Henry Paterson Gisborne

British Solicitor and Liberal Party politician

Henry Paterson Gisborne JP (11 December 1888 – 8 August 1953), was a prominent British Solicitor and Liberal Party politician.

## Background

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He married Katherine Helen Noble, who died in 1925. In 1928 he married Dorothy Mary Pratt. They had two daughters.[1]

## Professional career

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Gisborne was a solicitor and senior partner of Lewis & Lewis and Gisborne & Co., 10, 11, and 12 Ely Place, EC1. During World War One he served as a lieutenant in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment.[2] He was a member of the literary staff of 'International Law Notes'. He was the prime mover in the Law Society amalgamation of the two branches of the legal profession.[3]

## Political career

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Gisborne was Liberal candidate for the Coventry division of Warwickshire at the 1923 General Election. The Liberals had previously lost Coventry to the Coalition in 1918 and at the 1922 election they had come third. The election in 1923 produced a very close three-way result; Gisborne finished third but only 430 votes behind the winning Labour candidate. He fought Coventry again in 1924, a bad election for the Liberal Party, when his vote dropped. Despite this, he was able to secure the candidacy for a better seat for the Liberals. He was Liberal candidate for the Scarborough and Whitby division of Yorkshire at the 1929 General Election. This was a Unionist constituency where Labour always came a poor third, while Liberal and Unionist battled it out. He was able to increase the Liberal vote share, but the Unionist held on by over 3,000 votes. He did not stand for parliament again.[4] He served as a Justice of the Peace in London.[5]

### Electoral record

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General Election 1923: Coventry [6] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Labour | A. A. Purcell | 16,346  | 34.2  | +1.1
| Unionist | Edward Manville | 15,726  | 32.9  | −9.7
| Liberal | Henry Paterson Gisborne | 15,716  | 32.9  | +8.6
Majority  | 620  | 1.3  | 10.8
Turnout |  | 77.1  | −3.7
| Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +5.4  |
Scarborough & Whitby in North Yorkshire 1929 General Election 1929: Scarborough and Whitby [7] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Unionist | Sidney Herbert | 20,710  | 48.3  | −9.2
| Liberal | Henry Paterson Gisborne | 17,544  | 40.9  | +6.7
| Labour | H D Rowntree  | 4,645  | 10.8  | +2.5
Majority  | 3,166  | 7.4  | −15.9
Turnout |  | 79.7  | +0.8
| Unionist hold | Swing | -8.0  |

## References

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1. ^ 'GISBORNE, Henry Paterson’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 24 Feb 2016
2. ^ 'GISBORNE, Henry Paterson’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 24 Feb 2016
3. ^ The Times House of Commons, 1929
4. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1973, FWS Craig
5. ^ 'GISBORNE, Henry Paterson’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014 accessed 24 Feb 2016
6. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
7. ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig