Henry Guest
Honorific prefixLieutenant-Colonel
Office 1Member of Parliament
for Plymouth Drake
Term start 115 June 1937
Term end 115 June 1945
Predecessor 1Frederick Guest
Successor 1Hubert Moses Medland
Office 2Member of Parliament
for Bristol North
Term start 215 November 1922
Term end 216 November 1923
Predecessor 2Edwin Gange
Successor 2Walter Ayles
Office 3Member of Parliament
for Pembroke and Haverfordwest
Term start 3December 1910
Term end 325 November 1918
Predecessor 3Owen Philipps
Successor 3Constituency abolished
Office 4Member of Parliament
for East Dorset
Term start 430 June 1910
Term end 428 November 1910
Predecessor 4Frederick Guest
Successor 4Frederick Guest
Birth nameChristian Henry Charles Guest
Birth date15 February 1874
Death date9 October 1957 (aged 83)
PartyLiberal
SpouseFrances Lyttelton (m. 1911; ended 1918)
FatherIvor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne
MotherLady Cornelia Spencer-Churchill
Relatives

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 second 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. His elder brother Ivor Churchill 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 (1913–1997).[1]

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, 1899–1902 (despatches, Queen's medal 5 clasps, King's medal 2 clasps),[2] and 1901 was seconded for service on the Staff.[3] After the end of the war in South Africa he was from June 1902 Aide-de-camp to Brigadier-General Burn-Murdoch, General officer in command of the Standerton District.[4] He returned home from South Africa on the SS Saxon in late December 1902.[5] Guest then served in India 1903–07. 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.[6] 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 Haverfordwest 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.[7]

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.[7]

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.[7]

References

  1. ^ "John Guest, 84, Investment Banker". The New York Times. 1997-05-22. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  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. ^ No. 27340. 2 August 1901. p. 5126.
  4. ^ No. 27496. 18 November 1902. p. 7340.
  5. ^ "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home". No. 36946. 9 December 1902. p. 5.
  6. ^ "Historical list of MPs: D, part 3". Leigh Rayment's Peerage pages. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  7. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983 [1969]). British parliamentary election results 1918–1949. 3rd ed. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.