William Bromley-Davenport (British Army officer)

Brigadier-General Sir William Bromley-Davenport, KCB, CMG, CBE, DSO, TD, JP, DL (21 January 1862 – 6 February 1949) was a British soldier, footballer and Conservative politician. He fought with distinction in both the Second Boer War and the First World War. An MP from 1886 to 1906, he held political office under Arthur Balfour as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1903 to 1905.

Brigadier-General Sir William Bromley-Davenport KCB CMG CBE DSO TD JP DL
Financial Secretary to the War Office
In office 12 October 1903 – 4 December 1905
Monarch	Edward VII
Prime Minister	Arthur Balfour
Preceded by	Lord Stanley
Succeeded by	Thomas Buchanan
Personal details
Born	21 January 1862
Died	6 February 1949 (aged 87)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford

Background and education

Bromley-Davenport was the son of William Bromley Davenport and his wife Augusta Elizabeth Campbell, daughter of Walter Campbell, of Islay. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford.[1]

Footballing career

Bromley-Davenport played football for Oxford University and Old Etonians. He represented England on two occasions in March 1884, against Scotland and Wales respectively. A centre-forward, he scored two goals in the game against Wales.[2][3]

Political and military career

Bromley-Davenport was elected Member of Parliament for Macclesfield in the July 1886 general election.[4] He was appointed a captain in the Staffordshire Yeomanry on 30 December 1891, and received the honorary rank of major on 28 February 1900.[5] While an MP, he fought in the Second Boer War with the Imperial Yeomanry,[1] where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in November 1900.[6] At the end of 1901, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Cheshire.[7] He served in the Conservative administration of Arthur Balfour as Financial Secretary to the War Office from 1903 to 1905 and was a Civil Member of the Army Council from 1904 to 1905.[1] However, he lost his seat in the House of Commons in the 1906 Liberal landslide.

During the First World War Bromley-Davenport commanded the 22nd Mounted Brigade of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force with the rank of Brigadier-General from 1916[1][8] to 1917. He was also Assistant Director of Labour from 1917 to 1918. Between 1920 and 1949 he held the honorary post of Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire.[1] He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1918,[9] a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1919[10] and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1924.

Personal life

Bromley-Davenport's seat was Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire. He died unmarried in February 1949, aged 87.

He still is patron of Poynton Show, a Horticultural and Agricultural show in Poynton, Cheshire, which still to this day takes place in the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday.

References

1. Brief biography of Sir William Bromley-Davenport
2. William Bromley-Davenport at Englandstats.com
3. "Sir William Bromley-Davenport at englandfc.com". Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "M" (part 1)
5. "No. 27169". The London Gazette. 27 February 1900. p. 1355.
6. "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6306.
7. "No. 27392". The London Gazette. 31 December 1901. p. 9176.
8. "No. 29552". The London Gazette. 18 April 1916. p. 4024.
9. "No. 30450". The London Gazette. 28 December 1917. p. 4.
10. "No. 31370". The London Gazette. 30 May 1919. p. 6794.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir William Bromley-Davenport