The Viscount Bridgeman | |
|---|---|
 Bridgeman in 1926 | |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | |
| In office 6 November 1924 – 4 June 1929 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Chelmsford |
| Succeeded by | A. V. Alexander |
| Home Secretary | |
| In office 25 October 1922 – 22 January 1924 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Bonar Law Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | Edward Shortt |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Henderson |
| Secretary for Mines | |
| In office 22 August 1920 – 25 October 1922 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | George Lane-Fox |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | |
| In office 10 January 1919 – 22 August 1920 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | George Wardle |
| Succeeded by | Sir Philip Lloyd-Greame |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour | |
| In office 22 December 1916 – 10 January 1919 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | George Wardle |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 30 May 1915 – 5 December 1916 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | Cecil Beck |
| Succeeded by | James Hope |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 18 June 1929 – 14 August 1935 Hereditary peerage | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | The 2nd Viscount Bridgeman |
| Member of Parliament forOswestry | |
| In office 8 February 1906 – 10 May 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Allan Heywood Bright |
| Succeeded by | Bertie Leighton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 December 1864 (1864-12-31) London |
| Died | 14 August 1935(1935-08-14) (aged 70) Leigh Manor,Shropshire |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Caroline Parker (d. 1961) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
William Clive Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman,PC,JP,DL (31 December 1864 – 14 August 1935) was a BritishConservativepolitician andpeer. He notably served asHome Secretary between 1922 and 1924. He was also an active cricketer.
Bridgeman was born in London, United Kingdom, the son of Reverend Hon. John Robert Orlando Bridgeman, third son of the2nd Earl of Bradford, and Marianne Caroline Clive. He was educated atEton andTrinity College, Cambridge.[1] While there he was secretary of thePitt Club.[2]
While at Cambridge, he playedfirst-class cricket for theCambridge University Cricket Club.[3] Below first-class he played at county level forShropshire, appearing 31 times between 1884 and 1903, achieving acentury in one match with 159 runs, while playing at club level forWorthen and forBlymhill in Staffordshire. In 1931 he served as President of theMarylebone Cricket Club.[4]
Bridgeman entered a career in politics early, becoming assistant private secretary toLord Knutsford, theColonial Secretary (1889–1892), and then toSir Michael Hicks-Beach, theChancellor of the Exchequer from 1895 to 1897. In 1897 he became a member of theLondon School Board, and in 1904 he was elected to theLondon County Council. In 1906 he was elected as a member of parliament (MP) forOswestry (a seat he previously contested at aby-election in 1904[5]), staying in this seat until his retirement in 1929. In 1909 he was appointed a member of aRoyal Commission on the selection of Justices of the Peace.[6]
In 1911, Bridgeman became an opposition whip, and became a government whip in the Asquith coalition government in 1915. From 1915 to 1916, he wasLord of the Treasury[7] and Assistant Director of theWar Trade Department. With the creation ofLloyd George's coalition in 1916, Bridgeman becameParliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour until 1919, and thenParliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in 1919 and 1920, and then served asSecretary for Mines from 1920 to 1922. In these roles, Bridgeman became a devoted opponent of strikes and socialism, although he came to admire more moderate trade unionists. He was appointed to thePrivy Council on 13 October 1920.[8]
In October 1922, Bridgeman was one of the leaders of the Conservative revolt against the coalition's leadership, and he becameHome Secretary in the new Conservative governments ofBonar Law andStanley Baldwin from 1922 until January 1924. He developed here a reputation for harshness and resolve, which continued in his time asFirst Lord of the Admiralty from November 1924[9][10] to June 1929. Throughout, he was one of Conservative leader Stanley Baldwin's closest allies.
While outside his Admiralty brief, Bridgeman introduced, on behalf of theArchbishop of Canterbury,Randall Davidson, a Bill for arevised version of the Church of England Prayer Book in the House of Commons in 1927, following its successful passing in the House of Lords. Bridgeman made a listless speech that did not impress MPs.[11] Opposing,William Joynson-Hicks, the then Home Secretary, spoke vehemently, maintaining that the new Prayer-book opened the door toRomish practices.[12][13] Davidson privately wrote of Bridgeman's speech, "He absolutely muffed it. It was a poor speech with no knowledge and no fire";[14] The Commons rejected the bill by 238 votes to 205.[15]
Bridgeman retired from theCommons in 1929, and on 18 June that year was createdViscount Bridgeman, of Leigh in theCounty of Shropshire.[16]
In his later years, he served as chairman of various commissions and committees, as well as, briefly, Chairman of theBBC. He becameJustice of Peace andDeputy Lieutenant of Shropshire, and received an HonoraryDoctor of Law from theUniversity of Cambridge in 1930.
Lord Bridgeman marriedCaroline Beatrix Parker, daughter of Hon. Cecil Thomas Parker and Rosamond Esther Harriet Longley, daughter of the Most Rev.Charles Thomas Longley,Archbishop of Canterbury, inEccleston,Chester, on 30 April 1895. They had four children:
Lord Bridgeman died in Leigh Manor, Shropshire, on 14 August 1935, aged 70, and was buried in the churchyard at Hope nearMinsterley three days later. The Viscountess Bridgeman died in December 1961.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forOswestry 1906–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Home Secretary 1922–1924 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Lord of the Admiralty 1924–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Media offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of theBBC Board of Governors 1935 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Viscount Bridgeman 1929–1935 | Succeeded by |
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