Charles William Darbishire (17 June 1875 – 5 June 1925) was a British Liberal politician and East India merchant. Early life and family Darbishire was born in London, the son of Colonel C. H. Darbishire of Plas Mawr, Penmaenmawr in North Wales. He was educated at Giggleswick School in Yorkshire. In 1905 he married Frances Middleton whose father had been Sheriff, or local judge, in Fort William, Scotland. Darbishire served as a volunteer member of the armed forces. He was a member of the Artists Rifles between 1897 and 1899 and the Royal Welch Fusiliers, Territorial Force from 1905 to 1908, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. East Asian connections Darbishire went into the trading business. He was associated with the East India merchant trade and had particular connections with Malaya and Singapore. He became one of the managing directors of Paterson Simons & Co, which traded between London, the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States. He became an acknowledged expert on trade with area and contributed the chapter on Commerce and Currency to the book One Hundred Years of Singapore: being some account of the capital of the Straits Settlements from its foundation by Sir Stamford Raffles on 6 February 1819 to the 6 February 1919 which was published in 1921. Public service in Singapore Darbishire lived in Singapore for some years and became involved in public and military service there as well as commercial life. He served as a member of the Municipal Commission of Singapore from 1908 to 1910, was an unofficial member of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements from 1910 to 1919 and a member of the Singapore Harbour Board between 1910 and 1919. He was also Chairman of the Singapore Chamber of Commerce from 1914 to 1919. He carried on his volunteer soldiering in Singapore and was Officer Commanding the Singapore Volunteer Rifles from 1914 to 1919, with the rank of temporary Major. In February and March 1915 he was involved in the operations to suppress the Singapore Mutiny. In 1921-22 he was President of the Association of British Malaya, a pressure group formed to represent planting, mining and commercial interests in the Malay states. Liberal politics In 1922, Darbishire was adopted as the Liberal candidate for the Wiltshire constituency of Westbury. Although the seat had been represented by both Conservatives and Liberals over the years since it became a county seat in