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Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster

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"Henry Forster" redirects here. For other uses, see Henry Forster (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable
The Lord Forster
GCMG, PC, DL
Forster c. 1925
7th Governor-General of Australia
In office
6 October 1920 – 8 October 1925
MonarchGeorge V
Prime MinisterBilly Hughes
Stanley Bruce
Preceded bySir Ronald Munro Ferguson
Succeeded byThe Lord Stonehaven
Member of Parliament
for Bromley
In office
30 December 1918 – 12 December 1919
Preceded byNew constituency
Succeeded byCuthbert James
Member of Parliament
for Sevenoaks
In office
26 July 1892 – 30 December 1918
Preceded byCharles Mills
Succeeded bySir Thomas Bennett
Personal details
Born(1866-01-31)31 January 1866
Catford, Kent, England
Died15 January 1936(1936-01-15) (aged 69)
London, England
Resting placeExbury, Hampshire
50°48′01″N 1°23′45″W / 50.8004°N 1.3957°W / 50.8004; -1.3957
Political partyConservative
SpouseRachel Cecily Douglas-Scott-Montagu (m. 1890)
Children4
Personal information
Height6 ft 0[1] in (1.83 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingSlow left-arm orthodox
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1885–1895Hampshire
1886–1889Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition First-class
Matches 43
Runs scored 807
Batting average 11.69
100s/50s 0/2
Top score 60*
Balls bowled 7,134
Wickets 135
Bowling average 21.65
5 wickets in innings 7
10 wickets in match 2
Best bowling 8/119
Catches/stumpings 43/–

Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster, GCMG, PC, DL (31 January 1866 – 15 January 1936) was a British politician and first-class cricketer who served as the seventh Governor-General of Australia from 1920 to 1925. He had previously been a government minister under Arthur Balfour, H. H. Asquith, and David Lloyd George.

Forster was born in Catford, Kent. He was educated at Eton College, before matriculating to New College, Oxford. In his youth he played first-class cricket, predominantly for Hampshire and Oxford University, making 43 appearances at first-class level. An all-rounder, it was as a bowler that he had most success, taking 135 wickets with his slow left-arm orthodox bowling. He would later serve as president of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1919.

Forster was elected to the House of Commons in 1892, representing the Conservative Party. He was a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury under Balfour from 1902 to 1905, and later Financial Secretary to the War Office during and after the First World War, from 1915 to 1919. Forster was raised to the peerage in 1919, and appointed Governor-General of Australia the following year. His appointment was a change from that of his predecessors, with Forster being suggested to the Australian government by the Colonial Secretary, Lord Milner, as one of three candidates to succeed the outgoing Governor-General, Ronald Munro Ferguson. This approach was a break from tradition, being the first time the Australian government had been consulted about the appointment. He retired to England at the end of his five-year term.

After retiring to England, Forster held a number of ceremoninal posts in Hampshire and held the directorship of three Australian financial institutions. He died in London in January 1936, following complications from an operation.

Early life and education

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Henry William Forster was born at Southend Hall in Catford, the second son of Major John Forster, an officer in the British Army, and his wife Emily.[2] He was educated at Eton College,[3] where he played with little success for the college cricket team,[1] and was keeper of rackets in 1884 and 1885.[2] From there, he matriculated to New College, Oxford to study law,[4] graduating with a third-class degree in 1889.[3] In later life, he maintained a connection with New College as an honorary fellow.[2] At Oxford, he played cricket and excelled at tennis and fencing.[5]

Cricket career

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Forster's father was resident at Exbury in Hampshire.[2] This made him eligible to play county cricket for Hampshire under residency rules. An all-rounder,[1] he would make his debut in first-class cricket for Hampshire shortly after he concluded his education at Eton in the summer of 1885, making two appearances against Somerset at Southampton and Kent at Tonbridge.[6] During his first year at Oxford in 1886, he played one first-class match for Oxford University Cricket Club against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Oxford; he made a further first-class appearance during the season for I Zingari against the Gentlemen of England.[6]

