Gordon Alchin

His Honour Gordon Alchin (January 1894 – 14 May 1947) was a British poet, airman, judge and Liberal Party politician.

Background

Alchin was born the son of Alfred Head Alchin of Rusthall, Kent. He was educated at Tonbridge School and Brasenose College, Oxford. He was a Junior Hulme Scholar, BNC 1913. His education was interrupted by war. After demobilisation in 1919 he returned to his studies at Oxford. In 1920 he was a Senior Hulme Scholar, BCL, MA, Eldon Scholar. In 1924 he married Sylvia Wrensted. They had one son and one daughter. She died in 1939.[1]

Professional career

Alchin served during World War I, from 1914–15, as a Second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery at Flanders. In 1915 he joined the Royal Flying Corps and served until 1917 with the Australian Flying Corps. In 1922 he was called to the bar by Middle Temple. As a barrister he practised at Common Law and Commercial Bar until 1940. In 1940 he joined the Royal Air Force Voluntary Reserve. From 1940-45 he served as a County Court judge on Circuit No. 38 Edmonton. In 1945 he served as a County Court judge on Circuit No. 40 Bow until his death.[2]

Political career

Alchin was Liberal candidate for the Tonbridge division of Kent at the 1929 General Election. Tonbridge was a safe Unionist seat where the Liberals had been pushed into third place at the previous general election. He was able to increase the Liberal vote share and win back second place. He did not stand for parliament again.[3]

Electoral record
General Election 1929: Tonbridge [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Herbert Henry Spender-Clay 19,018 49.8 -8.4
Liberal Gordon Alchin 10,025 26.2 +6.4
Labour W F Toynbee 9,149 24.0 +2.0
Majority 8,993 23.6 -12.6
Turnout 72.3 -2.0
Unionist hold Swing -7.4

Writing

Alchin wrote verse and short stories.[5] He was one of the poets who contributed to The Muse in Arms, an anthology of British war poetry published in November 1917 during World War I.[6]

References
  1. ‘ALCHIN, His Honour Judge Gordon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 31 Jan 2016
  2. ‘ALCHIN, His Honour Judge Gordon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 31 Jan 2016
  3. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  4. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  5. ‘ALCHIN, His Honour Judge Gordon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 31 Jan 2016
  6. Fields of Agony: British Poetry of the First World War, Stuart Sillars, 2007
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