George Kemp, 1st Baron Rochdale CB (9 June 1866–24 March 1945) was a British politician, soldier, businessman and cricketer.
Education and business[]
Kemp was born in Rochdale, Lancashire and educated at Shrewsbury. Matriculating at Balliol College, Oxford in 1883, aged 16, Kemp transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1884, where he graduated B.A. in the Classical Tripos in 1888.[1] In business Kemp went into the woollen industry eventually becoming Chairman of Kelsall & Kemp, flannel manufacturers.
Cricket[]
From 1885 to 1892, Kemp played first-class cricket with Lancashire. A batsman, he scored three centuries in his career and also represented Cambridge University.
Politics[]
In 1895, he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Heywood as Liberal Unionist. In 1909, he was knighted for his war services and at the January 1910 general election he was elected MP for Manchester North West, this time as a Liberal. He stepped down from the House of Commons in 1912, declaring that he "loathed politics".[1] A year later he was raised to the peerage as Baron Rochdale, of Rochdale in the County Palatine of Lancaster.
Military career[]
In 1900, he served in the Boer War, during which service he was mentioned in despatches. He commanded the 32nd Battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry to the end of the war in 1902. Called to war again a few years later, Lord Rochdale was Lieutenant Colonel in command the 1st/6th Battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers and was temporarily Brigadier of 127th (Manchester) Brigade of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division during the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915.[2]
Family[]
On 5 August 1896, he had married Lady Beatrice Mary Egerton, third daughter of Francis Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere. They had three children. Lord Rochdale died in 1945 and was succeeded by his eldest son, John.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Kemp, George (KM884G)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge. http://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search.pl?sur=&suro=c&fir=&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&tex=%22KM884G%22&sye=&eye=&col=all&maxcount=50.
- ↑ Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: the Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territoral Force Divisions (42–56), London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-84734-739-8
- Who was Who, OUP 2007
External links[]
- CricketArchive: George Kemp
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Lord Rochdale
The original article can be found at George Kemp, 1st Baron Rochdale and the edit history here.