James Duff (North Norfolk MP)
Colonel James Duff (1831 – 22 December 1878)[1] was a British Army officer and Conservative Party politician from Westwick in Norfolk.[2]
Duff was born in Elgin,[3] the son of James Duff and his wife Charlotte, eldest daughter of Sir George Beeston Prescott.[2] His grandfather was Major-General Sir James Duff.[2]
Duff was educated at Rugby[3] and entered the army as an ensign in 1851.[2] He served with the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers in the Crimean War, including the Siege of Sebastopol, and was taken prisoner in the Battle of Inkerman.[2] He retired from the army in 1858 as a major, having received the Crimea Medal with two clasps,[3] and became a Justice of the Peace (JP) in Norfolk.[2]
He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for North Norfolk at a by-election in April 1876, after the death of Frederick Walpole MP, and held the seat until his death less than three years later.[4] In Parliament, Duff spoke on military matters, and was active in getting the Norfolk and Suffolk Fisheries Act 1877 through Parliament.[3]
Personal life
In 1859 Duff married Mary Laura Dawkins, daughter of Edward Dawkins.[3] He died in office in December 1878, aged 47, at his London residence in Upper Brook Street.[3]
References
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 2)
- ^ a b c d e f "Election Intelligence. Norfolk (North)". The Times. London. 24 April 1876. pp. 11, col D.
- ^ a b c d e f "Death of Colonel Duff, MP". The Times. London. 25 December 1878. pp. 7, col D.
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 427. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.