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Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Pethick-Lawrence
PC
Lord Pethick-Lawrence at 10 Downing Street
Leader of the Opposition
In office
21 January 1942 – February 1942
MonarchGeorge VI
Prime MinisterWinston Churchill
Preceded byHastings Lees-Smith
Succeeded byArthur Greenwood
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
11 June 1929 – 24 August 1931
MonarchGeorge V
Prime MinisterRamsay MacDonald
Preceded byArthur Samuel
Succeeded byWalter Elliot
Secretary of State for India and Burma
In office
3 August 1945 – 1947
MonarchGeorge VI
Prime MinisterClement Attlee
Preceded byLeo Amery
Succeeded byThe Earl of Listowel
Personal details
Born
Frederick William Lawrence

28 December 1871 (1871-12-28)
London, England
Died10 September 1961 (1961-09-11) (aged 89)
Hendon, London, England
Political partyLabour
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1901; died 1954)​
​
(m. 1957)​
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge

Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence, PC (né Lawrence; 28 December 1871 – 10 September 1961) was a British Labour politician who, among other things, campaigned for women's suffrage.

Background and education

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Born in London as Frederick William Lawrence, he was the son of wealthy Unitarians who were members of the Liberal Party. Three of his father's brothers, William, James, and Edwin, were politically active in various roles, including as Lord Mayor of London and as members of parliament. Frederick was educated at Wixenford,[1] Eton, and Trinity College, Cambridge,[2] where he was a member of Cambridge University Liberal Club.[3] He then became a barrister.

Political career

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Lord Pethick-Lawrence with Gandhi in 1946

Lawrence met and fell in love with Emmeline Pethick, an active socialist and campaigner for women's votes. They finally married in 1901 after Lawrence converted to socialism. They kept separate bank accounts and they both took the surname 'Pethick Lawrence' (later Pethick-Lawrence).[4] He published various left-wing newspapers, including Votes for Women and became involved in the Labour Party. His involvement in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), on behalf of women's rights, led to him serving a nine-month prison sentence in 1912, following Christabel Pankhurst's window-smashing campaign, even though he had disagreed with that form of action; because of his disagreement, indeed, he was expelled from the WSPU by Emmeline Pankhurst and Christabel. On account of his prison sentence he was expelled from the Reform Club.[5] Early in the First World War Pethick-Lawrence joined with others in founding the Union of Democratic Control (UDC), a leading anti-war organisation of which he became Treasurer. After acceptance by a Tribunal in Dorking in 1918, he worked on a farm in Sussex as a conscientious objector.

In 1923 Pethick-Lawrence was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West, and was Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1929 until the formation of the National Government in 1931; in the ensuing general election and the rout of the Labour Party he lost his seat. He was elected for Edinburgh East in 1935 and sworn of the Privy Council in 1937.[6] For a short period in January and February 1942 he acted as Leader of the Opposition to the coalition government. In 1945 Pethick-Lawrence was elevated to the peerage as Baron Pethick-Lawrence, of Peaslake in the County of Surrey.[7] From 1945 to 1947 he was Secretary of State for India and Burma, with a seat in the cabinet, and was involved in the negotiations that led to India's independence in 1947. Prime Minister Clement Attlee, however, made all the government's major decisions regarding India.[8]

Personal life

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His first wife, Emmeline, Lady Pethick-Lawrence, died in 1954. Lord Pethick-Lawrence later married Helen Craggs in 1957.[9] He died at Hendon, London, in September 1961, aged 89.

In 1976 the historian, Brian Harrison, conducted various interviews related to Frederick and Emmeline Pethwick-Lawrence as part of the Suffrage Interviews project, titled Oral evidence on the suffragette and suffragist movements: the Brian Harrison interviews.[10] Elizabeth Kempster was employed as their housekeeper in 1945 following an interview at Lincoln's Inn, and worked at their home, Fourways, in Surrey, where Sylvia Pankhurst was a frequent visitor. She talks about his interest in people, sport and health, and the effect his trip to India had on him. Gladys Groom-Smith, interviewed in June and August 1976, was secretary to the Pethick-Lawrence's, working alongside Esther Knowles who trained her. She talks about his background, childhood and personality as well as his concerns when Secretary of State for India. Harrison also interviewed the niece of Esther Knowles, who recalled her Aunt's relationship with the Pethick-Lawrence's and her work for them.

His older sister Annie Jane Lawrence (1863-1953) was responsible for building the open-air Arts and Crafts school The Cloisters in Letchworth Garden City.

Posthumous recognition

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His name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the plinth of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square, London, unveiled in 2018.[11][12][13]

References

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  1. ^ Brian Harrison, 'Lawrence, Frederick William Pethick-, Baron Pethick-Lawrence (1871–1961)', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online biography at oxforddnb.com, January 2011, accessed 4 September 2013 (subscription required)
  2. ^ "Lawrence [post Pethick-Lawrence], Frederick William (LWRN891FW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  3. ^ "About us « Keynes Society". Keynessociety.wordpress.com. 28 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  4. ^ Brian Harrison, 'Lawrence, Emmeline Pethick-, Lady Pethick-Lawrence (1867–1954)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 17 Nov 2007
  5. ^ Women, Clubs and Associations in Britain Doughan & Gordon, 2006, page 19
  6. ^ "No. 34407". The London Gazette. 11 June 1937. p. 3731.
  7. ^ "No. 37234". The London Gazette. 21 August 1945. p. 4227.
  8. ^ Kenneth Harris, Attlee (1982) p 362.
  9. ^ "Lawrence, Frederick William Pethick-, Baron Pethick-Lawrence". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35491. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. ^ London School of Economics and Political Science. "The Suffrage Interviews". London School of Economics and Political Science. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Historic statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett unveiled in Parliament Square". Gov.uk. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  12. ^ Topping, Alexandra (24 April 2018). "First statue of a woman in Parliament Square unveiled". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Millicent Fawcett statue unveiling: the women and men whose names will be on the plinth". iNews. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Leicester West
1923–1931 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Edinburgh East
1935–1945 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Financial Secretary to the Treasury
1929–1931 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition
1942 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State for India and Burma
1945–1947 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Pethick-Lawrence
1945–1961 		Extinct
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