Reginald Applin

File:Flag of North Borneo (1902–1946).svg

He was the eldest son of Captain Vincent Jesson Applin, Military Train, of "Exeview", Alphington, near Exeter.{{cite web |title=Lancashire Fusiliers |url=http://www.angloboerwar.com/imperial-units/567-lancashire-fusiliers |access-date=27 December 2010 |work=AngloBoerWar.com}} Following education at Sherborne School, he initially sought employment as a stage actor. However, in December 1889 he became a cadet with the British North Borneo Company. He continued to serve in the company's administration of the protectorate, becoming successively a police magistrate and justice of the peace for Labuan and a District Officer. He was involved in the suppression of the Mat Salleh Rebellion from 1895 to 1897 and was awarded The British North Borneo Company's Medal and clasp.{{cite web |url=http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/the-boer-war-d.s.o.-and-great-war-o.b.e.-group-of-1-c-f70966a0ba |title=The Boer War D.S.O. and Great War O.B.E. group of six awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel R. V. K. Applin, 14th Hussars |work=Invalubale Auction Listings |access-date=31 December 2010}} After eight years service Applin had reached the rank of Captain Superintendent in the British North Borneo Armed Constabulary, but was forced to resign due to ill health and returned to England. He wrote an account of his years in North Borneo entitled Across the Seven Seas.

In November 1898 Applin obtained a commission as a captain in the 6th (Militia) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers.{{London Gazette| issue = 27025 |page=6941 | date = 22 November 1898 }} With the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War in 1899 the battalion was mobilised and sailed to South Africa. He was appointed District Commissioner at Bloemfontein in June 1900 and acting Provost-Marshal for the Orange River in October of the same year. He subsequently saw active service in the Cape Colony, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, and was twice mentioned in despatches.{{London Gazette| issue = 27353 |page=5961 | date = 10 September 1901 }}{{London Gazette| issue = 27459 |page=4849 | date = 29 July 1902 }} In April 1902 he was granted the local rank of captain in the Army whilst serving with a provisional battalion,{{London Gazette|issue=27433|page=3179|date=13 May 1902}} and the following August he transferred to the Royal Garrison Regiment.{{London Gazette| issue = 27465 |page=5333 | date = 15 August 1902 }} For his service in the war, he was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in the October 1902 South African Honours list.{{London Gazette| issue = 27490 |page=6906 | date = 31 October 1902 }} The following year he was appointed Brigade Major of Royal Artillery at Gibraltar.

In July 1905 he transferred to a regular line regiment, the 14th (King's) Hussars.{{London Gazette| issue = 27818 |page=4984 | date = 18 July 1905 }} In August of the same year he was seconded to the General Staff and was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for Musketry in Malta.{{London Gazette| issue = 27834 |page=6126 | date = 8 September 1905 }}{{London Gazette| issue = 27837 |page=6329 | date = 19 September 1905 }} In December 1906 Applin returned to his regiment,{{London Gazette| issue = 27984 |page=190 | date = 8 January 1907 }} and in June 1911 promoted to major.{{London Gazette| issue = 28512 |page=5171 | date = 11 July 1911 }} During this period he was involved in developing tactics for the use of the machine gun, and in 1909 published one of the first books on the subject, Machine Gun Tactics.{{cite book |title=Warrior chiefs: perspectives on senior Canadian military leaders |last1=Horn |first1=Bernd |last2=Harris |first2=Stephen John |page=61 |publisher=Dundurn Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-55002-351-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHLxu7NGjjUC&q=machine+gun+tactics+Applin&pg=PA61 }}

During the First World War Applin became an instructor in the use of the machine gun, and was attached to the Machine Gun Corps Training Centre in July 1916.{{London Gazette| issue = 29817 |page=10834 | date = 7 November 1916 }} In November 1916 he was appointed temporary lieutenant-colonel, and commanded the machine guns of the II ANZAC Corps at the battles of Messines and Passchendaele. With the entry of the United States into the war, Applin was part of a British mission to the country, and gave lectures on machine gun tactics. He remained with the MGC until July 1919.{{London Gazette| issue = 29892 |page=285 | date = 5 January 1917 }}{{London Gazette| issue = 31468 |page=9330 | date = 22 July 1917 }}

In January 1919 Applin was given the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel and in February was made commanding officer of the 14th Hussars. He retired from the army in January 1921.{{London Gazette| issue = 32190 |page=350 | date = 12 January 1921 }}

With the ending of his military career, Applin entered politics. After making two unsuccessful attempts to enter parliament with minor parties, he became the Conservative MP for Enfield.

