Frederick Martin (politician)
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Frederick Martin CBE (23 October 1882 – 18 January 1950) was a Scottish Liberal, later Labour politician and journalist.
Family and education
[edit]Martin was born in Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, the third son of William Martin and Agnes Clark. He was educated at Peterhead Academy. He married Flora Rennie and they had two daughters.[1]
Early career
[edit]Martin became a journalist, working on the Aberdeen Free Press and Morning Post. In 1914 he joined the 5th Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He served until 1915 but became blind during his period of training and was hospitalised in St Dunstans Hostel for Blinded Soldiers and Sailors.
Liberal politics
[edit]Martin was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for East Aberdeenshire at the 1922 general election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Frederick Martin | 8,018 | 60.5 | ||
National Liberal | Sir William Henry Cowan | 5,227 | 39.5 | ||
Majority | 21.0 | ||||
Turnout | 45.5 | ||||
Liberal gain from National Liberal | Swing |
It was rare for anyone with a disability to get elected to Parliament but his blindness during war service brought him a great deal of personal sympathy.[3] He held the seat at the 1923 general election
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Frederick Martin | 8,793 | 55.9 | −4.6 | |
Unionist | Falconer Lewis Wallace | 6,949 | 44.1 | +4.6 | |
Majority | 1,844 | 11.8 | |||
Turnout | 15,742 | 57.6 | −9.2 | ||
Liberal hold | Swing | -4.6 |
but was defeated in 1924 when he faced a three-cornered contest.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Robert John Graham Boothby | 7,363 | 46.2 | +2.1 | |
Liberal | Frederick Martin | 4,680 | 29.4 | −26.5 | |
Labour | William Sloan Cormack | 3,899 | 24.4 | n/a | |
Majority | 2,683 | 16.8 | 28.6 | ||
Turnout | 15,942 | 59.0 | +1.4 | ||
Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +14.3 |
He tried unsuccessfully to re-enter Parliament as Liberal candidate for Central Aberdeenshire at the 1929 general election.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Robert Workman Smith | 10,773 | 43.6 | −0.8 | |
Liberal | Frederick Martin | 9,540 | 38.7 | +1.5 | |
Labour | A.F. Macintosh | 4,357 | 17.7 | −0.7 | |
Majority | 1,233 | 4.9 | −2.3 | ||
Turnout | 63.0 | ||||
Unionist hold | Swing | -1.2 |
Labour
[edit]After the 1929 general election, Martin defected from the Liberals to Labour, succumbing to a feeling that this was the end of the line for the old Liberal party. Despite the party having fought a spirited and radical campaign under the leadership of David Lloyd George it had failed to break back into power. According to one historian, Martin was one of a number of MPs, former MPs and candidates who could no longer imagine the circumstances in which the party could ever succeed again.[7] He stood for Parliament, now in the Labour interest, contesting East Aberdeenshire at the general elections of 1931
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Robert John Graham Boothby | 16,396 | 72.2 | ||
Labour | Frederick Martin | 6,299 | 27.8 | ||
Majority | 10,097 | 44.4 | |||
Turnout | 22,695 | 80.5 | |||
Unionist hold | Swing |
and 1935.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | Robert John Graham Boothby | 12,748 | 57.0 | ||
Labour | Frederick Martin | 9,627 | 43.0 | ||
Majority | 3,121 | 14.0 | |||
Turnout | 22,375 | 62.4 | |||
Unionist hold | Swing |
He remained as Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for a general election expected to take place in 1939 or 1940. However, by the time the next election came in 1945, he had been replaced as candidate.[10]
Literary career
[edit]Martin wrote at least three plays later in life, including "The Moon on Horseback", which he described as "a play of fisher-life", completed in 1934. It is not known if any were ever produced on the stage.
Local government
[edit]However Martin did achieve political success at local government level. He served as vice-chairman of Aberdeenshire Education Authority from 1925 to 1930. In 1929 he was elected a member of Aberdeenshire County Council and was Chairman of the Public Health Committee from 1932 to 1945 and Chairman of the Education Committee, 1946–47. He was Vice-Convener (equivalent to vice-chairman) of the County between 1946 and 1949, when he became Convener. He died in office.[1]
Honours
[edit]Martin was awarded the CBE in 1942[11] and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire in 1949.[12]
Death
[edit]Martin died at his home in Mintlaw in Aberdeenshire on 18 January 1950, aged 67.[13]
External links
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Who was Who, OUP 2007
- ^ The Times, 17 November 1922
- ^ The Times, 18 January 1924
- ^ The Times, 8 December 1923
- ^ Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949, F W S Craig
- ^ Gordon Wilson, Trevor (1966). The downfall of the Liberal Party : 1914-1935. Collins. p. 351. OL 21600156M.
- ^ "UK General Election results October 1931". Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ "UK General Election results November 1935". Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ Report of the Annual Conference of the Labour Party, 1939
- ^ "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 1942. p. 2489.
- ^ "No. 38577". The London Gazette. 1 April 1949. p. 1655.
- ^ The Times, 24 January 1950
- 1882 births
- 1950 deaths
- Scottish Liberal Party MPs
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
- UK MPs 1922–1923
- UK MPs 1923–1924
- Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates
- People from Peterhead
- Gordon Highlanders officers
- British Army personnel of World War I
- British politicians with disabilities
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- People from Mintlaw