Charles Lyell (Liberal politician)

Major Charles Henry Lyell (18 May 1875 – 18 October 1918) was a British politician and Liberal Member of Parliament who died in the First World War.

Major Charles Lyell MP
Charles Lyell. circa 1906
Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South
In office 1910–1917
Preceded by	Arthur Dewar
Succeeded by	Edward Parrott
Majority	2,327 (15.4%)
Member of Parliament for East Dorset
In office 1904–1910
Preceded by	Humphrey Sturt
Succeeded by	Freddie Guest
Majority	820 (7.4%)
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
In office 1911–1915
Prime Minister	H. H. Asquith
Preceded by	Geoffrey Howard
Succeeded by	Sir John Barran
Personal details
Born	Charles Henry Lyell (1875-05-18)18 May 1875
Died	18 October 1918(1918-10-18) (aged 43) Washington D.C.
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Rosalind Margaret Watney (m. 1911)
Children	2
Relatives	Leonard Lyell Charles Lyell
Education	Eton College
Alma mater	New College, Oxford
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1900–1908 and 1914–1918
Rank	Lieutenant, Captain, Major
Unit	Forfar and Kincardine Artillery Highland Battery of the Fife Royal Garrison Artillery
Battles/wars	First World War

Education and private life

Charles Henry Lyell in military uniform

Lyell was born in 1875, the only son of Leonard Lyell, 1st Baron Lyell, and was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford. Whilst at Oxford he became a Freemason in the Apollo University Lodge, a Masonic lodge for students and former students of the university.^{[1]: 38 [2]}

He married Rosalind Margaret Watney on 18 May 1911 at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire. They had one son, Charles Anthony Lyell (later 2nd Baron Lyell) and one daughter, Margaret Laetitia.^[3][4]

Political career

Lyell was elected to represent East Dorset in a 1904 by-election, and was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, in 1906.^[3] He was re-elected at the 1906 general election, but failed to win election in the January 1910 general election, where he contested Edinburgh West.^[5] He was elected for Edinburgh South at a by-election in April, and won re-election in the December general election. He was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to H. H. Asquith, the Prime Minister, in February 1911,^[6][4] and stood down from the seat in May 1917.^[5]

Military career

Lyell was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Forfar and Kincardine Artillery Militia in 1900, and served until 1908 when the Militia was dissolved under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. He then served as the vice-chairman of the County Territorial Association for Forfarshire. On the outbreak of the First World War, he was gazetted a captain in the Fife Royal Garrison Artillery, and in May 1915 made a major in the Highland Battery of the Fife RGA.^[3]

Death

House of Commons commemoration of Lyell

Charles Henry Lyell died on 18 October 1918 of pneumonia during the global Spanish flu pandemic while serving as Assistant Military Attaché to the US,^[5] and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.^[7] Lyell is commemorated on Panel 1 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall, one of 22 MPs that died during the First World War to be named on that memorial.^[8][9] 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 includes a short biographical account of the life and death of Lyell.^[10][11]