Eugene Wason

Eugene Wason (26 January 1846 – 19 April 1927) was a Scottish lawyer and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons in three periods between 1885 and 1918.

Eugene Wason came from a Liberal family. His father, brother and son-in-law, were all Liberal Members of Parliament. His father was Rigby Wason sometime MP for Ipswich, his brother was Cathcart Wason the MP for Orkney and Shetland from 1900–1921 (and previously an MP in New Zealand 1876-79), first elected as a Liberal Unionist but later switching to the Liberals and his daughter Minna married John William Crombie who was MP for Kincardineshire from 1892–1908. In 1870, Wason married Eleanor Mary from Dolgelly, the daughter of C. R. Williams, Deputy Lieutenant of Merionethshire. They had three sons and two daughters.

Wason, like his brother Cathcart, was well over 6 feet tall. He was described by one of the contemporary Speakers of the House of Commons as ‘the largest and tallest man in the House.’Sir Percy Harris who was Liberal MP for Bethnal Green South West and whose father was a close friend of Wason’s has recorded that Eugene and Cathcart were giants, Eugene being thick set and heavy while Cathcart was willowy and thin. Harris related that the story always told about Eugene was that if he stepped on a weighing machine the hands would go on until they could no farther as he topped the maximum 20 stone mark on the dial. Not surprisingly, according to Harris, Eugene was fond of his food and wine,) although he was also a keen sportsman listing his recreations in Who’s Who in his younger days as football, shooting, rowing, and fishing although in later life these pursuits turned into reading, bridge, backgammon, and the card game picquet.

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