Sir Herbert Henry Asquith

Notes:

Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC, FRS (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last prime minister to lead a majority Liberal government, and he played a central role in the design and passage of major liberal legislation and a reduction of the power of the House of Lords. In August 1914, Asquith took Great Britain and the British Empire into the First World War. In 1915, his government was vigorously attacked for a shortage of munitions and the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign. He formed a coalition government with other parties, but failed to satisfy critics. As a result, he was forced to resign in December 1916, and he never regained power.

After attending Balliol College, Oxford, he became a successful barrister. In 1886, he was the Liberal candidate for East Fife, a seat he held for over thirty years. In 1892, he was appointed as Home Secretary in Gladstone's fourth ministry, remaining in the post until the Liberals lost the 1895 election. In the decade of opposition that followed, Asquith became a major figure in the party, and when the Liberals regained power under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman in 1905, Asquith was named Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1908, Asquith succeeded him as Prime Minister. The Liberals were determined to advance their reform agenda. An impediment to this was the House of Lords, which rejected the People's Budget of 1909. Meanwhile the South Africa Act 1909 passed. Asquith called an election for January 1910, and the Liberals won, though were reduced to a minority government. After another general election in December 1910 he gained passage of the Parliament Act 1911, allowing a bill three times passed by the Commons in consecutive sessions to be enacted regardless of the Lords. Asquith was less successful in dealing with Irish Home Rule. Repeated crises led to gun running and violence, verging on civil war.

When Britain declared war on Germany in response to the German invasion of Belgium, high profile conflicts were suspended regarding Ireland and women's suffrage. Although more of a committee chair than a dynamic leader, he oversaw national mobilisation; the dispatch of the British Expeditionary Force to the Western Front, the creation of a mass army, and the development of an industrial strategy designed to support the country's war aims. The war became bogged down and the demand rose for better leadership. He was forced to form a coalition with the Conservatives and Labour early in 1915. He was weakened by his own indecision over strategy, conscription, and financing.[1] Lloyd George replaced him as Prime Minister in December 1916. They became bitter enemies and fought for control of the fast-declining Liberal Party. His role in creating the modern British welfare state (1906–1911) has been celebrated, but his weaknesses as a war leader and as a party leader after 1914 have been highlighted by historians.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Asquith

Herbert married Helen Kelsall Melland in 1877. Helen was born on 30 Oct 1854 in Deeplish Hill, Castleton, Lancashire; died in 1891 in Isle of Arran, Bute, Scotland; was buried on 14 Sep 1891 in Lamlash, Isle Of Arran, Bute, Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Barrister, Poet, Author

Notes:

Brigadier General Arthur Melland Asquith, DSO & Two Bars (24 April 1883 – 25 August 1939) was a senior officer of the Royal Naval Division, a Royal Navy land detachment attached to the British Army during the First World War. His father, H. H. Asquith was the British Prime Minister during the first three years of the conflict and later became the Earl of Oxford and Asquith. Arthur Asquith was wounded four times in the war and three times awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery under fire. In December 1917, Asquith was seriously wounded during fighting near Beaucamp and was evacuated to Britain where one of his legs was amputated. Asquith retired from the military following his wound and worked for the Ministry of Munitions.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Asquith

Arthur married Hon. Betty Constance Manners on 30 Apr 1918 in Christchurch, Hampshire. Betty (daughter of John Thomas Manners, 3rd Lord Manners of Foston and Constance Edwina Adeline Fane) was born on 15 Jun 1889 in 15, Cadogan Square, Chelsea, London; died on 12 Sep 1962 in Lewes, Sussex. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mary married William Keith Rous, 5th Earl of Stradbroke on 19 Jul 1943 in Bideford, Devon. William (son of George Edward John Mowbray Rous, 3rd Earl of Stradbroke and Helena Violet Alice Fraser) was born on 10 Mar 1907 in Henham, Suffolk; died on 18 Jul 1983 in Bideford, Devon. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Virginia married Antony William Hew Gibbs [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]