Gordon Hall Caine | |
|---|---|
 In The Sketch , 11 December 1901 | |
| Born | 15 August 1884 Hampstead, London, England |
| Died | 5 March 1962 (aged 70) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Publisher, businessman |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Derwent Hall Caine (brother) |
Gordon Ralph Hall Caine CBE (15 August 1884 – 5 March 1962) was a British publisher and Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Dorset East between 1922 and 1929, and again between 1931 and 1945.
Caine was the son of British novelist Thomas Henry Hall Caine and his wife Mary Chandler. He was born at Hampstead London.
His father had dramatic interests in America and in 1902 Gordon Caine was in America to study business methods and consider publishing an American version of Household Words . [1] With his brother, Derwent Hall Caine, he founded the publishing firm named The Readers Library Publishing Company Ltd. [2] The firm was "arguably the first in Britain to specialise in novelizations of films". [3] [4] In 1920 as Deputy Controller of Paper, he was appointed a CBE. [5]
At the 1922 general election Hall Caine was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for East Dorset as an Independent Conservative. He took the Conservative Whip in 1923 and held the seat until the 1929 general election, when he lost to Liberal candidate Alec Glassey. In the 1931 general election he regained the East Dorset seat, this time until 1945. [6] His brother Derwent had won Everton in 1929 as a Labour candidate, but lost it in 1931.
Hall Caine had residences at Greeba Castle (previously owned by his father) and at Maidenhead, Wooley Firs. In the 1950s he moved with his second wife, Sarah Tripp, into a townhouse in Park Lane, which was round the corner from his office at Old Burlington Street.
He died at his home in London on 5 March 1962. [7]
In 1935 Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Caine established the Hall Caine Airport on the Isle of Man. [8] Both Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine's sons were particularly keen on the development of an aerodrome in the north of the Isle of Man, as they saw it as another bit of the island as being associated with their late father. [9] They were said to be extremely interested in the progress of the Isle of Man and in particular its transport infrastructure. They also wished to include Ramsey's municipal authority in the project, as they were both of the opinion that the aerodrome would bring immense benefit to the town. [9]
Amongst the ambitious plans envisaged by Derwent Hall Caine was the inclusion of the airfield as part of an air network running the length of the country from Jersey and staging through numerous destinations including Close Lake, terminating at Campbeltown. [9] In an interview with the Ramsey Courier Derwent Hall Caine stated that from the introduction of air services, the site was to be known as Hall Caine Manx Airport. This was subsequently changed to the Hall Caine Airport, Ramsey. With all parties duly satisfied, Hall Caine Airport officially came into being on 30 April 1935.
Hall Caine Airport flourished from 1935 until it ceased commercial operations in 1937. [10]
Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine, usually known as Hall Caine, was a British novelist, dramatist, short story writer, poet and critic of the late 19th and early 20th century. Caine's popularity during his lifetime was unprecedented. He wrote 15 novels on subjects of adultery, divorce, domestic violence, illegitimacy, infanticide, religious bigotry and women's rights, became an international literary celebrity, and sold a total of ten million books. Caine was the most highly paid novelist of his day. The Eternal City is the first novel to have sold over a million copies worldwide. In addition to his books, Caine is the author of more than a dozen plays and was one of the most commercially successful dramatists of his time; many were West End and Broadway productions. Caine adapted seven of his novels for the stage. He collaborated with leading actors and managers, including Wilson Barrett, Viola Allen, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Louis Napoleon Parker, Mrs Patrick Campbell, George Alexander, and Arthur Collins. Most of Caine's novels were adapted into silent black and white films. A. E. Coleby's 1923 18,454 feet, nineteen-reel film The Prodigal Son became the longest commercially made British film. Alfred Hitchcock's 1929 film The Manxman, is Hitchcock's last silent film.
