Remove ads
Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes (known as Tommy) (22 May 1880 – 30 September 1915) was a British Liberal politician.
Tommy Agar-Robartes was the eldest son and heir of Thomas Agar-Robartes, 6th Viscount Clifden, and his wife Mary (née Dickenson) and was brought up at Lanhydrock House, Bodmin. He was the eldest of ten (including a twin sister).[1] Educated at Oxford and a keen horseman, he played in the Oxford University polo team that beat Cambridge in 1903.[2]
He was elected a Member of Parliament for Bodmin in the 1906 general election, but lost his seat in June 1906 following a controversial election petition by the defeated candidate alleging illegal payments to potential voters. He was elected to the St Austell Division of Cornwall in a by-election in 1908 and held the seat until his death.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal 1st Devon Imperial Yeomanry on 13 May 1902.[3][4] At the outbreak of World War I he joined the Royal Bucks Hussars as an officer. Tommy then joined the Coldstream Guards and was subsequently posted to France & Flanders. Captain The Honourable Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes, in command of No. 2 Coy, 1st Bn, the Coldstream Guards, was wounded in the Battle of Loos on 28 September and killed by a sniper on 30 September 1915 after rescuing a wounded comrade under heavy fire for which he was recommended for the Victoria Cross.
Remove ads
Agar-Robartes is buried in Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, near Béthune.[5] He is commemorated by a memorial in Truro Cathedral[6] and in stained glass at Selsey Abbey, Wimpole[7] and Church Norton.[8]
Agar-Robartes is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall, one of 22 MPs who died during World War I to be named on that memorial.[9][10] Agar-Robartes is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war who are commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber.[11] A further act of commemoration came with the unveiling in 1932 of a manuscript-style illuminated book of remembrance for the House of Commons, which included a short biographical account of the life and death of Agar-Robartes.[12][13] As Agar-Robartes never married and had no children, his younger brother Francis later succeeded their father in the viscountcy.
Remove ads
- Headstone at Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, near Béthune[14]
- Wooden battlefield marker St Hydroc's Church, Lanhydrock, Cornwall[15]
- Granite memorial seat at Truro Road, St Austell, Cornwall[16]
- Stained glass window at St Hydroc Church, Lanhydrock, Cornwall[17]
- Stained glass window at Selsey Abbey, Sussex[citation needed]
- Stained glass window at St Andrew's Church, Wimpole, Cambridgeshire[18]
- Stained glass window at St Wilfrid's Chapel, Church Norton, West Sussex[19]
- Marble bust at Truro Cathedral
- Wooden armorial shield at the House of Commons[20]
- Brass plaque in Holy Trinity Church, St Austell[21]
Remove ads
Remove ads
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads