George Gilbert Desmond (born 1867) was a British barrister, author and political activist.
The British people, or Britons, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies. British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, "British" or "Britons" can refer to the Celtic Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain and Brittany, whose surviving members are the modern Welsh people, Cornish people, and Bretons. It may also refer to citizens of the former British Empire.
Born in Brockworth, Desmond was educated at Bristol Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge, afterwards becoming a barrister with Middle Temple. He contributed the "Nature Notes" column to the Daily News , and also wrote a number of children's books, including Bertha Stories, Snow Sprites, Ring of Nature and Roll of the Seasons. [1] [2]
Brockworth is a village and district of Gloucester in Gloucestershire, England, situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Barnwood. It is located 4 miles southeast of central Gloucester, 6 miles southwest of Cheltenham and 11.5 miles north of Stroud. The population taken at the 2011 census was 7,387.
Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England that was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorne to educate the sons of the city's merchants and tradesmen. The school flourished in the early 20th century under headmaster Sir Cyril Norwood (1906–1916), embodying "the ideals and experiences of a leading public school". Norwood went on to serve as the master at Marlborough College and Harrow.
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The aims of the college, as specified by its statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning and research. It is one of the larger Oxbridge colleges in terms of student numbers. For 2018, St. John’s was ranked 9th of 29 colleges in the Tompkins Table with over 30% of its students earning First-class honours.
Desmond volunteered to fight in World War I, but was captured and became a prisoner-of-war. [3] On release, he worked as a war correspondent for the Daily News, then as a special correspondent for the paper in Berlin. [1]
World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the resulting 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.
Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,748,148 (2018) inhabitants make it the second most populous city proper of the European Union after London. The city is one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. The two cities are at the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg capital region, which is, with about six million inhabitants and an area of more than 30,000 km², Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions.
Desmond also joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP), writing for New Leader . The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party, and Desmond was chair of the Stroud Constituency Labour Party from 1920 to 1922. At the 1924 UK general election, he stood unsuccessfully in Petersfield. In 1926/27, he was the chair of the South Western Division of the ILP. [2] [1] Desmond stood for Labour in the 1929 Bath by-election, improving the party's vote, but taking only third place. [4] He stood again in the 1929, 1931 and 1935 UK general elections, taking third place each time, and was adopted as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the election expected in 1939 or 1940. He was put under pressure to withdraw in support of a Liberal Party candidate who backed the Popular Front, but did not do so. However, no election was held, due to the outbreak of World War II. [5]
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893, when the Liberals appeared reluctant to endorse working-class candidates, representing the interests of the majority. A sitting independent MP and prominent union organiser, Keir Hardie, became its first chairman.
The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.
Stroud is a market town and civil parish in the centre of Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District.
