Nathaniel Bousfield

Nathaniel George Philips Bousfield (1829 – 21 May 1883) was a Liverpool cotton merchant, a leading Volunteer officer, and a Conservative Party politician.

Volunteer Force

Bousfield was an enthusiast for the Volunteer movement. He and 20 fellow gentlemen offered to form a corps in 1852, but this was declined. He founded the Liverpool Drill Club in 1855 with men from the cotton trade, who drilled twice weekly in his warehouse. A further offer to form a volunteer corps was declined in 1857, despite the support of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Duncan MacDougall of the Royal Lancashire Militia Artillery. However, during the invasion scare of 1859 a public meeting in London led to calls for national Volunteer Force, and Bousfield and MacDougall renewed their offer. When the government gave in to the pressure, Bousfield's commission as Captain-Commandant of the 1st Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps, dated 11 June 1859, was the first to be issued in the new force. He later served as Major when the corps expanded to a full battalion.

Political career

Bousfield was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bath from 31 January 1874 to 1880.

Personal life

Nathaniel was married to Catherine Barratt Bousfield. She died 24 August 1884 at age 54.

References

• Ian F.W. Beckett, Riflemen Form: A Study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement 1859–1908, Aldershot: Ogilby Trusts, 1982, ISBN 0 85936 271 X.
• Edward M. Spiers, The Army and Society 1815–1914, London: Longmans, 1980, ISBN 0-582-48565-7.
• Ray Westlake, Tracing the Rifle Volunteers, Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Nathaniel Bousfield