Harold Reckitt

Sir Harold James Reckitt JP MP (5 May 1868 – 29 December 1930) was a British Liberal Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pontefract from February to June, 1893. He was MP for Brigg from 1895 to 1907.[1][2][3]

Reckitt in 1895

Background and education

He was born the eldest son of Sir James Reckitt and Kathleen Saunders. He was the grandson of Isaac Reckitt (1792–1862), the founder of Reckitt & Sons consumer goods business. He was educated at Oliver's Mount School, Scarborough and King's College, Cambridge. In 1892 he qualified as a Barrister. In 1899 he married Christine Thomazia Howden in Kensington, they were divorced. In 1908 he married Julia Conner.[4]

Political service

In 1892 Reckitt was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the East Riding of Yorkshire.[5] In 1892 he first stood for parliament as Liberal candidate for Thirsk & Malton at the general election, coming second. In February 1893, he was Liberal candidate in the by-election caused by the Tory MP going to the Lords. He gained the seat by 63 votes. However, in May, following a petition organised by his defeated opponent, the election was ruled void and Reckitt was prevented from contesting the June by-election. In December 1894 he was Liberal candidate for Brigg at a by-election. He was unable to hold this Liberal seat, losing by 77 votes.
In August 1895 at the general election, he re-gained Brigg from the Tories. In 1897 he became Secretary of the political committee of the National Liberal Club as part of a take-over by the radicals. In 1898-99 he served as Sheriff of Hull.[6] He went on to retain Brigg at the general elections in 1900 and 1906. In January 1907 he resigned his seat.

During the First World War in 1915, with Lady Johnstone, he founded a military hospital in France in Ris-Orangis called "Hôpital Militaire Johnstone-Reckitt".[7] The hospital was closed after the war but a street named "Rue Johnstone et Reckitt" still exists in Ris-Orangis.[8]

In 1924, after a break of eighteen years, he was Liberal candidate for Shoreditch at the general election. In a straight fight with Labour he came second, losing by 1,860 votes. In 1929 he again contested Shoreditch but on this occasion a Tory intervened. Reckitt came a comfortable second, but some distance behind the Labour candidate.

Electoral record
General election 1892: Thirsk and Malton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Lawson 5,890 62.5 n/a
Liberal Harold James Reckitt 3,541 37.5 n/a
Majority 2,349 25.0 n/a
Turnout 9,431 77.2 n/a
Registered electors 12,220
Conservative hold
February 1893 Pontefract by-election[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harold James Reckitt 1,228 51.3 +2.2
Conservative John Reginald Shaw 1,165 48.7 -2.2
Majority 63 2.6 4.4
Turnout 2,393 92.9 +4.6
Registered electors 2,575
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +2.2
1894 Brigg by-election[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Maunsell Richardson 4,377 50.4 +2.9
Liberal Harold James Reckitt 4,300 49.6 −2.9
Majority 77 0.8 n/a
Turnout 8,677 82.8 +0.9
Registered electors 10,478
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +2.9
General election 1895: Brigg
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harold James Reckitt 4,886 54.3 +1.8
Conservative John Maunsell Richardson 4,110 45.7 −1.8
Majority 776 8.6 +3.6
Turnout 8,996 77.2 −4.7
Registered electors 11,656
Liberal hold Swing +1.8
General election 1900: Brigg
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harold James Reckitt 4,899 54.6 +0.3
Conservative George Herbert Peake 4,077 45.4 −0.3
Majority 822 9.2 +0.6
Turnout 8,976 83.8 +6.6
Registered electors 10,713
Liberal hold Swing +0.3
General election 1906: Brigg
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Harold James Reckitt 5,753 58.8 +4.2
Conservative Geoffrey Henry Julian Skeffington Smyth 4,027 41.2 −4.2
Majority 1,726 17.6 +8.4
Turnout 9,780 83.3 −0.5
Registered electors 11,737
Liberal hold Swing +4.2
General election 1924: Shoreditch
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ernest Thurtle 16,608 53.0 −3.6
Liberal Harold James Reckitt 14,748 47.0 +3.6
Majority 1,860 6.0 −7.2
Turnout 31,356 59.5 +12.1
Labour hold Swing −3.6
General election 1929: Shoreditch
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ernest Thurtle 20,552 51.5 −1.5
Liberal Harold James Reckitt 12,981 32.6 −13.6
Unionist Antony Bulwer-Lytton 6,334 15.9 n/a
Majority 7,571 18.9 +12.9
Turnout 39,867 64.3 +4.8
Labour hold Swing +6.4

See also

References
  1. "RECKITT, Sir Harold (James)". Who Was Who. A & C Black. 1920–2008. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 5)
  3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 2)
  4. The Liberal Year Book of 1929
  5. Dod's Parliamentary Companion of 1902
  6. The Liberal Year Book of 1907
  7. "L'HÔPITAL VR76 DIT « JOHNSTONE-RECKITT » - GRHL - Groupe Rissois d'Histoire Locale - Association".
  8. "Rue Johnstone et Reckitt · 91130 Ris-Orangis, France".
  9. British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  10. "The Brigg Election". The Daily News. 10 December 1894. p. 3.
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