Edward G. Fairholme

Edward G. Fairholme
Born	Edward George Robert Fairholme 7 November 1873 London
Died	6 January 1956 Frinton-on-Sea
Occupation	Animal welfare campaigner
Spouse	Eleanor Chew ​ (m. 1903)​

Edward George Robert Fairholme (7 November 1873 – 6 January 1956) was a British animal welfare campaigner and writer. He was chief secretary of the RSPCA from 1908 to 1933.

Biography

Fairholme was born in London.^[1] He was the son of Captain Charles Fairholme and Julie Pollnitz.^[2] He was educated privately at Chatham House School in Ramsgate. He worked at William Heinemann publishers from 1896 and joined Lawrence & Bullen Ltd in 1901. He was Deputy Assistant Director Veterinary Service 1915–1916.^[2] In 1899, he was secretary of the third International Publishers' Congress in London.^[2] He wrote articles for The Academy, The Nineteenth Century, The Outlook and The Sketch. Fairholme lived at Campden Hill Court in London.^[2] He married Eleanor Chew in 1903.^[3]

Fairholme was a captain in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in WWI.^[4][5] He was awarded the 1918 New Year Honours (OBE). His brother Lieutenant-Colonel Henry William Fairholme committed suicide in 1933.^[6] He died on 6 January 1956 at Frinton-on-Sea.^[1]

Animal welfare

Fairholme was chief secretary of the RSPCA from 1908 to 1933, succeeding Gerard Lysley Derriman.^[4][7] He was editor of the RSPCA's magazine The Animal World. He was an advocate of humane slaughter, suggesting that stun guns should be used on cattle and poultry.^[8]

Fairholme was a speaker at the First American International Humane Conference in Washington in 1910 and attended the Second International Humane Conference in 1923.^[9][10][11] He was also a speaker at meetings of the Society for Promotion of Kindness to Animals.^[12]

In 1924, he co-authored a history of the RSPCA. The Prince of Wales wrote a foreword for the book.^[13] A second edition was published in 1934.^[14]

Selected publications

• The R.S.P.C.A. and the Decrepit Horse Traffic to the Continent (1910)
• The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Why it Was Needed and What it Has Done (1914)
• A Century of Work for Animals: The History of the R.S.P.C.A., 1824-1924 (with Wellesley Pain, 1924)

References

1. "Edward George Robert Fairholme (1873 - 1956)". Roger Thomas's Genealogy. 2024. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024.
2. Oakes, Charles Henry. (1956). Who's Who, Volume 108. A. & C. Black. p. 961
3. Burke, Bernard. (1939). Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. Burke's Peerage. p. 739
4. "Long Service to Animals: The Late Mr. E. G. Fairholme". Illustrated London News. January 14, 1956. p. 63. (subscription required)
5. "We remember Edward George Robert Fairholme". Imperial War Museums. 2024. Archived from the original on September 7, 2024.
6. "Colonel Found Shot Dead". The Daily Mirror. March 8, 1933. p. 2. (subscription required)
7. "R.S.P.C.A. Secretaryship". The Globe. October 13, 1908. p. 9. (subscription required)
8. "Christmas Fare". The Sheffield Daily Independent. December 18, 1930. p. 6. (subscription required)
9. "Humane Education". Our Dumb Animals. 43 (6): 82. 1910.
10. "Second International Humane Conference". Our Dumb Animals. 56 (7): 106. 1923.
11. Coleman, Sydney H. (1924). Humane Society Leaders in America, with a Sketch of the Early History of the Humane Movement in England. The American Humane Association. p. 32
12. "Kind Words and Deeds". The Bath Chronicle and Herald. November 15, 1930. p. 9. (subscription required)
13. "The Prince on the R.S.P.C.A." The Daily News. August 2, 1924. p. 4.
14. "The R.S.P.C.A." Nature. 135: 164–165. 1935. doi:10.1038/135164a0.