He featured prominently as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler in the Oxford team during the 1887 season, making seven appearances.[6] In that years University Match against Cambridge University at Lord's, he made an unbeaten 60 runs in Oxford's first innings,[7] with Oxford winning the match by seven wickets.[2] He also made two appearances for the Gentlemen in the 1887 Gentlemen v Players fixtures, alongside playing once each for I Zingari and the MCC.[6] Across the 1887 season, he took a total of 34 wickets at an average of 27.02, claiming five wickets in an innings on two occasions.[8] The following season, he made seven first-class appearances for Oxford University and took part in the Scarborough Festival in August, where he played for I Zingari and the MCC.[6] Across the season, he took 43 wickets at an average of 17.88.[8] He claimed his career-best figures in 1888, taking 8 for 119 for Oxford University against the Gentlemen of England at Oxford.[9] The 1889 season was to be his last at Oxford, with Forster making seven appearances for the university, including a third appearance in The University Match. In 22 matches for Oxford, he took 81 wickets at an average of 21.59, taking five wickets in an innings on five occasions and ten wickets in a match twice.[10] He also played once for I Zingari in 1899, during the season-ending Scarborough Festival.[6] Across the season, he took 25 wickets at an average of 19.08.[8]

He played several first-class matches for a number of ad hoc teams in 1890, including for an Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present team against the touring Australians at Portsmouth.[6] He played just one first-class match each in 1891 and 1892, and 1893. His 1891 and 1892 appearances both came for the Gentlemen of England against Oxford University, while his 1893 match was a second appearance an Oxford and Cambridge Universities Past and Present team against the touring Australians in 1893.[6] Hampshire had lost their first-class status following the 1885 season, despite this Forster continued to play second-class cricket for Hampshire, captaining the side in 1889.[2] With Hampshire being re-elevated to first-class status in 1894 and admitted to the County Championship for the 1895 season, Forster would make two appearances in the 1895 County Championship against Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Later in the 1895 season, he made his final appearance in first-class cricket for Hampshire against the MCC.[6]

In his first-class career, he took a total of 135 wickets at an average of 21.65.[11] As a batsman, he was described by Wisden as a "strong right-handed batsman" who scored mainly through off-drives and cuts. Wisden further opined that Forster was a strong batsman on hard pitches, but struggled on pitches affected by rain.[1] He scored the majority of his first-class runs (358) for Oxford University, recording two half centuries.[12] His overall first-class batting record was 807 runs at a batting average of 11.69.[11] The Times remarked that he was a "sound" mid-off fielder,[2] with Forster taking 43 catches during his career.[11]

Forster served as the MCC's first post-war president in 1919, succeeding Lord Hawke.[13] His secretary during his presidency was his former Hampshire captain Francis Lacey.[1] Upon the end of his one-year tenure as president, he was succeeded by the 4th Earl of Ellesmere.[13]

Political career

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Forster entered the House of Commons as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks at the 1892 general election, defeating the Liberal Party candidate by 2,128 votes.[14] He was returned unopposed in the 1895 general election,[14] before defeating the Liberal candidate Murray Spencer Richardson by 4,812 votes in the 1900 general election.[14] In 1901, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Kent.[15] In 1902, he was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury under the premiership of Arthur Balfour.[16] Under the provisions of the Succession to the Crown Act 1707 and a number of subsequent Acts, MPs appointed to certain ministerial and legal offices were at this time required to seek re-election.[17] His re-election campaign against the Liberal Beaumont Morice focussed on the recent Second Boer War and that the work of reform and improvement should be entrusted to those who had been responsible for the Army and Navy during the conflict.[18] He was subsequently re-elected, albeit with a reduced majority of 891 votes.[14] He was appointed a whip in the same year.[5]

Forster remained Lords Commissioner until the Conservative defeat at the 1906 General Election,[2][5] which saw the Liberals, led by Henry Campbell-Bannerman, elected; despite the Conservative defeat, Forster retained his seat with a narrowed majority of 364 votes.[14] In opposition, he was tasked with opposing David Lloyd George's National Insurance Act, his criticism of which drew admiration from Lloyd George.[2] A constitutional crisis caused by the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejecting the People's Budget, triggered the 1910 General Election. He successfully defended his seat against the Liberal Frederic Lely in the January 1910 General Election, expanding his majority to 4,070,[14] with the election ending in a hung parliament. In December, an election was called to establish a mandate for the Liberal Party to pass the Parliament Act 1911. He was re-elected, unopposed.[14] An election should have been held in July 1914, with Forster defending his seat,[19] but this was aborted by the outbreak of the First World War.

