Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes (known as Tommy) (22 May 1880 – 30 September 1915) was a British Liberal politician.
Background and education edit
Tommy Agar-Robartes was the eldest son and heir of Thomas Agar-Robartes, 6th Viscount Clifden, and his wife Mary (née Dickenson) and was brought up at Lanhydrock House, Bodmin. He was the eldest of ten (including a twin sister).[1] Educated at Oxford and a keen horseman, he played in the Oxford University polo team that beat Cambridge in 1903.[2]
Public life edit
He was elected a Member of Parliament for Bodmin in the 1906 general election, but lost his seat in June 1906 following a controversial election petition by the defeated candidate alleging illegal payments to potential voters. He was elected to the St Austell Division of Cornwall in a by-election in 1908 and held the seat until his death.
Military career edit
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal 1st Devon Imperial Yeomanry on 13 May 1902.[3][4] At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Royal Bucks Hussars as an officer. Tommy then joined the Coldstream Guards and was subsequently posted to France & Flanders. Captain The Honourable Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes, in command of No. 2 Coy, 1st Bn, the Coldstream Guards, was wounded in the Battle of Loos on 28 September and killed by a sniper on 30 September 1915 after rescuing a wounded comrade under heavy fire for which he was recommended for the Victoria Cross.
Memorials edit
Agar-Robartes is buried in Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, near Béthune.[5] He is commemorated by a memorial in Truro Cathedral[6] and in stained glass at Selsey Abbey, Wimpole[7] and Church Norton.[8]
Agar-Robartes is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall, one of 22 MPs who died during World War I to be named on that memorial.[9][10] Agar-Robartes is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war who are commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber.[11] A further act of commemoration came with the unveiling in 1932 of a manuscript-style illuminated book of remembrance for the House of Commons, which included a short biographical account of the life and death of Agar-Robartes.[12][13] As Agar-Robartes never married and had no children, his younger brother Francis later succeeded their father in the viscountcy.
List of memorials edit
- Headstone at Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, near Béthune[14]
- Wooden battlefield marker St Hydroc's Church, Lanhydrock, Cornwall[15]
- Granite memorial seat at Truro Road, St Austell, Cornwall[16]
- Stained glass window at St Hydroc Church, Lanhydrock, Cornwall[17]
- Stained glass window at Selsey Abbey, Sussex[citation needed]
- Stained glass window at Wimpole, Cambridgeshire[18]
- Stained glass window at St Wilfrid's Chapel, Church Norton, West Sussex[19]
- Marble bust at Truro Cathedral
- Wooden armorial shield at the House of Commons[20]
- Brass plaque in Holy Trinity Church, St Austell[21]
Notes edit
- ^ "Births, Marriages, Deaths". The Cornishman. No. 99. 3 June 1880. p. 8.
- ^ "The Polo Monthly" (PDF). 19 January 1911: 334. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)[permanent dead link] - ^ "No. 27439". The London Gazette. 3 June 1902. p. 3611.
- ^ "No. 27516". The London Gazette. 16 January 1903. p. 310.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Agar-Robartes, The Hon. Thomas Charles R." Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Captain the Hon. Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes Memorial, Truro Cathedral, Cornwall". Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
- ^ Wimpole Parish Church at www.wimpole.info
- ^ West Sussex County Council: Heritage[permanent dead link] at victorians.westsussex.gov.uk
- ^ "Recording Angel memorial Panel 8". Recording Angel memorial, Westminster Hall. UK Parliament (www.parliament.uk). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "List of names on the Recording Angel memorial, Westminster Hall" (PDF). Recording Angel memorial, Westminster Hall. UK Parliament (www.parliament.uk). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "Agar-Robartes". Heraldic shields to MPs, First World War. UK Parliament (www.parliament.uk). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "House of Commons War Memorial: Final Volumes Unveiled by The Speaker". The Times. No. 46050. London. 6 February 1932. p. 7.
- ^ Moss-Blundell, Edward Whitaker, ed. (1931). The House of Commons Book of Remembrance 1914–1918. E. Mathews & Marrot.
- ^ "Remembering Tommy Agar Robartes 30 September 1915". 30 September 2015.
- ^ "Captain T C Agar Robartes". Imperial War Museums.
- ^ "CAPT THE HON T C R AGAR ROBARTES - War Memorials Online". www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk.
- ^ "St Hydroc's Church". National Trust.
- ^ "Redirect Page". www.wimpolepast.co.uk.
- ^ "Captain J Wingfield and Captain The Honourable T Agar Robartes". Imperial War Museums.
- ^ "Agar-Robartes". UK Parliament.
- ^ "Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes - War Memorials Online". www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk.
References edit
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.[unreliable source]
- Wimpole War Memorial