1922 Birthday Honours
The 1922 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were published in "The London Gazette" on 2 June 1922. Controversy from the 1922 Birthday Honours list eventually led to the passage of the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 and creation of the Honours Committee to formally review nominations. Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson, chairman of the Robinson South African Banking Company and generous contributor to Prime  Minister David Lloyd George's Liberal Party, was listed for a barony "for national and imperial services." Robinson quickly declined the honour within weeks after arguments erupted in the House of Lords over the circumstances of his nomination, particularly his residency in South Africa rather than in Great Britain, and that he was not recommended for the honour directly by the South African colonial government as required. "Feeling in the House of Lords ran high," reported "The Times" on 30 June. "The Times" praised Robinson's letter to the King asking for permission to decline the honour, and pushed for  further questioning into the matter: "..by his action Sir Joseph Robinson has placed himself in the right and has left the Government to explain, if they can, how and why they placed themselves in the wrong. It seems clear from the letter that Sir Joseph Robinson did not in any way seek the honour. Therefore, some person or persons unknown must have sought to induce him to accept it. Who are those persons, what are their functions, and what were their motives?" The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by  honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, "etc.") and then divisions (Military, Civil, "etc.") as appropriate. United Kingdom and British Empire. Privy Councillor. The King appointed the following to His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council: