Arnold
Ward, the son of Thomas Humphrey Ward, a fellow at Brasenose
College, Oxford, and the novelist, Mary Humphry
Ward was born in 1876. Educated at Eton
and although he did well academically he was involved in a scandal
when as treasurer of the school cricket team, he misappropriated its
funds.
At Balliol College, Oxford, Ward won a
double first. This was followed by a spell as special correspondent
for The Times. He went to Egypt but
his parents refused permission for him to go to South Africa during
the Boer War. Instead he went to India where
he journeyed the length of the North West Frontier.
Ward passed his law exams in 1903 and for the next few years worked
as a lawyer in Birmingham and Nottingham.
In the 1906 General Election, Ward was the
Conservative candidate at Wiltshire
North but was easily beaten by the Liberal
candidate. However, in the 1910 General Election
he successfully won Watford.
Ward's mother, Mary Humphry Ward, was president
of the Anti-Suffrage League and editor of
the Anti-Suffrage Review. In the House
of Commons Ward played a prominent role in the campaign against
granting women the vote. Even during the First World
War, when other leading campaigners such as Lord
Cromer and Lord Curzon had withdrawn
their objections, Ward continued to vote against giving women the
franchise.
On the outbreak of the First World War Ward
joined the British Army. He was sent
to Egypt but after getting into trouble for gambling and drinking
was sent home to England in disgrace. Ward's parents attempted to
use their influence with the High Command to get him a Foreign Office
appointment in Athens. However, when it was discovered that Ward had
heavy gambling debts, he was rejected.
In the 1918 General Election, the Watford
Conservative Party decided to select another candidate for the
constituency. Ward's debts were now considerable and on the death
of Mary Humphry Ward in 1920, the family home
had to be sold-off to pay his creditors. Arnold Ward died on 1st January,
1950.
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