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Henry William Forster, 1st Baron Forster (31 January 1866 – 15 January 1936), was a British politician and first-class cricketer who served as the seventh Governor-General of Australia from 1920 to 1925. He was previously a government minister under Arthur Balfour, Herbert Asquith, and David Lloyd George.
Born at the family seat in Catford, Kent, Forster attended Eton College before going up to Oxford, matriculating at New College. In his youth he played first-class cricket, predominantly for Oxford University and Hampshire, making 43 appearances at first-class level. An all-rounder, it was as a bowler that he achieved most success, taking 135 wickets with his slow left-arm orthodox bowling. He was later nominated President of Marylebone Cricket Club for 1919.
Forster was elected to the House of Commons in 1892, representing Sevenoaks for the Conservative Party. He was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury under Balfour from 1902 to 1905, later becoming the Finance Member of the Army Council during the First World War from 1915 to 1919. Elevated to the peerage in 1919, Forster was appointed Governor-General of Australia the following year. His appointment was a change from that of his predecessors, his name having been put forward to the Australian Government by Colonial Secretary, Viscount Milner, as one of three candidates to succeed the outgoing Governor-General Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson. This approach broke with tradition, being when the Commonwealth Government was first consulted over Crown appointments.
Returning to Britain after five years in Australia, Forster held various ceremonial posts in Hampshire, including Verderer of the New Forest, as well as directorships of three Australian financial institutions. In 1936, Forster died in London after failing to recover from surgery for coronary-vascular disease.
Early life and education
Henry William Forster was born at Southend Hall, Catford, the elder surviving son of Major John Forster (1826–1886), late 6th Dragoon Guards, by his wealthy wife, Emily Jane née Ashton Case. He was educated at Eton College, playing cricket for the school without notable success, Retaining connections with his alma mater, later in life the Fellows of New College elected Lord Forster an Honorary Fellow. During his first year at Oxford in 1886, he played one first-class match for Oxford University Cricket Club against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Oxford; he made a further first-class appearance during that season for I Zingari against the Gentlemen of England. with Oxford winning the match by seven wickets. The following season, he made seven first-class appearances for Oxford University and then at the Scarborough Festival in August, he again played for I Zingari and the MCC. The 1889 season was to be his last as an undergraduate at Oxford, with Forster making seven appearances, including a third appearance in the University Match. In 22 matches for Oxford, he took 81 wickets at an average of 21.59, with five wickets in an innings on five occasions and ten wickets in a match twice. He also played once for I Zingari in 1889, at the season end's Scarborough Festival. His batting, described by Wisden, was as a "strong right-handed batsman" scoring mainly through off-drives and cut shots; Wisden further opined Forster being a strong batsman on hard pitches, who struggled on pitches affected by rain. Overall in first-class cricket he scored 807 runs at a batting average of 11.69. in 1919 Forster was nominated its first post-war president with his former Hampshire captain, Sir Francis Lacey, serving as Secretary to the MCC. In 1902, he was appointed a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury by Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, triggering a by-election pursuant to the Succession to the Crown Act 1707 and subsequent legislation, which at that time required MPs holding certain ministerial and legal offices to seek re-election to Parliament. His re-election campaign against Liberal candidate, Judge Beaumont Morice, majored on recent success in the Second Boer War and for the ongoing project of reform and improvement to be entrusted with those responsible overseeing the British Army and Royal Navy during the military conflict. Returned for Sevenoaks, albeit with a reduced majority of 891 votes, later in 1902 Forster was appointed a Whip. was aborted due to the outbreak of the First World War.
Forster served in the wartime Asquith-led coalition as Financial Secretary to the War Office from May 1915, and subsequently in the Lloyd George-led coalition. he stood down as an MP and resigned as a Minister in the War Office. Being the preferred candidate of Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes, who seemingly thought his reputation as an unassuming character was one he could control, Forster's sporting prowess was considered an additional advantage. Lord Forster went on to serve a five-year term, drawing on his family fortune to support his official duties. and fêtes, attending sporting events as well as hosting formal balls and banquets. As a consequence of exercising less ostensible influence than his predecessors, Forster enjoyed much greater popularity than most previous Governors-General. he was a founding member of its organisation in Australia. Receiving a number of ceremonial and civic appointments in later life, Forster served as a County Alderman and magistrate for Hampshire holding the post of Verderer of the New Forest, upon returning from Australia.
A talented golfer, captaining the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 1917, Forster also took a keen interest in horse racing and yachting. A long-time member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, he failed to recover and died in a London nursing home a fortnight later on 15 January 1936, aged 69. Among those attending his memorial service were Sir Victor Warrender, Finance Member of the Army Council, and Rear-Admiral Arthur Bromley, representing the Royal Navy.
The title became extinct in 1936, when Lord Forster died without surviving male issue, having lost both his sons during the Great War.
Family life
Forster married the Hon. Rachel Cecily Douglas-Scott-Montagu (1868–1962), only daughter of the 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, on 3 June 1890. With two sons who died in WWI, they also had two daughters:
- Lieut. Alfred Henry Forster (1898–1919);
- Hon. Dorothy Charlotte Forster (1891–1983), widow of Captain the Hon. Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock, married secondly in 1923 Beaumont Pease, 1st Baron Wardington;