Arthur Symonds
Encyclopedia
Arthur Leslie Symonds, OBE (2 October 1910 – 25 February 1960) was a Labour Party
politician in the United Kingdom
.
He grew up in Cambridge
and was educated at the Perse School and Jesus College, Cambridge
, before moving to Cornwall
, where he was an Assistant Master at St. Austell County School for Boys between 1933 and 1940. He then served in the armed forces between 1940 and 1945, being mentioned twice in despatches, and earning an MBE
.
He was elected as Member of Parliament
for Cambridge
in the Labour landslide at the 1945 general election
, winning the by a majority of only 682 votes over the incumbent Conservative
MP Richard Tufnell
. At the 1950 general election
, he lost by 5,355 votes to the Conservative Hamilton Kerr
. He made two more attempts at regaining the seat, in the general elections of 1951 and 1955, but did not contest it in 1959.
He was made a Justice of the Peace
in Cambridge in 1957, and awarded the OBE in 1959. He died in 1959, at the age of 50.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
He grew up in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and was educated at the Perse School and Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, before moving to Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, where he was an Assistant Master at St. Austell County School for Boys between 1933 and 1940. He then served in the armed forces between 1940 and 1945, being mentioned twice in despatches, and earning an MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
.
He was elected as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Cambridge
Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
in the Labour landslide at the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, winning the by a majority of only 682 votes over the incumbent Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP Richard Tufnell
Richard Tufnell
Richard Lionel Tufnell was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.He was elected as Member of Parliament for Cambridge at a by-election in 1934, following the ennoblement of the Conservative MP Sir George Newton as Baron Eltisley.Tufnell retained the seat at the 1935 general...
. At the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
, he lost by 5,355 votes to the Conservative Hamilton Kerr
Sir Hamilton Kerr, 1st Baronet
Sir Hamilton William Kerr, 1st Baronet was a British Conservative Party politician.He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford...
. He made two more attempts at regaining the seat, in the general elections of 1951 and 1955, but did not contest it in 1959.
He was made a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Cambridge in 1957, and awarded the OBE in 1959. He died in 1959, at the age of 50.