Winslow History | General election, 1906

General election, 1906

William Carlile won the Buckingham constituency for the Conservatives in the 1900 general election but did not stand again. The 1906 election produced a large Liberal majority overall, and North Bucks followed the national trend. It was contested by members of two of the area's leading families, the Fremantles of Swanbourne and the Verneys of Claydon House. Winslow seems to have been fairly quiet compared to some previous elections. The Buckingham Express and Bucks Herald were Conservative (or Unionist, as they preferred to style themselves) and the Buckingham Advertiser was Liberal.

Buckingham Express, 6 Jan
In the Winslow district the prospects of the Hon. T. F. Fremantle are exceedingly bright. The work of organisation had been started well, and in every village ladies are forming themselves into committees and doing excellent work in canvassing, distributing literature etc. Especially is this the case at Swanbourne, where on Tuesday afternoon, a strong committee was formed, and at Winslow a number of working men have banded themselves together to assist the Conservative Candidate, and the ladies of the town have also formed a strong combination. Mr. Bonner is to be congratulated on the possession of such a band of ardent workers, which cannot but be advantageous to the Hon. T. F. Fremantle and the cause he represents.

Buckingham Advertiser, 20 Jan
Conservative Meeting at Winslow.
On Saturday evening the Oddfellows’ Hall was crowded, when a meeting in support of Mr. Fremantle was held. The chair was taken by Mr. Norman McCorquodale, who was supported by the Unionist candidate, the Hon. T. F. Fremantle, C.A., the Hon. Cecil Fremantle, the Hon. W. Fremantle, Dr. Sydney Moberly, the Hon. J. G. Hubbard, Mr. Warburton, Mr. T. Bonner, etc., and amongst others present were Mrs. and Miss Lambton, the Hon. Mrs. Fremantle, Mr. and Mrs. Llewellyn Lloyd, Mr. T. D. Curtis, Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Neal, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Hawley,, and a large number of the principal inhabitants of the town. The platform had been most attractively decorated with a number of plants kindly lent by the Chairman, and the hall had been suitably decorated with national and patriotic emblems.
LIBERAL NOTES.- The Liberals held their final public meeting before polling at the Oddfellows’ Hall on Monday night, when with the exception of a few seats in the front, the room was packed down to the lobby. The Chairman was the Rev. J. Riordan (Congregational) of Winslow, who filled his office remarkably well, and as an Irishman was able to throw a different light on the Irish question than was the case at the Saturday’s meeting in the same room … Mr. Fredk. Verney, who had just arrived from Swanbourne, was, although a little hoarse from much speaking, in excellent form, and spoke as well as at any meeting in the district, and was most enthusiastically received. Questions were asked by the Hon. John Hubbard and Mr. Attwooll, and were answered by Mr. Verney and the Rev. H. K. Byard. The resolution pledging the meeting to vote for Mr. Verney on Friday was proposed by Mr. Edwin J. French, and carried with only two or three dissenters … The Rev. J. Silvester Horne, of Kensington, paid a brief visit to Winslow on Wednesday morning with the “Free Church” motor-car. The Liberal Committee Rooms are situate at the top of Sheep Street, on the direct road to the polling-place [the new school].

Bucks Herald, 20 Jan: nominations
FOR THE HON. T. F. FREMANTLE.
Proposer: John G. Hubbard. Seconder: Llewellyn Lloyd.
E. H. Lundy, Winslow; Henry W. Cheshire, North Marston; James C. Hawley, Thomas W. Saunders, Geo. Williams, Henry Seller, and Thos. D. Curtis, Winslow; John Herbert Webster, Addington.
Proposer: Norman Mc Corquodale. Seconder: Sydney Moberly.
Herbert Bullock, William Samuel Neal, William Ingram, George Gazey, William Hall Stevens, Edmund Mullis, G. H. Hall, and Ben C. Moore, all of Winslow.
MR. F. W. VERNEY
Winslow – Rev. John Riordan and Frederick Benbow.

Buckingham Advertiser, 27 Jan
The counting up of the votes was commenced in the Small Hall (Town Hall) Buckingham, at 10 o’clock on Saturday morning. Over 100 policemen of the district had been drafted into the town, and the Chief Constable (Major Otway Mayne) was also present. About mid-day they were marched in contingents to several sites in the Market Square, Market Hill, West Street, and Well Street, but at this time the crowd was not at all a large one; indeed, even when the poll was declared it had assumed nothing like the dimensions to be seen on former occasions. At 12 o’clock the Liberal party were possessed of information, by signals from windows, that their candidate was well to the front, and the majority was given as nearly 1,000, and before 1 o’clock this was raised through the same channel of information to 1,500, but it was not till 1.15 that the official result was known. It was posted on the front of the Town Hall as follows:-
Mr. F. W. VERNEY (Liberal) 6,253
Hon. T. F. FREMANTLE (Unionist) 4,673

Buckingham Advertiser, 3 Feb
MR. F. VERNEY, M.P., AT WINSLOW
AN ENTHUSIASTIC GATHERING.
On Monday night the Centenary Hall was crowded with an enthusiastic audience, gathered to welcome their new member. The hall itself was crammed, and the partition between it and the class-rooms had to be taken down, besides which there was a good number in the gallery. Rev. H. K. Byard presided, supported by Rev. J. Riordan, Rev. A. E. T. Newman, Mr. J. Clayton, and Mr. E. J. French; Mrs. Clayton was also on the platform, Mr. and Mrs. Verney arrived shortly after 7 o’clock, and met with a splendid reception.