Charles Corbett

Charles Henry Corbett, the son of Charles Joseph Corbett (1823-1882), a successful property developer in London, was born in 1853. Charles was educated at Marlborough and Oxford University, where he took a degree in history. Charles married Marie Gray in 1880 and after his father's death in 1882, the couple moved to Woodgate in Danehill.

Charles and Marie Corbett were both active members of the Liberal Party. Charles Corbett was the unsuccessful Liberal candidate in East Grinstead in the 1895 and 1900 general elections. Charles Corbett's condemnation of the Jameson raid in the Transvaal in 1895 made him unpopular with the people of East Grinstead.

Charles Corbett in 1906

In 1906 Charles Corbett won East Grinstead for the Liberals. In the House of Commons Charles Corbett was one of the few politicians who was willing to argue for women's suffrage. Charles Corbett was defeated in the 1910 general election.

In March 1913 Charles Corbett joined with Rev. G. Riddell and the Rev. Rupert Strong to form an East Grinstead branch of the Men's League for Women's Suffrage. He remained active in the organisation until it was disbanded on the outbreak of the First World War. Charles Corbett died in 1935.

Mrs. Ida Corbett attempting to speak to the Prime Minister in 1908