Harold Reckitt
Sir Harold James Reckitt JP MP (5 May 1868 – 29 December 1930) was a British Liberal Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontefract from February to June, 1893. He was MP for Brigg from 1895 to 1907.[1][2][3]
Background and education[]
He was born the eldest son of Sir James Reckitt and Kathleen Saunders. He was the grandson of Isaac Reckitt (1792–1862), the founder of Reckitt & Sons consumer goods business. He was educated at Oliver's Mount School, Scarborough and King's College, Cambridge. In 1892 he qualified as a Barrister. In 1899 he married Christine Thomazia Howden in Kensington, they were divorced. In 1908 he married Julia Conner.[4]
Political service[]
In 1892 Reckitt was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the East Riding of Yorkshire.[5] In 1892 he first stood for parliament as Liberal candidate for Thirsk & Malton at the general election, coming second. In February 1893, he was Liberal candidate in the by-election caused by the Tory MP going to the Lords. He gained the seat by 63 votes. However, in May, following a petition organised by his defeated opponent, the election was ruled void and Reckitt was prevented from contesting the June by-election. In December 1894 he was Liberal candidate for Brigg at a by-election. He was unable to hold this Liberal seat, losing by 77 votes.
In August 1895 at the general election, he re-gained Brigg from the Tories. In 1897 he became Secretary of the political committee of the National Liberal Club as part of a take-over by the radicals. In 1898-99 he served as Sheriff of Hull.[6] He went on to retain Brigg at the general elections in 1900 and 1906. In January 1907 he resigned his seat.
In 1915, with Lady Johnstone, he founded a military hospital in France in Ris-Orangis called "Hôpital Militaire Johnstone-Reckitt".[7] The hospital was closed after the war but a street named "Rue Johnstone et Reckitt" still exists in Ris-Orangis.[8].
In 1924, after a break of eighteen years, he was Liberal candidate for Shoreditch at the general election. In a straight fight with Labour he came second, losing by 1,860 votes. In 1929 he again contested Shoreditch but on this occasion a Tory intervened. Reckitt came a comfortable second, but some distance behind the Labour candidate.
Electoral record[]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Lawson | 5,890 | 62.5 | n/a | |
Liberal | Harold James Reckitt | 3,541 | 37.5 | n/a | |
Majority | 2,349 | 25.0 | n/a | ||
Turnout | 9,431 | 77.2 | n/a | ||
Registered electors | 12,220 | ||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Harold James Reckitt | 1,228 | 51.3 | +2.2 | |
Conservative | John Reginald Shaw | 1,165 | 48.7 | -2.2 | |
Majority | 63 | 2.6 | 4.4 | ||
Turnout | 2,393 | 92.9 | +4.6 | ||
Registered electors | 2,575 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Maunsell Richardson | 4,377 | 50.4 | +2.9 | |
Liberal | Harold James Reckitt | 4,300 | 49.6 | −2.9 | |
Majority | 77 | 0.8 | n/a | ||
Turnout | 8,677 | 82.8 | +0.9 | ||
Registered electors | 10,478 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +2.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Harold James Reckitt | 4,886 | 54.3 | +1.8 | |
Conservative | John Maunsell Richardson | 4,110 | 45.7 | −1.8 | |
Majority | 776 | 8.6 | +3.6 | ||
Turnout | 8,996 | 77.2 | −4.7 | ||
Registered electors | 11,656 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +1.8 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Harold James Reckitt | 4,899 | 54.6 | +0.3 | |
Conservative | George Herbert Peake | 4,077 | 45.4 | −0.3 | |
Majority | 822 | 9.2 | +0.6 | ||
Turnout | 8,976 | 83.8 | +6.6 | ||
Registered electors | 10,713 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +0.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Harold James Reckitt | 5,753 | 58.8 | +4.2 | |
Conservative | Geoffrey Henry Julian Skeffington Smyth | 4,027 | 41.2 | −4.2 | |
Majority | 1,726 | 17.6 | +8.4 | ||
Turnout | 9,780 | 83.3 | −0.5 | ||
Registered electors | 11,737 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +4.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Ernest Thurtle | 16,608 | 53.0 | −3.6 | |
Liberal | Harold James Reckitt | 14,748 | 47.0 | +3.6 | |
Majority | 1,860 | 6.0 | −7.2 | ||
Turnout | 31,356 | 59.5 | +12.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −3.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Ernest Thurtle | 20,552 | 51.5 | −1.5 | |
Liberal | Harold James Reckitt | 12,981 | 32.6 | −13.6 | |
Unionist | Antony Bulwer-Lytton | 6,334 | 15.9 | n/a | |
Majority | 7,571 | 18.9 | +12.9 | ||
Turnout | 39,867 | 64.3 | +4.8 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | +6.4 |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "RECKITT, Sir Harold (James)". Who Was Who. A & C Black. 1920–2008. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 5)
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 2)
- ^ The Liberal Year Book of 1929
- ^ Dod's Parliamentary Companion of 1902
- ^ The Liberal Year Book of 1907
- ^ http://grhl.fr/2019/07/l-hopital-vr76-dit-johnstone-reckitt.html
- ^ https://goo.gl/maps/LHrSyK9eUQTimwmY7
- ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
- ^ "The Brigg Election". The Daily News. 10 December 1894. p. 3.
External links[]
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Harold Reckitt
- 1868 births
- 1930 deaths
- UK MPs 1892–1895
- UK MPs 1895–1900
- UK MPs 1900–1906
- UK MPs 1906–1910
- Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
- Reckitt family