Ramsey is a coastal town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the Island after Douglas. Its population is 8,288 according to the 2021 Census. It has one of the biggest harbours on the Island, and has a prominent derelict pier, called the Queen's Pier. It was formerly one of the main points of communication with Scotland. Ramsey has also been a route for several invasions by the Vikings and Scots.
British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd, and Hillman's Airways. Its corporate emblem was a winged lion.
The 11th Milestone, Isle of Man is situated adjacent to the 13th Milestone on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road which forms the boundary between the parishes of Kirk German and Kirk Michael in the Isle of Man.
Royal Air Force Jurby, or more simply RAF Jurby, is a former Royal Air Force station built in the north west of the Isle of Man. It was opened in 1939 on 400 acres (1.6 km2) of land acquired by the Air Ministry in 1937, under the control of No. 29 Group, RAF. During the Second World War the station was used for training as No. 5 Armament Training Station, No. 5 Air Observer School, No. 5 Bombing & Gunnery School and the No. 5 Air Navigation & Bombing School. In addition RAF Jurby also played host to a variety of operational squadrons.
Hall Caine Airport, also referred to as Close Lake Airfield, was an airfield on the Isle of Man located near the town of Ramsey. It was named after the author Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE by his sons Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Caine, who initiated the project, and was the first airport in the British Isles to be named after a person.
Sir Joseph Davidson Qualtrough CBE JP SHK was Speaker of the House of Keys from 1937 to 1960.
The Hendy 281 Hobo was a British single-seat light monoplane designed by Basil B. Henderson and built by the Hendy Aircraft Company at Shoreham Airport in 1929. Only one aircraft was built, registered G-AAIG, and first flown in October 1929 by Edgar Percival.
Alec Ewart Glassey was a British Liberal politician. He was Member of Parliament for East Dorset from 1929 to 1931.
Sir Derwent Hall Caine, 1st Baronet was a British actor, publisher and Labour then National Labour politician.
Stanley Park Aerodrome was an airfield located in the Stanley Park area of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It was also known as Blackpool Municipal Airport, and was in use for civil and military flying from 1929 until closure of the airfield in 1947. The site is now used by Blackpool Zoo.
Ballaugh Bridge is located on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey road and adjacent to the road junctions with the A10 Ballaugh to Ramsey coast road and the tertiary C37 Ballaugh Glen Road in the parish of Ballaugh in the Isle of Man.
The Manxman is a novel by Hall Caine, first appearing as a serial in The Queen, The Lady's Newspaper and Court Chronicle between January and July 1894. Published as one volume in August 1894 by Heinemann, The Manxman ended the system of three-volume novels. A highly popular novel of its period, it was set in the Isle of Man and concerned a romantic triangle. The novel has as its central themes, the mounting consequences of sin and the saving grace of simple human goodness.
Oscar Garden was a Scottish-born Antipodean aviator and horticulturist.
Josephine Kermode (1852–1937) was a Manx poet and playwright better known by the pen name "Cushag".
The Bondman is an 1890 best-selling novel by Hall Caine set in the Isle of Man and Iceland. It was the first novel to be released by the newly established Heinemann publishing company. It was a phenomenal success and was later adapted into a successful play and two silent films.
Kathleen Faragher (1904–1974) was the most significant and prolific Manx dialect writer of the mid twentieth century. She is best known for her poems first published in the Ramsey Courier and collected into five books published between 1955 and 1967. She was also a prolific short story writer and playwright. Her work is renowned for its humour born of a keen observation of Manx characters, and for its evocative portrayal of the Isle of Man and its people.
George Quarrie was a Manx poet active in the 1880s–1910s, best known for his poem, The Melliah.
Juan Noa was the pen-name of John Henry Cleator, a Manx dialect poet and playwright active from the 1920s to the 1960s in the Isle of Man.
Arthur Binns Crookall JP, MLC, CP, was a philanthropist, Mayor of the Borough of Douglas, a member of both branches of Tynwald, Chairman of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and Chairman of the Isle of Man Railway Company who at his death was one of the wealthiest people on the Isle of Man.