Bertram Falle, 1st Baron Portsea
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Bertram Godfray Falle, 1st Baron Portsea (21 November 1859 – 1 November 1948) was a Jersey-born barrister and politician in the United Kingdom.
He was born on Jersey in the Channel Islands, the son of Joshua George Falle (1820–1903) and Mary Elizabeth Falle, née Godfray (died 1917). Joshua Falle was Constable of Saint Helier and later Jurat of the Royal Court of Jersey.[1]
Bertram Falle was educated at Victoria College, Jersey, and graduated in 1886 from Pembroke College, Cambridge with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree, having been called to the bar in 1885 at the Inner Temple. In 1901 he graduated from the University of Paris with a Bachelor en droit degree.[2]
He was a Judge of the Native Court in Egypt from 1901 to 1903. During World War I he served in the Royal Field Artillery, gaining the rank of Major.[2]
Standing as a Liberal Unionist, Falle was elected at the January 1910 general election as one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for the Portsmouth constituency in Hampshire.[3] He joined the Conservative Party when the two parties formally merged in 1912, although the Liberal Unionists had long been indistinguishable from the Conservatives.
When the Portsmouth constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election, he was returned as a Coalition Conservative for the new single-seat Portsmouth North constituency.[4] Re-elected as a Conservative in 1922, he held the seat until his elevation to the peerage in 1934 as the first Baron Portsea; the title was purchased for £50,000 by his wife May, née Sturgis.[5] (May's father, Russell Sturgis,[6] had made his fortune in the opium trade before joining Barings Bank and later becoming head of the bank).
He had previously been made a baronet, on 7 July 1916, of Portsmouth.[7] Both titles became extinct on his death.
In accordance with his wishes, his sister Albina (who died in 1957) made a bequest to the States of Jersey which became the "Lord Portsea Gift Fund". The fund assists people from the Channel Islands who are unable to obtain sufficient financial support for additional training, re-training or specialised equipment in order to benefit their careers in the employment of the States of Jersey or of Guernsey, or of the United Kingdom.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ ThePeerage.com:Joshua George Falle
- ^ a b ThePeerage.com:Bertram Falle
- ^ Historical list of MPs: P at Leigh Rayment's peerage pages
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. [1969] (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, 3rd edition, Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- ^ Porter, Henry (2007-02-18). It's vain and venal, but let's trust the Lords. The Observer. Retrieved on 7 August 2007.
- ^ ThePeerage.com: Mary Hubbard Sturgis
- ^ Baronetage: F at Leigh Rayment's peerage pages
- ^ Lord Portsea Gift Fund
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Bramsdon and John Baker |
Member of Parliament for Portsmouth with Lord Charles Beresford, 1910–1916; Sir Hedworth Meux, 1916–1918 Jan. 1910–1918 |
Succeeded by constituency abolished |
| Preceded by new constituency |
Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North 1918–1934 |
Succeeded by Roger Keyes |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by new creation |
Baronet of Portsmouth 1917–1948 |
Succeeded by extinct |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by new creation |
Baron Portsea 1934–1948 |
Succeeded by extinct |
