1913 – 7th April – KUDC Triennial Election

Elected (12 seats)

Candidate	Party	Votes
*Arthur Street	Liberal	549
*William Growse	Conservative	524
*Edward Hodges	Conservative	517
Joseph Crouch	Liberal	492
*Charles Randall	Conservative	466
*James Jackson	Liberal	440
John Clarke	Liberal	425
*Henry Griffiths	Liberal	422
*Edwin Gee	Conservative	418
Andrew Hacking	Liberal	376
*Arthur Perkins	Conservative	353
*Charles Carter	Conservative	352

Not Elected

Candidate	Party	Votes
Ernest Nixon	Conservative	344
Madeley Burman	Conservative	338
Charles Housiaux	Conservative	115
Robert Lynn	Conservative	62

*denotes retiring member

ONLY ONE PERSON AT DECLARATION

Only 16 candidates stood in this triennial election. The result being a gain of two seats for the Liberal Party, all six of their candidates being elected, including two new members, Hacking and Clarke. Indeed, this was Mr Clarke’s forth attempt at a KUDC election.

One noticable absentee from the election was George Bostock, who had been on the council since 1898. The reason giving was that he was leaving Kenilworth to live in Cubbington.

Votes recorded totalled 2,704 for the Liberals and 2,630 for the Conservatives.

For the very first time in a Kenilworth election, there were no public meetings held by either party in the town. There was very little use of any traps or carriages displaying any posters, and motor-cars were generally few and far between in bringing people to the polling stations. Voting did increase a little after 7pm, only one hour before polling closed but this is normal in local elections. Polling stations, as usual were at St Nicholas School in School Lane.

The count started at 9am on the following day (Tuesday 8th) at the council house at Upper Rosemary Hill, The declaration came at 11.30am and with the election being so underwhelming, only one member of the public was there to witness it.

Ernest Hadow, the temporary Council Clerk, carried out the duties of the returning officer due to the illness of Joseph Willington-Wilmshurst. Unfortunately, he died just over a month after the election, on 9th May, he was only 58. He had been the clerk of KUDC since its inception.

KUDC Councillors

6 Conservatives (Growse, Hodges, Randall, Gee, Perkins, Carter)

6 Liberals (Street, Crouch, Jackson, Clarke, Griffiths, Hacking)

Chairman

photo courtesy of Warwickshire County Records Office. (ref. PH (N) 600/147/3)