Hildred Carlile

Sir Hildred Carlile, 1st Baronet CBE (10 July 1852 – 26 September 1942) was an English businessman and Conservative Party politician.

Early life
Born in Richmond Hill, Surrey in 1852, Carlile was educated at St Albans School and abroad. He made his career in business and politics. In business he was a partner in the firm of Jonas Brook & Brothers, Meltham Mills, Huddersfield. This firm later merged with J. & P. Coats Limited (now Coats plc), and he became a Director of that company.

Politics
He stood unsuccessfully in Huddersfield at the 1900 general election. He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for St Albans at the 1906 general election. He was re-elected at both the elections in 1910, and returned unopposed as a Coalition Conservative in 1918. Due to ill-health he resigned from the House of Commons on 20 November 1919 by the procedural device of accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead.

He was a J.P. for Hertfordshire, the West Riding of Yorkshire, and for the Borough of Huddersfield. From 1910–19 he was a member of the House of Commons Accounts Committee. He was also active in the Yeomanry and Volunteers, eventually becoming Honorary Colonel of a Battalion of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Regiment (1906–39). During World War I he worked for the Red Cross.

Philanthropy
In 1914 he gave 100,000 guineas (an enormous sum in those days) as an endowment to Bedford College, University of London (he was the first Fellow on the Council of the College), which made possible the establishment of Chairs in Botany, English, Latin, and Physics.

He was knighted in 1911, appointed deputy lieutenant of Hertfordshire in 1912, created a baronet, of Ponsbourne Park, in 1917, and appointed a CBE in 1919. In 1922 he was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire. One of his brothers was Wilson Carlile, founder of the Church Army, of which Hildred was a Vice-President. At age 90 he died, like his latter brother, in 1942.