Captain Harold Thomas Cawley (12 June 1878 – 23 September 1915)[1] was a British barrister, Liberal Party politician and soldier.
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Born at Crumpsall, he was the second son of Frederick Cawley, 1st Baron Cawley and his wife Elizabeth Smith, daughter of John Smith.[2] His younger brother was Oswald Cawley.[2] Cawley was educated at Rugby School and then at New College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Master of Arts.[3] He was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1902 and went to the Northern Circuit, working in Lancashire.[3] Two years later he joined the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, Manchester Regiment.[4]
In 1910, Cawley entered the British House of Commons for Heywood,[1] and a year later he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary Reginald McKenna.[2] In 1914 he became aide de camp to Major-General William Douglas, the officer commanding 42nd (East Lancashire) Division.[4]
In the First World War, Cawley fought in the Battle of Gallipoli where he was killed in action.[5] Before his death, he sent a letter to his father, at that time representative of Prestwich in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[4] As a Member of Parliament the letter was not subject to military censorship, and it reported the mishandling of the Dardanelles campaign in some detail.[4]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by Sir Edward Hopkinson Holden |
Member of Parliament for Heywood January 1910 – 1915 |
Succeeded by Albert Holden Illingworth |