Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster Information

He was born at Southend Hall, Catford, then in Kent, England, the son of an Army officer. He was educated at Eton and Oxford. He was a first-class cricketer and served as president of the Marylebone Cricket Club, one of the most prestigious posts of the English establishment. He was also keen on yachting and horse-racing.

Political career

Forster entered the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks at the 1892 general election.^[1] He held that seat until 1918,^[2] when he was elected for the new Bronley constituency.^[3] He held junior office in the Conservative Government of Lord Salisbury and in the wartime coalition government. In 1919 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Forster, of Lepe in the County of Southampton.^[4]

Governor-General of Australia

In June 1920 Forster was offered the post of Governor-General of Australia, which he accepted. Shortly afterwards, on 28 June 1920, he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). This was the first occasion on which the Australian government was genuinely consulted about the appointment of a Governor-General. The Colonial Secretary, Lord Milner, sent the Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, two other suggested appointments before Hughes approved of Forster. Hughes seems to have preferred Forster because he was a man of modest reputation whom he thought he could control. His reputation as a sportsman was also an asset.

Forster arrived in October 1920. He found that the congenial atmosphere of pre-war Australian politics had been shattered by the bitter battles of the wartime period. Hughes's Nationalist Party dominated the political scene. The Labor Party had moved to the left in opposition and was now anti-imperialist and pacifist, and more markedly socialist.

But Forster played almost no direct role in Australian politics during his five years in the country. There was only one change of government during his term, when Hughes was replaced by Stanley Bruce in February 1923, and Forster took no part in the manoeuverings that led to the change. As Australia became more independent and more confident in its international relations, the role of the Governor-General as an overseer and intermediary declined. Forster's predecessor, Munro-Ferguson, had resisted this trend, but Forster was not a strong enough personality to do so.

Instead Forster's role became more like that of a modern Governor-General: opening fetes, visiting hospitals, attending sporting events, hosting balls and banquets. As a result, he became considerably more popular than most of his predecessors, but exercised less real influence than any of them. Forster and his wife Rachel devoted themselves to charities, and Forster spent much time travelling to all the states and country areas, unveiling war memorials and making patriotic speeches. The day of the decorative Governor-General had arrived.

In 1925, a new women's hospital in Redfern, Sydney was named the "Rachel Forster Hospital for Women" in Lady Forster's honour.^[5] The hospital is now closed and the former site has been redeveloped.^[6] There is a "Lady Forster Kindergarten" in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The Forsters departed Australia in October 1925, well liked but unremarked.

Family

Lord Forster married the Hon. Rachel Cecily Douglas-Scott-Montagu, daughter of the 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, in 1890. After Forster's return from Australia they settled near Southampton, and lived quietly until Forster's death in 1936. Lady Forster was invested as a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1926. She was also invested as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.^[7] They had two sons, John Forster and Alfred Henry Forster, who were both killed in the First World War, and two daughters, Dorothy Charlotte Forster and Emily Rachel Forster. Because Lord Forster had no surviving sons, the barony of Forster became extinct on his death.

Notes

1. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 308. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
2. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 2)
3. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 110. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
4. ^ London Gazette: no. 31692, p. 15618, 16 December 1919.
5. ^ [1], [2]
6. ^ Major Project Application - Rachel Forster Hospital MP 07_0029 - On Exhibition – REDWatch - Redfern Eveleigh Darlington Waterloo Watch Group
7. ^ thePeerage.com - Person Page 6852

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Henry Forster
• Cricinfo profile: Henry Forster
• Lady Forster Kindergarten - Port Melbourne, Australia

Categories: 1866 births | 1936 deaths | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies | Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom | Conservative Party (UK) MPs | Governors-General of Australia | Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George | People from Kent | Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom | Old Etonians | Deputy Lieutenants of Kent | English cricketers | Hampshire cricketers | Oxford University cricketers | UK MPs 1892–1895 | UK MPs 1895–1900 | UK MPs 1900–1906 | UK MPs 1906–1910 | UK MPs 1910 | UK MPs 1910–1918 | UK MPs 1918–1922 | I Zingari cricketers

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