# Willoughby Dickinson, 1st Baron Dickinson

Willoughby Hyett Dickinson, 1st Baron Dickinson, KBE, PC (9 April 1859 – 31 May 1943), was a British Liberal Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for St. Pancras North from 1906 to 1918. He was an influential proponent of establishing a League of Nations after the First World War.

## Background

Dickinson was the son of Sebastian Stewart Dickinson, Member of Parliament for Stroud. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. He married Elizabeth, daughter of General Sir Richard John Meade, in 1891. They had three children, one of whom was Frances Joan Dickinson, Baroness Northchurch. On 18 January 1930 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Dickinson, of Painswick in the County of Gloucester. Lord Dickinson died in May 1943, aged 84, and was succeeded in the barony by his grandson Richard, his only son the Hon. Richard Sebastian Willoughby Dickinson having predeceased him. Willoughby Dickinson's sister, Frances May, an anaesthetist, was the first wife of surgeon Sir James Berry.

## Political career

He served as vice-chairman of the recently formed London County Council from 1892 to 1896 and then its chairman from March 1900 to March 1901. From 1896 until 1918, he was chair of the London Liberal Federation. He was an assiduous supporter of women's suffrage, promoting a number of measures in Parliament to get the vote for women. Dickinson was made a Privy Counsellor in 1914. He did not stand for parliament again. He was later secretary-general of the World Alliance for International Friendship, and from 1931 chairman of its International Council. In 1930, he joined the Labour Party, but the following year he was part of the National Labour Organisation split.

### Electoral record

General election 1900: St Pancras North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Edward Robert Pacy Moon | 3,056 | 56.6 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal | Willoughby Dickinson | 2,345 | 43.4 | −4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 711 | 13.2 | +9.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,401 | 71.2 | −4.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 7,582 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +4.7 | |
General election 1906: St Pancras North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Willoughby Dickinson | 4,094 | 60.8 | +17.4 |
| | Conservative | Edward Robert Pacy Moon | 2,643 | 39.2 | −17.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,451 | 21.6 | n/a |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,737 | 84.0 | +12.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 8,021 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +17.4 | |
General election January 1910 St Pancras North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Willoughby Dickinson | 4,970 | 58.0 | −2.8 |
| | Conservative | H A Pakenham | 3,603 | 42.0 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,367 | 16.0 | −5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,573 | 85.9 | +1.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,977 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −2.8 | |
General election December 1910 St Pancras North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Willoughby Dickinson | 4,407 | 57.7 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Moon | 3,230 | 42.3 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,177 | 15.4 | −0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,637 | 76.5 | −9.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 9,977 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −0.3 | |
General election 1918: St Pancras North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Unionist | John William Lorden | 7,260 | 41.4 | −0.9 |
| | Liberal | Willoughby Dickinson | 5,596 | 32.0 | −25.7 |
| | Labour | John Gilbert Dale | 4,651 | 26.6 | n/a |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,664 | 9.4 | n/a |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,747 | 51.9 | −24.6 |
| | Unionist gain from Liberal | Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.4 | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
General election 1922: St Pancras North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Unionist | John William Lorden | 9,156 | 37.7 | −3.7 |
| | Labour | John Gilbert Dale | 8,165 | 33.6 | +7.0 |
| | Liberal | Willoughby Dickinson | 6,979 | 28.7 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 991 | 4.1 | −5.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 66.0 | +14.1 |
| | Unionist hold | Unionist hold | Swing | −5.3 | |

## Arms

Coat of arms of Willoughby Dickinson, 1st Baron Dickinson :
* CrestIssuant from clouds a dexter cubit arm erect the hand holding an olive branch fructed all Proper.
* EscutcheonOr a bend cottised between two lions passant Gules.
* SupportersDexter a falcon Proper collared and lined Or sinister a dove holding in the beak an olive branch both Proper.
* MottoSeek Agreement