lost her deposit, Morse came second to the sitting Conservative MP Lord Erskine
losing by 5,679 votes. He did not stand for Parliament again.
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, briefly 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,...
for Bridgwater
Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency)
Bridgwater was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, until 2010 when it was replaced by the Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency...
and later a member of Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county....
.
Family and education
Morse was the son of Levi Lapper MorseLevi Lapper Morse
Levi Lapper Morse was an English grocer and draper and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:Morse was the son of Charles Morse from Stratton St Margaret, near Swindon in Wiltshire. He was educated at the High School, Swindon. He married Winifred, daughter of Isaac Humphries of Broad...
, a prominent Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
shopkeeper and the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Wilton or South Division
Wilton (UK Parliament constituency)
Wilton was the name of a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1295 to 1707, then in the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and finally in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of the Parliament of the...
of Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
from 1906-1910. He was educated at the High School, Swindon. In 1910 he married Alma the daughter of Hawthorn Thornton of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. They appear to have two sons and a daughter. Their second son, Stanley, was killed on active service with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
in 1941.
Career
Morse was a director of a limited company and a leading businessman in Swindon. His wife owned Croft Down Kennels, which bred at least one champion dog. He served as President of Swindon Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
and was a Freemason for 40 years, Past Master
Masonic Lodge Officers
This article relates to mainstream Craft Freemasonry, sometimes known as Blue Lodge Freemasonry. Every Masonic Lodge elects or appoints Masonic Lodge Officers to execute the necessary functions of the lodge's life and work...
of the Royal Sussex Lodge of Emulation, 355 and held the office of Provincial Grand Standard Bearer.
Religion
Morse, like his father, was a lifelong member of the Primitive Methodist Church. In 1923 he was one of three Primitive Methodists chosen to represent his denomination on the British Council of the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches. He was elected Vice-President of the Primitive Methodist Church for 1925-26.Local politics
Morse followed his father’s path in politics as in religion, perhaps prompted by his given forenames. In local politics, Morse was a member of Swindon Town Council for 20 years. He was Chairman of the Finance Committee, an AldermanAlderman
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...
and served as Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Swindon for two years. Morse was also elected to Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council
Wiltshire County Council was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county....
and sat for 30 years on that authority. He also served as 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...
and was Chairman of one of Swindon’s three rotas of Justices.
Parliament
Morse first stood for Parliament at the 1922 general electionUnited 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...
in the Bridgwater Division
Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency)
Bridgwater was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, until 2010 when it was replaced by the Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency...
of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. He narrowly failed to defeat the sitting 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...
MP, Sir Robert Sanders
Robert Sanders, 1st Baron Bayford
Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Arthur Sanders, 1st Baron Bayford PC, JP was an English politician.-Background and education:...
, losing by 119 votes in a three-cornered contest. The Labour
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...
candidate, T. S. B. Williams
Thomas Samuel Beauchamp Williams
Lieut-Colonel Thomas Samuel Beauchamp Williams was a British physician of the Indian Medical Service, and a Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the Kennington division of Lambeth from 1923 to 1924....
, came in third place losing his deposit
Deposit (politics)
A deposit is a sum of money that a candidate must pay in return for the right to stand for election to certain political offices, particularly seats in legislatures.-United Kingdom:...
. Morse was Liberal candidate again in Bridgewater at the 1923 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
. This time he gained the seat from Sanders in a straight fight by a majority of 1,431 votes. He fought the seat again in 1924
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
, this time in another three-cornered contest. Sanders had announced he would not fight the Bridgwater Division again after his defeat and stood down as Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
candidate. He had been replaced for the Tories by Brooks Crompton Wood. The Labour Party was represented by a local trade union official, and a former Liberal Party worker, Mr J M Boltz. Boltlz's intervention threatened to split the anti-Tory vote depriving Morse, who was said to be a strong candidate, of a seat he was otherwise predicted to hold. Boltz gained 1,966 votes and Labour again forfeited their deposit. Wood took the seat from Morse by a majority of 3,441.
In the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
Morse switched Somerset constituencies, this time standing for the seaside seat of Weston-Super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare (UK Parliament constituency)
Weston-super-Mare is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
. In a three-cornered contest in which the Labour candidate Mrs C E M Borrett lost her deposit, Morse came second to the sitting Conservative MP Lord Erskine
John Erskine, Lord Erskine
John Francis Ashley Erskine, Lord Erskine GCSI, GCIE was a British soldier, Conservative Party politician and administrator who served as Member of Parliament for Weston-super-Mare and Brighton...
losing by 5,679 votes. He did not stand for Parliament again.