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Willoughby Hyett Dickinson, 1st Baron Dickinson, KBE, PC (9 April 1859 – 31 May 1943), was a British Liberal Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for St. Pancras North from 1906 to 1918. He was an influential proponent of establishing a League of Nations after the First World War.^[1]

Background

Dickinson was the son of Sebastian Stewart Dickinson, Member of Parliament for Stroud. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.^[2] He married Elizabeth, daughter of General Sir Richard John Meade,^[3] in 1891. They had three children, one of whom was Frances Joan Dickinson, Baroness Northchurch. On 18 January 1930 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Dickinson, of Painswick in the County of Gloucester.^[4] Lord Dickinson died in May 1943, aged 84, and was succeeded in the barony by his grandson Richard, his only son the Hon. Richard Sebastian Willoughby Dickinson having predeceased him. Willoughby Dickinson's sister, Frances May, an anaesthetist, was the first wife of surgeon Sir James Berry.^[5]

Political career

He served as vice-chairman of the recently formed London County Council from 1892 to 1896 and then its chairman from March 1900 to March 1901.^[6] From 1896 until 1918, he was chair of the London Liberal Federation.^[7] He was an assiduous supporter of women's suffrage, promoting a number of measures in Parliament to get the vote for women.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] Dickinson was made a Privy Counsellor in 1914. He did not stand for parliament again.^[12] He was later secretary-general of the World Alliance for International Friendship, and from 1931 chairman of its International Council.^[13] In 1930, he joined the Labour Party, but the following year he was part of the National Labour Organisation split.^[7]

Electoral record

General election 1900: St Pancras North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Robert Pacy Moon	3,056	56.6	+4.9
	Liberal	Willoughby Dickinson	2,345	43.4	−4.4
Majority			711	13.2	+9.3
Turnout			5,401	71.2	−4.4
Registered electors			7,582
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.7

General election 1906: St Pancras North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Willoughby Dickinson	4,094	60.8	+17.4
	Conservative	Edward Robert Pacy Moon	2,643	39.2	−17.4
Majority			1,451	21.6	n/a
Turnout			6,737	84.0	+12.8
Registered electors			8,021
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+17.4

General election January 1910 St Pancras North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Willoughby Dickinson	4,970	58.0	−2.8
	Conservative	H A Pakenham	3,603	42.0	+2.8
Majority			1,367	16.0	−5.6
Turnout			8,573	85.9	+1.9
Registered electors			9,977
	Liberal hold		Swing	−2.8

General election December 1910 St Pancras North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Willoughby Dickinson	4,407	57.7	−0.3
	Conservative	Arthur Moon	3,230	42.3	+0.3
Majority			1,177	15.4	−0.6
Turnout			7,637	76.5	−9.4
Registered electors			9,977
	Liberal hold		Swing	−0.3

General election 1918: St Pancras North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
C	Unionist	John William Lorden	7,260	41.4	−0.9
	Liberal	Willoughby Dickinson	5,596	32.0	−25.7
	Labour	John Gilbert Dale	4,651	26.6	n/a
Majority			1,664	9.4	n/a
Turnout			33,747	51.9	−24.6
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	+12.4
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

General election 1922: St Pancras North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	John William Lorden	9,156	37.7	−3.7
	Labour	John Gilbert Dale	8,165	33.6	+7.0
	Liberal	Willoughby Dickinson	6,979	28.7	−3.3
Majority			991	4.1	−5.3
Turnout				66.0	+14.1
	Unionist hold		Swing	−5.3

Arms

Coat of arms of Willoughby Dickinson, 1st Baron Dickinson
	Crest Issuant from clouds a dexter cubit arm erect the hand holding an olive branch fructed all Proper. Escutcheon Or a bend cottised between two lions passant Gules. Supporters Dexter a falcon Proper collared and lined Or sinister a dove holding in the beak an olive branch both Proper. Motto Seek Agreement^[14]

References

^ Kaiga, Sakiko (2021). Britain and the Intellectual Origins of the League of Nations, 1914–1919. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-48917-1.
^ "Dickinson, Willoughby Hyett (DKN877WH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
^ Lundy, Darryl. "p. 7400 § 73997 - Person Page 7400". The Peerage.^{[unreliable source]}
^ "No. 33572". The London Gazette. 21 January 1930. p. 425.
^ "Berry, Sir James (1860–1946)". livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
^ "London County Council". The Times. 14 March 1900. p. 3.
^ ^a ^b Cline, Catherine Ann (1963). Recruits to Labour. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. p. 157.
^ "Womens Enfranchisement Bill 1 (1907)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 15 February 1907. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^ "Womens Enfranchisement Bill 1 (1908)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 28 February 1908. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
^ from March 1907 to the Representation of the People Bill of 1913. During World War I the Speakers Conference on electoral reform included two influential Liberal suffragists, Sir John Simon and W. H. Dickinson, who helped ensure that it recommended granting the vote to women.[1]
^ Summary of 1912 Conciliation Bill debate; Dickinson quoted as, I regard this question of the women's franchise as part of the movement of civilisation.
^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1973, FWS Craig
^ Mentioned in Nobel Peace Prize speech 1930, by Nathan Söderblom.
^ Debrett's Peerage. 2019. p. 2360.

Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. ISBN 9780333388471.^{[page needed]}
Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages ^{[self-published source]} ^{[better source needed]}
Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.^{[unreliable source]}

Political offices
Preceded by Lord Welby	Chairman of the London County Council 1900–1901	Succeeded by Andrew Mitchell Torrance
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Edward Robert Pacy Moon	Member of Parliament for St Pancras North 1906–1918	Succeeded by John William Lorden
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baron Dickinson 1930–1943	Succeeded by Richard Clavering Hyett Dickinson