Oswald Cawley (7 October 1882 – 22 August 1918),[1] styled The Honourable from January 1918, was a British soldier and Liberal Party politician.

Oswald Cawley

He was the fourth and youngest son of Frederick Cawley, 1st Baron Cawley and his wife Elizabeth Smith, daughter of John Smith.[2] An older brother was Harold Thomas Cawley.[2] Cawley was educated at Rugby School and New College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts.[3] He served as lieutenant of the Shropshire Yeomanry[3] and became a captain of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.[4] He fought in the First World War, where he was killed in action near Merville. Cawley was buried in Néry Communal Cemetery.[5]

Shortly before his death in 1918, Cawley had been elected in a by-election in January to succeed his father as Member of Parliament (MP) for Prestwich.[1]

Memorial to the Cawley brothers in St Peter and St Paul Church, Eye, Herefordshire

It was in memory of Oswald and two other sons - Harold and John - who died in the war that their father endowed a ward at Ancoats Hospital, Manchester, in 1919 at a cost of £10,000.[6] All three brothers are commemorated on the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall. Oswald and Harold, on Panel 8, are among the 22 MPs that died during World War I to be named on that memorial. John, included on the memorial as the son of an MP, appears on Panel 2 of the memorial.[7][8][9] Oswald Cawley is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war who are commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber.[10] 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 short biographical accounts of the life and death of the Cawley brothers.[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Leigh Rayment - British House of Commons, Prestwich". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ a b "ThePeerage - Captain Hon. Oswald Cawley". Retrieved 12 December 2006.
  3. ^ a b Debrett, John (1918). Arthur G. M. Hesilrige (ed.). Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench. London: Dean & Son. p. 30.
  4. ^ "No. 30972". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 October 1918. p. 12591.
  5. ^ "Casualty Details: Cawley, The Hon. Oswald". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  6. ^ Brockbank, E. M., ed. (1929). The Book of Manchester and Salford Written for the 97th Annual Meeting of the British Medical Association. Manchester: George Falkner. pp. 126–27.
  7. ^ "Recording Angel memorial Panel 2". Recording Angel memorial, Westminster Hall. UK Parliament (www.parliament.uk). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Recording Angel memorial Panel 8". Recording Angel memorial, Westminster Hall. UK Parliament (www.parliament.uk). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  9. ^ "List of names on the Recording Angel memorial, Westminster Hall" (PDF). Recording Angel memorial, Westminster Hall. UK Parliament (www.parliament.uk). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Cawley, Oswald". Heraldic shields to MPs, First World War. UK Parliament (www.parliament.uk). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  11. ^ "House of Commons War Memorial: Final Volumes Unveiled by The Speaker". The Times. No. 46050. London. 6 February 1932. p. 7.
  12. ^ Moss-Blundell, Edward Whitaker, ed. (1931). The House of Commons Book of Remembrance 1914–1918. E. Mathews & Marrot.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Prestwich
January 1918 – October 1918
Succeeded by