Henry Guest

Henry Guest MP, circa 1910

Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Henry Charles Guest (15 February 1874 – 9 October 1957), usually known as Henry Guest, was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom.

Family

He was the son of Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne and his wife Lady Cornelia Henrietta Maria Spencer-Churchill, an aunt of the future Prime Minister Winston Churchill.^[1] His elder brother Ivor Guest was one of the last Lord-Lieutenants of Ireland, and his younger brothers Frederick Guest and Oscar Guest were also members of parliament.

In 1911, he married the Honourable Frances Lyttelton (1885–1918), daughter of the 8th Viscount Cobham. They had one son, John Guest (1913- ).^[2]

Military career

Guest obtained a commission in 3rd Battalion of the Lancaster Fusiliers in 1892, and in the 1st Royal Dragoons in 1894. He served in the Second Boer War, South Africa, 1899–1901 (despatches, Queen’s medal 5 clasps, King’s medal 2 clasps).^[2] In 1901 he was seconded for service on the Staff,^[3] then served in India 1902–07. Upon his return to the UK he attended Staff College in 1907, and was Instructor in Cavalry School. He later served in World War I 1914–15 and 1918.^[2]

Political career

His younger brother Freddie was elected as Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dorset at the January 1910 general election, but was unseated after election irregularities by his constituency agent. At the resulting by-election in June 1910, Henry was elected to succeed him.^[4] At the December 1910 general election, Henry was returned for the Pembroke and Haverfordwest constituency and Freddie was re-elected for East Dorset.

When his Pembroke and Haverford West seat was abolished for the 1918 general election, Guest stood as a Coalition Liberal candidate in the Wandsworth Central seat in South London, where he came a poor third.^[5]

He returned to the House of Commons at the 1922 general election, as National Liberal MP for Bristol North. However, he was defeated at the 1923 election, and stood aside in 1924 in favour of his brother Freddie.^[5]

Henry did not stand for Parliament again until his brother's death in 1937, when he won the by-election for Freddie's seat of Plymouth Drake as a Conservative. He held that seat until his defeat at the 1945 general election.^[5]

References

1. "Lady Cornelia Henrietta Maria Spencer-Churchill". ThePeerage.com. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
2. 'GUEST, Lt-Col Hon. (Christian) Henry (Charles)’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012
3. The London Gazette: no. 27340. p. 5126. 2 August 1901.
4. "Historical list of MPs: D, part 3". Leigh Rayment's Peerage pages. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
5. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Henry Guest