Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen | |
|---|---|
 Griffith-Boscawen in 1946 | |
| Minister of Agriculture | |
| In office 1921–1922 | |
| Preceded by | The Lord Lee of Fareham |
| Succeeded by | Sir Robert Sanders |
| Minister of Health | |
| In office 19 October 1922 – 7 March 1923 | |
| Preceded by | Alfred Mond |
| Succeeded by | Neville Chamberlain |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arthur Sackville Trevor Griffith 18 October 1865 Trefalyn, Denbighshire, Wales |
| Died | 1 June 1946 (aged 80) London, England |
Sir Arthur Sackville Trevor Griffith-BoscawenPC (18 October 1865 – 1 June 1946) was a British politician in theConservative Party whose career was cut short by losing a string of Parliamentary elections.[1]
Sir Arthur was born atTrevalyn Hall, Denbighshire, into a distinguished family of Welsh, Cornish, and Scottish lineage. He had an elder brother, Boscawen Trevor, and two sisters, Helen Evelyn Trevor (who married Brig.-Gen.Hugh Archdale) and Alice Catherine Trevor. His mother, Helen Sophia Duff (1834–1930), was the eldest daughter of AdmiralNorwich Duff. Her grandfatherGeorge Duff was killed at theBattle of Trafalgar. His father, Captain Boscawen Trevor Griffith, served with the23rd Welsh Fusiliers and saw action during theCrimean War; he was also chairman of the Denbighshire Court of Quarter Sessions for many years.[2] The captain was the only son of Thomas Griffith and his second wife, Elizabeth Mary Boscawen, the daughter of Lt.-Gen.Hon. George Boscawen, who was the fourth son ofViscount Falmouth. In 1875, the family assumed the additional surname of Boscawen when Elizabeth died.[1]
Sir Arthur was educated atRugby School andQueen's College, Oxford.[1]
In 1892, he was elected Member of Parliament forTonbridge inKent, a county for which he becameJP in 1896.[3] Salisbury, whom he accused of ignoring 90% of MPs, appointed him private secretary toChancellor of the ExchequerMichael Hicks-Beach in 1895, a job he held before becoming Parliamentary Charity Commissioner in 1900, serving until 1905. Griffith-Boscawen may have been influential in helping to chooseAlfred Milner as the newGovernor of Cape Colony. The aged Lord Rosmead was retiring, leaving the government, and Chamberlain in particular desperate to find a replacement. The choice of Milner, a brilliant Oxford scholar, was universally acclaimed in parliament as a shrewd option; the candidate was warmly praised for his courage in coming forward during theJameson Raid crisis.
Griffith-Boscawen lost his Tonbridge seat in the1906 general election. He unsuccessfully contestedEast Denbighshire at a by-election in August that year, andDudley, Worcestershire at thefirst general election held in 1910, before being returned for the latter seatlater that year. He also sat as a member of theLondon County Council from 1910 to 1913; he wasknighted in 1911.[1]
Griffith-Boscawen had a special interest in working class housing throughout his career. He was aTariff Reformer who admiredJoseph Chamberlain because he became a very influentialConservative even though he was not from an aristocratic background. He carved out a niche for himself as a parliamentary Churchman and strongly opposed moves to disestablish theWelsh Church; following its disestablishment and the end of his parliamentary career, he chaired theWelsh Church Commissioners from 1923 to 1945.[1]
Griffith-Boscawen was commissioned into the part-time3rd (West Kent Militia) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), with which he saw embodied service in Malta during the time of theSecond Boer War in 1899–1900.[4] The battalion later became the3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) in theSpecial Reserve, and he commanded it asLieutenant-Colonel from 1910. He was mobilised with the battalion at the outbreak ofWorld War I,[5] later commanding a garrison battalion of theHampshire Regiment atSaint-Omer in France from 1914 to 1916, for which he wasmentioned in dispatches.
He was recalled to become Parliamentary Secretary at theMinistry of Pensions in December 1916, then served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of theBoard of Agriculture from 1918 to 1921. He was appointed to thePrivy Council in the 1920New Year Honours,[6] entitling him to the style "The Right Honourable".
In 1921, he was appointed to theLloyd George Coalition Government asMinister of Agriculture but under the law at the time he was required to automatically stand for re-election to theHouse of Commons. Griffith-Boscawen lostthe ensuing by-election, in part because ofLord Beaverbrook's Canadian Cattle campaign, but another seat was found for him at aby-election in Taunton and he continued his career in government. Five years later the law on ministerial appointments would be amended to end the requirement for such by-elections.
WhenLloyd George's government fell in October 1922, Griffith-Boscawen was one of only a few members of the outgoing Cabinet who agreed to serve under the new Prime Minister,Bonar Law, who promoted him toMinister of Health. The following month ageneral election was held and Griffith-Boscawen once more lost hisTaunton seat. He remained in government and set about producing a bill on local government rating which provoked fierce controversy in the country at large. In March 1923 he sought to re-enter the House of Commons in aby-election atMitcham, but was defeated by the future Labour Cabinet Minister,James Chuter Ede. Griffith-Boscawen was forced to retire from politics as a result. The resulting vacancy in the Cabinet was filled byNeville Chamberlain.
Griffith-Boscawen wroteFourteen Years in Parliament in 1907 and hisMemoirs in 1925. In later life he resided atPangbourne, Berkshire,[4] and died in London in June 1946 aged 80.[1]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forTunbridge 1892–1906 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDudley Dec. 1910–1921 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forTaunton 1921–1922 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture 1921–1922 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Health 1922–1923 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| Other | |
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