{{short description|British judge and politician}} {{EngvarB|date=July 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}} thumb|right|250px|Lt Colonel William Rowley Elliston of 6th Battalion Suffolk Regiment, 1918 '''William Rowley Elliston''' OBE, (1 February 1869 – 12 February 1954), was a British judge and Liberal Party politician.
==Background== Elliston was born in Manor House, Ipswich, the eldest son of W.A. Elliston. He attended Ipswich School, where he was a Pemberton Scholar in 1885, and was elected simultaneously in 1887 to an Open Classical Demyship at Magdalen College, Oxford and an Open Classical Scholarship at Christ's College, Cambridge, choosing the latter. He graduated from Cambridge with first-class honours in the Classical Tripos in 1890 and a first-class LLB the following year.<ref name=Venn>{{acad|id=ELSN887WR|name=Elliston, William Rowley}}</ref>
In 1898 he married Ethel Mary Walton, niece of the newspaper proprietor and Liberal politician Sir Frederick Wilson. They had one son and two daughters. He was awarded the OBE in the 1951 Birthday Honours for public services in Suffolk.<ref>'ELLISTON, William Rowley', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U236960, accessed 21 Aug 2015]</ref>
==Political career== Elliston's first involvement in politics came in 1905 when he was elected to Ipswich Borough Council. He served on this body for the next 23 years.<ref>'ELLISTON, William Rowley', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U236960, accessed 21 Aug 2015]</ref> He was Liberal candidate for the Woodbridge division of Suffolk at the December 1910 General Election. The constituency was a Conservative marginal that the Liberals had last won in 1906. He was unable to re-gain the seat. He contested Woodbridge a further three times without success. In 1918, endorsement from the Coalition Government was given to his Unionist opponent, regardless he polled a credible 44.2%. Despite this good showing, he did not contest the 1920 Woodbridge by-election or the 1922 General Election. Following Liberal reunion, he contested the 1923 General Election. However, by now, the Labour Party were running candidates at Woodbridge. The Unionist was returned on a minority vote, while Elliston came second. At the 1924 General Election, he again came second. In 1927, he served as Mayor of Ipswich for a year.<ref>'ELLISTON, William Rowley', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U236960, accessed 21 Aug 2015]</ref> He was Liberal candidate for the Colchester division of Essex at the 1929 General Election. Colchester was a Unionist/Labour marginal seat offering little chance for a Liberal. He finished third. He did not stand for parliament again.<ref>British parliamentary election results 1918–1973, Craig, F.W.S.</ref> In 1932, after a break from Ipswich Council, he was appointed as a Council Alderman, serving until 1938.<ref>'ELLISTON, William Rowley', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U236960, accessed 21 Aug 2015]</ref>
== Other Activities==
Elliston was leader writer for the ''East Anglian Daily Times'' in 1900.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oasi.org.uk/History/Chaldaean/Chaldaean.php|title=OASI: Chaldaean Society|publisher=oasi.org.uk|language=en|access-date=20 February 2017}}</ref>
===Electoral record=== {{Election box begin | |title=General Election December 1910: Woodbridge<ref>Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916</ref> }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Conservative Party (UK) |candidate = Robert Francis Peel |votes = 5,704 |percentage = 52.6 |change = }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''William Rowley Elliston''' |votes = 5,144 |percentage = 47.4 |change = }} {{Election box majority| |votes = |percentage = 5.2 |change = }} {{Election box turnout| |votes = |percentage = |change = }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Conservative Party (UK) |swing = }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin | |title=General Election 1918: Woodbridge<ref>British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig</ref> }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Unionist Party (UK) |candidate = Robert Francis Peel |votes = 8,654 |percentage = 55.8 |change = }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''William Rowley Elliston''' |votes = 6,842 |percentage = 44.2 |change = }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 1,812 |percentage = 11.6 |change = }} {{Election box turnout| |votes = |percentage = 51.0 |change = }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Unionist Party (UK) |swing = }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin | |title=General Election 1923: Woodbridge<ref>British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig</ref> }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Unionist Party (UK) |candidate = Sir Arthur Charles Churchman |votes = 10,606 |percentage = 46.7 |change = -10.0 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''William Rowley Elliston''' |votes = 7,328 |percentage = 32.2 |change = n/a }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Edward John Cecil Neep |votes = 4,810 |percentage = 21.1 |change = -22.2 }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 3,278 |percentage = 14.5 |change = +1.1 }} {{Election box turnout| |votes = |percentage = 70.9 |change = +1.8 }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Unionist Party (UK) |swing = n/a }} {{Election box end}} {{Election box begin | |title=General Election 1924: Woodbridge<ref>British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, FWS Craig</ref> }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Unionist Party (UK) |candidate = Sir Arthur Charles Churchman |votes = 13,419 |percentage = 54.9 |change = +8.2 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Liberal Party (UK) |candidate = '''William Rowley Elliston''' |votes = 7,008 |percentage = 28.7 |change = -3.5 }} {{Election box candidate with party link| |party = Labour Party (UK) |candidate = Sylvain Mayer |votes = 3,998 |percentage = 16.4 |change = -4.7 }} {{Election box majority| |votes = 6,411 |percentage = 26.2 |change = +11.7 }} {{Election box turnout| |votes = |percentage = 74.3 |change = +3.4 }} {{Election box hold with party link| |winner = Unionist Party (UK) |swing = +5.8 }} {{Election box end}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliston, William Rowley}} Category:1869 births Category:1954 deaths Category:Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Category:People educated at Ipswich School Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Category:Members of Lincoln's Inn Category:British Army personnel of World War I Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Councillors in Suffolk Category:Mayors of Ipswich, Suffolk Category:Suffolk Regiment officers Category:Military personnel from Ipswich