P. Gilchrist Thompson

[2] On 26 August 1914, shortly after the British entry into the First World War, aged 21 years, Thompson was commissioned into the 4th Battalion The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment).

[7] At the 1918 general election the Liberal candidate, Captain Russell Cooke, had finished a poor third behind Coalition Conservative and Labour opponents, gaining just 15% of the poll.

[8] In 1922, Thompson faced a straight fight against the sitting Tory MP, Colonel Charles Rosdew Burn, who was a distinguished ex-soldier and an Aide-de-camp to the King.

[8] At the 1924 general election Thompson faced the intervention of a Labour candidate, Arthur Moyle, who later went on to be MP for Stourbridge.

The Tory revival in the country at large was repeated in Torquay and Williams obtained 55% of the poll to win by a majority of 6,161 over Thompson.

Moyle came bottom of the poll, losing his deposit[8] but it can hardly be contended that his intervention cost Thompson the seat.