Hubert Houldsworth

Sir Hubert Stanley Houldsworth, 1st Baronet, QC (20 April 1889 – 1 February 1956) was a barrister, Chairman of the National Coal Board and a British Liberal Party politician.

Background

Houldsworth was the son of Albert Edward Houldsworth and Susannah Buckley. He was educated at Heckmondwike Grammar School and the University of Leeds, where in 1911 he received a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Physics and in 1912 a Master of Science. In 1925 he was awarded a Doctor of Science. In 1919 he married Hilda Frances Clegg of Cleckheaton, Yorkshire. They had one son, Harold Basil. In 1944 he received a Knighthood. In 1951 he received an honorary LLD from Leeds University. In 1956 he was awarded a Baronetcy in the 1956 New Year Honours.^[1]

Professional career

Houldsworth was Assistant Lecturer in the University of Leeds from 1919–26. In 1926 he received a Call to Bar by Lincoln’s Inn. He was Independent Chairman of the District Co-ordinating Committee of the Midland (Amalgamated) District (Coal Mines) Scheme 1930, from September 1936 to July 1942. In 1937 he became a Kings Counsel. He was Joint Coal Supplies Officer for the Midland Area (Mines Department) from September 1939 – July 1942. He was Fuel and Power Controller (North-Eastern Region), Board of Trade, November 1941 – July 1942. He was Regional Controller (South and West Yorkshire), Ministry of Fuel and Power from 1942–44. In 1943 he became a Bencher. He was Controller-General from 1944–45. He was Chairman of the East Midlands Division of the National Coal Board from 1946–51. He was Recorder of Doncaster from 1946–48. In 1951 he was appointed Chairman of the National Coal Board.^[2]

Political career

Houldsworth was a Liberal and in July 1927 he was selected as Liberal prospective parliamentary candidate for the Pudsey and Otley division of Yorkshire.^[3] He contested the seat at the 1929 General Election but finished third;

General Election 1929: Pudsey and Otley^[4] Electorate 49,945

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Unionist	Charles Granville Gibson	16,729
	Labour	Cllr. A W Brown	12,336
	Liberal	Hubert Stanley Houldsworth	11,685
Majority			4,393
Turnout
	Unionist hold		Swing

He did not stand for parliament again.^[5] After the Liberal Party split in 1931, Houldsworth, defended the actions of Sir John Simon and his breakaway Liberal Nationals.^[6] Simon was the MP for Spen Valley and Houldsworth lived in his constituency and was a member of the local Liberal Association. He continued to support Liberal and Liberal National candidates.^[7]

Houldsworth baronets

The Houldsworth Baronetcy, of Heckmondwike in the West Riding of the County of York, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 25 January 1956. Houldsworth was awarded it for his role as Chairman of the National Coal Board. When he died a week later, the title passed to his son Basil Houldsworth.^[8]

References

1. ‘HOULDSWORTH, Sir Hubert Stanley’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012 ; online edn, November 2012 accessed 14 April 2014
2. ‘HOULDSWORTH, Sir Hubert Stanley’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012 ; online edn, November 2012 accessed 14 April 2014
3. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 11 July 1927
4. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
5. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F.W.S.
6. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 8 October 1932
7. "Sir Hubert Houldsworth." Times [London, England] 2 February 1956: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 14 April 2014.
8. ‘HOULDSWORTH, Sir Hubert Stanley’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012 accessed 14 April 2014

External links

• At Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34011
• At the National Portrait Gallery: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp103060/sir-hubert-stanley-houldsworth-1st-bt
• The Times Obituary: http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=esusslib&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS201938498&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0