Angus McDonnell
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (March 2016) |
engineer, diplomat and Conservative Party politician.[1]
Early life
He was the second son of
merchant banker with Morgan Grenfell. He subsequently moved to the United States, where he worked for Chiswell Langhorne in constructing railways in Virginia. McDonnell became a close friend of Langhorne's daughter Nancy Astor.[1]
With the outbreak of the
First World War, he served with the railway troops reserve of the 1st Canadian Division in constructing railways behind the lines of the Western Front and rose to the rank of colonel.[1]
Political career
He returned to the United Kingdom, where he was chosen by the Conservative Party to contest the constituency of Dartford at the 1924 general election. He won the seat bynarrowly defeating the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament, John Edmund Mills.[1] McDonnell had little interest in Parliament, did not defend the seat in 1929 and returned to his business activities.[1]
Washington honorary attaché
When America entered the
British Ambassador to the United States.[1] McDonnell was a capable aide to the British Ambassador, Lord Halifax. He would be the advance agent to Halifax's speeches and planned a punishing schedule of talks by the ambassador to the American public. His contacts enabled Halifax to further his influence in American political and commercial circles. The role of Ambassador was not one that came easily to Halifax, who greatly relied upon the aid that McDonnell provided.[2]
Personal life and death
He married actress Ethelwyne Sylvia Arthur Jones, the daughter of dramatist
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary: Col. The Hon. Angus McDonnell". The Times. 26 April 1966. p. 14.
- ^ N.J. Cull, 'Lord Halifax, 1941-46', in M.F. Hopkins, S. Kelly and J.W. Young (eds.), The Washington Embassy British Ambassadors to the United States, 1939-77, (Basingstoke, Macmillan 2009)
- ^ "Winslow History | Silvanus Jones (1827-1914) and Henry Arthur Jones the playwright (1851-1929)". www.winslow-history.org.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2021.