Gilbert Granville Sharp

Gilbert Granville Sharp (19 February 1894 – 1 November 1968), was a British Liberal Party politician and barrister.

Background

He was the son of Reverend Alfred Spring Sharp, Methodist Minister, of Prestatyn, Flintshire. He was educated at Kingswood School and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. BA, LLB Cambs., 1919. President of Cambridge Union, 1921. He married, in 1915, Margaret F. Kellett. They had one daughter. He married, in 1953, Eleanor Christina Brooke.[1]

Early career

He was in Military Service, 1914–18, Public Schools Battalion and 2nd Scottish Border Regiment, Lieut, France, 1915–16 (wounded in Battle of Somme); Special Instructor of Signals, 1917.[1]

He was Call to Bar, Middle Temple, in 1921. He was President Hardwicke Society, 1924. He was Recorder of King’s Lynn, 1943–57. He was Chief of Legal and Advice Branch, Legal Division (British Section), Austrian Control Commission, 1944–45. He was General Council of the Bar, 1946–48; He was appointed a King's Council in 1948. He was Justice of Appeal of the Supreme Court, Ghana, 1957–62. He was a Commissioner in the Crown Courts, Manchester, 1963–67, and Liverpool, 1965-67.[1]

Political career

He was President of Cambridge University Liberal Club, 1921.[1] He was Liberal candidate for the Epping Division of Essex at the 1922, 1923, 1924, 1929, and 1935 General Elections. Epping was a safe Conservative seat which had never returned a Liberal. Sharp stood as a candidate for the party that was led by H. H. Asquith rather than that led by David Lloyd George.

Epping in Essex, showing boundaries used from 1918 to 1945.
General Election 1922 : Epping[2] Electorate 40,209
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Richard Colvin 15,300 59.9 -12.7
Liberal Gilbert Granville Sharp 10,228 40.1
Majority 5,072 19.8
Turnout 63.5 +11.1
Unionist hold Swing

A now united Liberal Party had a resurgence at the next election and Sharp came his closest to winning Epping;

General Election 1923: Epping[2] Electorate 41,404
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Leonard Lyle 14,528 52.9 -7.0
Liberal Gilbert Granville Sharp 12,954 47.1 +7.0
Majority 1,574 5.8 -14.0
Turnout 66.4
Unionist hold Swing

Former Liberal Winston Churchill was Sharp's opponent at the next election, standing as a Constitutionalist. Although Churchill had not yet re-joined the Unionists, he stood with their local support;

General Election 1924: Epping[2] Electorate 43,055
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Constitutionalist Winston Churchill 19,843 58.9
Liberal Gilbert Granville Sharp 10,080 29.9
Labour J R McPhie 3,768 11.2
Majority 9,763 29.0
Turnout 78.3
Constitutionalist hold Swing

The Liberal Party, now led by Lloyd George, was challenging strongly both nationally and locally, and for the first time in Epping since the war, the Unionist vote dropped below 50%;

General Election 1929: Epping[2] Electorate 65,758
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Winston Churchill 23,972 48.5
Liberal Gilbert Granville Sharp 19,005 38.4
Labour J T W Newbould 6,472 13.1
Majority 4,967 10.1
Turnout 75.2
Unionist hold Swing

Following the formation of the National government, he did not contest a seat at the 1931 General Election. Epping Liberals chose another Liberal candidate who managed to retain second place. He returned to contest Epping at the next election, polling his lowest share of the vote. This was the last time he contested Epping;

General Election 1935[3] Electorate 87,177
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Winston Churchill 34,849 59.03
Liberal Gilbert Granville Sharp 14,430 24.44
Labour J. Ranger 9,758 16.53
Majority 20,419 34.59
Turnout 67.72
Conservative hold Swing

He was elected a Member of the Liberal Party Council in 1941. He did not contest a seat at the 1945 General Election. He was appointed to the Royal Commission on the Press, serving from 1947–49.[1] He was Liberal candidate for the newly created Cornwall seat of Falmouth and Camborne at the 1950 General Election. Although Cornwall was a county where the Liberal Party support was strong, in this part of the county, Labour was established as the main alternative to the Conservatives and he finished a distant third;

General Election 1950: Falmouth & Camborne[4] Electorate 53,248
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Harold Hayman 18,988 43.2
Conservative Peter Agnew 16,997 38.6
Liberal Gilbert Granville Sharp 8,013 18.2
Majority 1,991 4.5
Turnout 82.6
Labour hold Swing

He was a Governor of Guy's Hospital.[5]

See also

References
  1. http://www.ukWhosWho.com
  2. Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  3. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
  4. British parliamentary election results 1950-1973, Craig, F. W. S.
  5. The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1950
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