Emil William Pickering was a British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 industrialist, army officer and politician.

Born in Dewsbury

Dewsbury

Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...

 in the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Pickering was educated at Dewsbury Grammar School and Tettenhall College

Tettenhall College

Tettenhall College is a mixed independent school located in the Wolverhampton suburb of Tettenhall.-History:The College was founded in 1863 by a group of prominent local businessmen and industrialists, most of who were associated with the Queen Street Congregational Church. Tettenhall Towers was...

. He subsequently entered business as a woollen manufacturer in partnership with John Greaves. The Pickering Greaves business, based at Ravensthorpe Mills, continued until 1926.

In 1911 Pickering joined the part-time Territorial Force

Territorial Force

The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...

 when he received a commission as a second lieutenant in the 2nd West Riding Brigade

West Riding Artillery

In 1860, as the British government feared invasion from the continent, the Secretary at War recommended the formation of Volunteer Artillery Corps to bolster Britain's coastal defences. The 1st Yorkshire Artillery Volunteer Corps were raised at Leeds on 2 August and the 2nd Yorkshire Artillery...

, Royal Field Artillery

Royal Field Artillery

The Royal Field Artillery of the British Army provided artillery support for the British Army. It came into being when the Royal Artillery was divided on 1 July 1899, it was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery in 1924....

. He was promoted to full lieutenant in 1913. With the outbreak of war in August 1914 the unit was mobilised. Pickering was promoted to captain and then to temporary major before the brigade moved to the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

 in April 1915. Pickering was awarded the Distinguished Service Order

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

 for "great gallantry and an utter disregard of his own person" in 1917, and twice mentioned in dispatches, Pickering ended the war with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

When a general election

United Kingdom general election, 1918

The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...

 was called at the end of 1918, Pickering was chosen to contest the Dewsbury

Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Dewsbury is a 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 system of election...

 constituency as a Coalition Conservative candidate. The election was a three-way contest between Pickering, Benjamin Riley

Ben Riley (MP)

Benjamin Riley was a British Labour Party politician.Born in Halifax, Riley was the son of a stonemason. He started work aged 9, and was apprenticed to the bookbinding trade. He served as a journeyman in Bath, Brighton and London, eventually starting his own business in Huddersfield in 1896...

 of the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

 and the sitting 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,...

, Walter Runciman

Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford

Walter Runciman, 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford PC was a prominent Liberal, later National Liberal politician in the United Kingdom from the 1900s until the 1930s.-Background:...

 of the anti-coalition Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 faction. Pickering was elected to the Commons, receiving 7,853 votes, more than 2,000 ahead of Riley while Runciman finished third. In 1919 he married Evelyn Shaw of Brooklands, near Halifax

Halifax, West Yorkshire

Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...

, and the couple had two sons. Pickering only served one term in parliament, choosing to stand down at the next election

United Kingdom general election, 1922

The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...

 in 1922.

He continued his association with the reconstituted Territorial Army

Territorial Army

The Territorial Army is the part time volunteer force of the British Army. With around 35,500 members, the TA forms about a quarter of the overall manpower strength of the British Army. TA members regularly volunteer to serve overseas on operations, either with TA units, or as individuals...

, becoming commanding officer of the 70th (West Riding) Field Brigade, Royal Artillery. He retired from the army in 1926, when he received the brevet

Brevet

Brevet may refer to:* Brevet , a temporary authorization for a person to hold a higher rank* Brevet , a long-distance bicycle ride with check-point controls* Aircrew brevet, a Royal Air Force and British Army badge...

 rank of colonel and the Territorial Decoration

Territorial Decoration

The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

.

Pickering retired to his residence, Netherton Hall, near Wakefield

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

. He was appointed 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...

 and a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire

Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire

This is a list of those who have held the position of Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire from its creation in 1660 to its abolition on 31 March 1974. From 1699 until 1974, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of the West Riding of Yorkshire...

.
He continued to work for the interests of ex-service men, and became chairman of the Yorkshire Branch of the British Legion.

In 1941, at the height of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he was appointed a Deputy Regional Commissioner for the Northern Region.

Emil Pickering died in March 1942 when he was thrown from his horse. He was buried in the graveyard of Thornhill

Thornhill, West Yorkshire

Thornhill, is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Thornhill was absorbed into Dewsbury County Borough in 1910. It is located on a hill on the south side of the River Calder, and has extensive views of Dewsbury, Ossett and Wakefield...

 Parish Church.

External links