Maurice Bonham Carter
Sir Maurice Bonham Carter KCB KCVO (11 October 1880 – 7 June 1960) was an English Liberal politician, civil servant and cricketer.
Bonham Carter was the eleventh son of Sibella Charlotte (née Norman) and Henry Bonham Carter. He was born in London and educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford. He was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1909.
He was a useful right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper for Kent and Oxford. He was awarded his blue in 1902. His highest score in first-class cricket was 86 for Oxford versus H.D.G. Leveson Gower's XI at the Parks in 1902.
Bonham Carter served as the Principal Private Secretary to the politician H. H. Asquith and he became a leading figure in the British Liberal Party. He also held a number of business directorships with companies including:- Aero Engine Ltd, Alpha Cement Ltd, Earls Court Ltd, Blackburn and General Aircraft, Hanworth Securities Ltd, Scophony Ltd, Power Jets Ltd[1] and was a partner with merchant bankers O.T. Falk and Partners, and stockbrokers Buckmaster & Moore.[2]
Bonham Carter is buried in the churchyard at Mells in Somerset. The actress Helena Bonham Carter is his granddaughter.
Family life
He married Violet Asquith on 30 November 1915. As she was later made a life peeress, he and his wife were one of the few couples both of whom held titles in their own right. They had four children:
- The Honourable (Helen Laura) Cressida Bonham Carter (22 April 1917 – 17 June 1997); married Jasper Ridley (one son: Sir Adam Nicholas Ridley)
- The Honourable Laura Miranda Bonham Carter (13 October 1918 – 15 February 1994); married Jo Grimond, Baron Grimond
- Mark Bonham Carter, Baron Bonham Carter of Yarnbury (11 February 1922 – 4 September 1994) (three daughters including: Jane Bonham Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, wife of Tim Razzall, Baron Razzall)
- The Honourable Raymond Henry Bonham Carter (19 June 1929 – 17 January 2004) (three children including: Helena Bonham Carter and Edward Bonham Carter)
His brothers included General Sir Charles Bonham Carter and the lawyer Sir Edgar Bonham Carter.