1885 it had been Liberal for most of the time. At the 1918 general election a Coalition Conservative, Brigadier-General George Palmer had received the government 'coupon', the official letter of endorsement from Prime Minister David Lloyd George and the Conservative leader Bonar Law. Darbishire won the election of 1922 standing as a Liberal, defeating Palmer in a three-cornered contest. The 1923 general election At the next election, however, Darbishire was in more difficulty. Although Westbury could be termed a traditionally Liberal seat (unusually for Wiltshire) resting on foundations of Nonconformism and the Liberal tradition, the character of the seat was changing with industrialisation. The new Unionist candidate, Captain Shaw, seemed more in tune with the times than the old one and Darbishire probably suffered by his refusal to support the call for protectionism in motor tyre production made to him by workers in the industry locally. There was high unemployment amongst workers in the rubber industry in Melksham and Bradford on Avon. Elsewhere in the country, the traditional Liberal policy of Free Trade was helping to reunite the party and was proving a popular policy. In Westbury however, it seemed less convincing to commentators on Liberal election prospects against the poor economic and industrial background in the area. Labour obviously tried to capitalise upon this situation and took the decision to abandon campaigning in Chippenham to concentrate on Westbury. They took votes from Darbishire but not enough to deprive him of the seat. At the 1924 general election, however Unionist prospects were altogether brighter and in another three-cornered contest, Darbishire lost out to Captain Shaw. Death Darbishire did not get the chance to contest any more Parliamentary elections. He died aged 49 in Singapore general hospital in June 1925, having been taken ill a few days earlier. He had been taking a tour of the Far East travelling with his wife and had arrived in Singapore from Siam (as Thailand was then known). References External links 1875 births 1925 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Businesspeople from London People educated at Giggleswick School UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 Royal Welch Fusiliers officers British people in British Malaya