Donald Bradley Somervell, Baron Somervell

Donald Bradley Somervell, Baron Somervell (August 24 1889-November 18 1960) was a British politician.

Related Topics:
August 24 - 1889 - November 18 - 1960

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The son of the Master and Bursar of Harrow School, Somervell was educated there before reading chemistry at Oxford. He then joined the Inner Temple but his legal training was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. In 1916 he was called to the Bar and practiced in the chambers of William Jowitt, specialising in commercial law matters arising out of the Treaty of Versailles.

Related Topics:
Harrow School - Oxford - Inner Temple - First World War - 1916 - The Bar - William Jowitt - Treaty of Versailles

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In 1929 he entered politics. Although a Liberal by inclination, the decline of that party and his admiration for the then-Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin led him to instead join the Conservative Party and he stood unsuccessfully for Crewe in the 1929 general election. He won the seat in the 1931 election and held it for the next fourteen years.

Related Topics:
1929 - Liberal - Stanley Baldwin - Conservative Party - Crewe - 1929 general election - 1931 election

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In 1933 he became Solicitor General, followed three years later by a promotion to Attorney General. In this latter post he served for no less than nine years, during which he oversaw crises such as the Abdication Crisis of Edward VIII. In 1945 he was briefly Home Secretary in Winston Churchill's "Caretaker" government. The government lost power and Somervell lost his seat in the 1945 general election and he returned to the law. In 1946 he became a Lord Justice of Appeal. In 1951 Churchill returned to power but passed over Somervell's claims to the Lord Chancellorship. In 1954 Somervell became a Law Lord. He retired in 1960, shortly before his death.

Related Topics:
1933 - Solicitor General - Attorney General - Abdication Crisis of Edward VIII - 1945 - Home Secretary - Winston Churchill - 1945 general election - 1946 - Lord Justice of Appeal - 1951 - Lord Chancellorship - 1954 - Law Lord - 1960

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