Forster seved in the wartime Asquith-led coalition as Financial Secretary to the War Office from May 1915, a responsibility he held in the subsequent Lloyd George-led coalition.[5][2] Following the cessation of hostilities in November 1918, a general election was called the following month. Forster did not defend his Sevenoaks seat, instead being selected to contest the newly formed Bromley constituency, where he defeated the Liberal Holford Knight by 12,501 votes.[20] In December 1919 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Forster, of Lepe in the County of Southampton.[21][22] His elevation necessitated his resgination as an MP, and bought to an end his time as Financial Secretary to the War Office.[2]

Governor-General of Australia

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In June 1920, Forster was suggested to the Australian government by the Colonial Secretary, Lord Milner, as one of three candidates to succeed the outgoing Governor-General of Australia, Ronald Munro Ferguson.[5] This approach was a break from tradition, and was the first time the Australian government had been consulted.[23] Forster was preferred by the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes, seemingly because Forster was a man of modest reputation whom he thought he could control. His reputation as a sportsman was also seen an asset.[23] Forster's acceptance was on the understanding that his appointment would be for two years only and that a personal allowance would be provided;[23] however, he went on to serve a five-year term and drew from his own personal fortune to support himself.[23][5] Shortly after accepting the role, he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George on 28 June 1920.[24]

Forster arrived in October 1920 and was sworn in on 7 October in Melbourne.[5] He found that the congenial atmosphere of pre-war Australian politics had been shattered by the bitter battles of the wartime period.[2] Hughes's Nationalist Party dominated the political scene, whilst the Labor Party had moved to the left in opposition and was now anti-imperialist and pacifist, and more markedly socialist. During his five years in office, he played almost no direct role in Australian politics and saw only one change of government, when Hughes was replaced by Stanley Bruce in February 1923. Forster took no part in the manoeuvrings 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 in the post-war years.[5]

Instead, his role evolved into that of a modern Governor-General: opening fetes, visiting and opening hospitals (the new "Rachel Forster Hospital for Women" in Redfern was named in Lady Forster's honour in 1925),[25] attending sporting events, hosting balls and banquets. As a result, he became considerably more popular than most of his predecessors, but exercised less influence than any of them.[5] Forster and his wife, Rachel, devoted themselves to charities, and he spent much time travelling to all the states and country areas, unveiling war memorials and making patriotic speeches.[5] In 1924, he notably became the first Governor-General to visit the former German territory of New Guinea.[2] His connection with cricket remained strong whilst he was in Australia, with Forster attending Test and Sheffield Shield matches.[2] During the Third Test of the 1924–25 Ashes Series at the Adelaide Oval, he unveiled a painting of George Giffen.[1] Forster's tenure as Governor-General came to an end on 7 October 1925.[5]

Later life and death

[edit]

After his tenure as Governor-General, Forster became president of the Big Brother Movement, which encouraged emigration from the United Kingdom to Australia. He was also an ardent supporter of ANZAC veterans, keeping in touch with many and supporting them through his association with the Toc H organisation;[26] he was a founding member of the organisation in Australia.[5] He held the directorships of three Australian financial institutions: Australian Mercantile Land & Finance, the Australian Mututal Provident Society, and the English, Scottish & Australian Bank.[27] Forster held a number of ceremonial and civic appointments in later life, serving as a county alderman and magistrate in Hampshire. He held the post of Verderer of the New Forest,[2] having settled there after returning from Australia.

He maintained an interest in golf, having captained The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 1917, and took a keen interest in horse-racing and yachting; he had long been a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron.[2] He partook in Cowes Week with his yacht, Mona, winning there on at least one occasion.[26] The Forster Cup, a yachting competition in Australia, was named for him.[26]

Forster suffered from coronary-vascular disease in later life.[26] He underwent an operation in early January 1936,[28] from which he failed to recover and subsequently died in a nursing home in London around a fortnight later on 15 January 1936, aged 69;[5][2][26] with no living heir to succeed him, the Barontacy of Lepe became extinct upon his death. Forster was cremated, with his ashes being placed in the parish church in Exbury, Hampshire.[29] Amongst those in attendance were Sir Victor Warrender, representing the army, and Rear-Admiral Arthur Bromley, representing the Royal Navy.[30]

Family life

[edit]