Applin was originally a member of the National Party, a xenophobic party that broke away from the Conservatives in 1917. He stood at the parliamentary by-election at Dartford in April 1920. The party came in a poor fourth place, with Applin losing his deposit. The intervention of the National Party and an Independent candidate split the Conservative vote and allowed John Edmund Mills of the Labour Party to secure an unexpected victory.{{cite news |title=By-Election Results. Labour Triumph At Dartford. |newspaper=The Times |date=12 April 1920 |page=15}}{{cite book |title=Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench illustrated with 500 armorial engravings |year=1922 |publisher=Dean & Son |location=London |page=229 |url=https://archive.org/download/debrettshouseo1922londuoft/debrettshouseo1922londuoft_bw.pdf |access-date=12 May 2009 }} The National Party was disbanded a year later.{{cite news |title=End Of The National "Party." Changed Title And Status |newspaper=The Times |date=20 April 1921 |page=7 }}

{{main|Westminster Abbey by-election, 1921}}

In August 1921 a parliamentary byelection was held for the constituency of Westminster Abbey. Applin stood as the candidate of Anti-Waste League, a right-wing party formed by Lord Rothermere in opposition to the spending plans of the Lloyd George Coalition government. Such was the unpopularity of the government that all three candidates, including the winner Brigadier-General John Nicholson of the Conservative Party (who formed part of the coalition), claimed to be "anti-waste". Applin finished in second place, receiving 34.9% of the votes cast.{{cite book |title=By-elections in British politics |first1=Chris |last1=Cook |first2=John |last2=Ramsden |page=44 |publisher=Routledge |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-85728-535-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQGAXGB4GLkC&q=r+v+k+applin&pg=PA44}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MWeSdpr2zJ8C&q=r+v+k+applin&pg=PA245 |page=245 |title=Consensus and Disunity: The Lloyd George Coalition Government 1918-1922 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1986 |first=Kenneth O |last=Morgan |isbn=9780198229759 | author-link = Kenneth O. Morgan}}

In September 1924 Applin was chosen as the Conservative Party's candidate to contest the north London seat of Enfield.{{cite news |title=Parliamentary Candidates |newspaper=The Times |date=11 September 1924 |page=14}} The seat had been won by William Henderson of the Labour Party at the general election of 1923. When a further election was held in October of that year, he was elected with a majority of 2,079 votes in a straight fight with Henderson.{{cite news |title=The General Election. First Returns. |newspaper=The Times |date=30 October 1924 |page=6}} At the next general election in 1929, Applin again faced Henderson as well as a Liberal candidate.{{cite news |title="Inscrutable New Electorate." Prospects In Northern London Suburbs |newspaper=The Times |date=28 May 1929 |page=8}} Henderson regained the seat for Labour by the narrow margin of 258 votes.{{cite news |title=The General Election. First Returns. |newspaper=The Times |date=31 May 1929 |page=7}} Following the collapse of the minority Labour Government, a National Government was formed in August 1931 and an election was held in October of the same year. Applin was the Conservative and National Government candidate, and was returned to the Commons when he defeated his Labour opponent by the large majority of 10,886 votes.{{cite news |title=The General Election. First Returns. |newspaper=The Times |date=28 October 1931 |page=7}} He retired from parliament at the 1935 general election.

In 1935 he emigrated to South Africa. He died at his home in Howick, Natal in April 1957 aged 87. His medals were auctioned in 2009.

• {{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

{{reflist}}

{{external media

|image1=[http://www.eggsa.org/library/main.php?g2_itemId=1171363 Gravestone of Lt. Col. Applin] at St George's Garrison Church, Fort Napier, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

}}

• {{Hansard-contribs | lieut-colonel-reginald-applin | Reginald Applin }}
• {{cite web |title=Lieut. Col. R.V.K. Applin of the British Army addressing 4000 non-commissioned officers on the subject of discipline and obedience to orders, 15 February 1918 |publisher=New York Public Libraries |url=http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=136577&imageID=117088&total=122&num=0&parent_id=133491&word=&s=1¬word=&d=&c=&f=&k=0&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&lword=&lfield=&imgs=20&pos=16&snum=0&e=w#_seemore |work=NYPL Digital Gallery |access-date=1 January 2011}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-par|uk}}

{{s-bef | before = William Henderson}}

{{s-ttl

| title = Member of Parliament for Enfield

| years = 1924 – 1929

}}

{{s-aft | after = William Henderson}}

{{s-bef | before = William Henderson}}

{{s-ttl

| title = Member of Parliament for Enfield

| years = 1931 – 1935

}}

{{s-aft | after = Bartle Brennen Bull}}

{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Applin, Reginald}}

Category:1869 births

Category:1957 deaths

Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies

Category:UK MPs 1924–1929

Category:UK MPs 1931–1935

Category:Lancashire Fusiliers officers

Category:14th King's Hussars officers

Category:Machine Gun Corps officers

Category:People educated at Sherborne School

Category:Politicians from Exeter

Category:North Borneo Chartered Company administrators

Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order

Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Category:Military personnel from Exeter

Category:British Militia officers

Category:British Army personnel of World War I

Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War