Forster married the Honourable Rachel Cecily Douglas-Scott-Montagu, daughter of the 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, on 3 June 1890.[5] She would survive him by 26 years, dying on 12 April 1962, aged 93.[31] They had two sons, John and Alfred, who were both killed in the First World War,[5] and two daughters,[2] Dorothy, who would marry the banker Beaumont Pease,[2] and Emily, who would marry the anthropologist George Pitt-Rivers.[32] The Forster Memorial Park in Catford would be donated and named in memory of both John and Alfred in 1922.[33][34]

Arms

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Coat of arms of Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster[35]
Crest
A dexter arm in armour embowed grasping in the hand a broken tilting lance or, the rerebrace charged with a cross pattée sable.
Escutcheon
Argent, on a chevron between three hunting horns sable a martlet or.
Supporters
Dexter, a 2nd Lieutenant, of the King's Royal Rifle Corps; sinister, a Lieutenant, of the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys); both proper.
Motto
Fide et fortitudine (By fidelity and fortitude)
Other versions
Full achievements:

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Wisden - Obituaries in 1936". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Lord Forster". The Times. No. 47273. London. 16 January 1936. p. 14. Gale CS235220528 – via Gale.
  3. ^ a b The Eton Register 1871–1880. Vol. 4. Eton: Spottiswoode & Co., Ltd. 1907. p. 158. OCLC 1252107472.
  4. ^ Foster 1888, p. 478.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cunneen, Chris (1981). "Sir Henry William Forster (1866–1936)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "First-Class Matches Played by Henry Forster". CricketArchive. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Oxford University v Cambridge University, University Match 1887". CricketArchive. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "First-Class Bowling in Each Season by Henry Forster". CricketArchive. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Oxford University v Gentlemen of England, University Match 1888". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  10. ^ "First-Class Bowling For Each Team by Henry Forster". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "Henry Forster". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  12. ^ "First-Class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Henry Forster". CricketArchive. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Our History". www.lords.org. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g Craig (1989), p. 308.
  15. ^ "No. 27282". The London Gazette. 8 February 1901. p. 998.
  16. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36848. London. 16 August 1902. p. 8. Gale CS134408976 – via Gale.
  17. ^ Craig (1989), p. 14.
  18. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36847. London. 15 August 1902. p. 8. Gale CS134671119 – via Gale.
  19. ^ "Kent". Kent and Sussex Courier. Royal Tunbridge Wells. 13 March 1914. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 23 June 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  20. ^ Craig (1969), p. 110.
  21. ^ "No. 31692". The London Gazette. 16 December 1919. p. 15618.
  22. ^ "Lord Forster of Lepe". The Westminster Gazette. 17 December 1919. p. 4. Retrieved 24 June 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  23. ^ a b c d "Henry William Forster GCMG PC". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  24. ^ "No. 31957". The London Gazette. 29 June 1920. p. 6995.
  25. ^ "Rachel Forster Hospital Closure – 26/06/1996 – ADJ – NSW Parliament". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014., [1]
  26. ^ a b c d e "Lord Forster". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 January 1936. p. 8. Retrieved 17 July 2025 – via Trove.
  27. ^ The Directory of Directors. London: Thomas Skinner & Company. 1927. p. 537.
  28. ^ "Lord Forster's Operation". Hampshire Advertiser. Southampton. 4 January 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 18 July 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  29. ^ "Last Tribute to Lord Forster – Ashes Laid in Memorial Chapel". New Milton Advertiser. 25 January 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  30. ^ "Memorial Services for Lord Forster". Hampshire Advertiser. Southampton. 25 January 1936. p. 12. Retrieved 18 July 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  31. ^ "Lady Forster". The Times. No. 55365. London. 13 April 1962. p. 15. Retrieved 10 June 2024 – via Gale.
  32. ^ Hart 2015, p. 24.
  33. ^ "Foster Memorial Garden". www.londongardensonline.org.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  34. ^ "Forsters". www.lewisham.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 8 September 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  35. ^ Hesilrige 1921, p. 380.

Works cited

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member for Sevenoaks
1892–1918 		Succeeded by
New constituency Member of Parliament for Bromley
1918–1919 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Financial Secretary to the War Office
1915–1919 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Governor-General of Australia
1920–1925 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Forster
1919–1936 		Extinct
Sporting positions
Preceded by President of the Marylebone Cricket Club
1919 		Succeeded by
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