David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech
Member of the House of Lords | |
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| In office 1965 – 26 January 1985 as a hereditary peer | |
| Preceded by | The 4th Baron Harlech |
| Succeeded by | The 6th Baron Harlech |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William David Ormsby-Gore 20 May 1918 Westminster, London, England |
| Died | 26 January 1985 (aged 66) Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England |
| Resting place | Llanfihangel-y-traethau, Wales |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 6, including Alice and Francis |
| Parents |
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| Residence(s) | Woodhill Estate, Oswestry, Shropshire |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Airborne reconnaissance, farmer, politician, diplomat, television executive |
William David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech
Early life
William David Ormsby-Gore was born into an
A well-known story told of him at Eton is that, when a boy in his house killed himself, the housemaster called the boys together, and asked if any of them had any idea why this should have happened. Ormsby-Gore put up his hand and asked, "Please sir, could it have been the food?"[2][3]
In 1939, he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery (Berkshire Yeomanry Field Regiment), served in the 'Phantom' reconnaissance unit, and worked with airborne and other special units. By the end of the War, he held the rank of major on the general staff.
After the war, his father handed over to him all his land, and Ormsby-Gore farmed the 400 acres (1.6 km2) of the Woodhill Estate, Oswestry, Shropshire. In 1948, he was commissioned a Major in the Shropshire Yeomanry, but left in 1950.[4]
Career
Member of Parliament
At the
Ambassador to the United States
Ormsby-Gore knew Kennedy well from his time in London, where his father
administration relations were more formal but remained excellent; and Ormsby-Gore maintained his position after the Labour government took power in Britain in 1964.A fierce opponent of
The friendships of Ormsby-Gore and Macmillan with John F. Kennedy helped secure the first Test-Ban Treaty in 1963. Macmillan and Ormsby-Gore had been attempting to achieve a test-ban treaty with the Russians for the past ten years, and won Kennedy over through letters from Macmillan and frank discussions between Ormsby-Gore and Kennedy. They persuaded him to act like a statesman and conclude Test-ban treaties with Russia and not fear being branded as an appeaser by political opponents in the United States.[8]
Ormsby-Gore was a participant in what is referred to as a "twenty-five year conversation to do with the role of a leader in a democratic society". He encouraged Kennedy to remain focused on issues relevant to the world and the future, rather than attempting to protect himself politically.
According to the
Later life
Ormsby-Gore retired as ambassador in 1965, a year after his father died, and took his seat in the
Personal life
On 9 February 1940, Lord Harlech married Sylvia Lloyd Thomas (1920–1967)
- Julian Hugh Ormsby-Gore (1940–1974), who died of gunshot wounds, an apparent suicide.[14]
- Jane Teresa Denyse Ormsby-Gore (b. 1942), who was said to have had an affair with Rolling Stones song "Lady Jane" to be about her.[15] She married Michael Rainey in 1966 (div. 1984) and lived at Brogyntyn Home Farm, Oswestry.
- Victoria Mary Ormsby-Gore (b. 1946).
- Alice Magdalen Sarah Ormsby-Gore (1952–1995), who was the girlfriend of Eric Clapton from 1969-1974. She died of a heroin overdose in 1995.
- Francis David Ormsby-Gore, 6th Baron Harlech (1954–2016), who married Amanda Jane Grieve (b. 1959), daughter of Alan Grieve.[16]
In 1968, Lord Harlech proposed to the widowed
On 11 December 1969, Lord Harlech married American
- Pandora Beatrice Ormsby-Gore (b. April 1972)
Death
Lord Harlech was seriously injured in a car crash at Montford Bridge near Shrewsbury on the evening of 25 January 1985 and died at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital the following morning, aged 66.[19] Senator
Contents of Lord Harlech's house at Glyn Cywarch, including his government despatch box containing drafts from him and numerous letters from Jackie Kennedy illustrating their close relationship, were auctioned at Bonhams in London in September 2017 on behalf of his grandson after a preview in New York. The box (whose lock had had to be filed open) and its contents sold for over $40,000.
In popular culture
Ormsby-Gore was portrayed by Peter Donat in the 1974 television play The Missiles of October, which was about the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Honours and arms
Honours and Crown appointments
Ormsby-Gore was appointed to be a
Coat of arms
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Notes
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
- ^ Brian Johnston, A further slice of Johnners (Random House, 2011)
- ^ Alex Renton, Stiff Upper Lip (Hachette UK, 2017)
- ISBN 978-1-157-30811-9. Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "No. 42519". The London Gazette. 21 November 1961. p. 8445.
- ^ "No. 42378". The London Gazette. 6 June 1961. p. 4203.
- ^ from the original on February 9, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ "The Cabinet Papers; Attempts at détente". nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, Diary, 27 November 1963, quoted in Deborah Devonshire (2010) Wait For Me!
- ^ a b c Luckel, Madeleine (9 February 2017). "The One That Got Away: A Trove of Jacqueline Kennedy's Love Letters Has Been Found". Vogue. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ^ "May 05, 1972 - Four-Day Pop Festival: The Great Western Express four-day pop festival is being staged by actor Stanley Baker and Lord Harlech's Great Western Festivals LTD, at Bardney, near Lincoln. Photo shows Plenty of protection against the weather for these fans at the site Stock Photo - Alamy".
- ^ "Ancestry® | Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History Records". www.ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ Hywel Trewyn & Tony Bonnici, "Lord Harlech's tragic life and death" Archived 3 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Post, 15 November 2016.
- ^ Time magazine, 18 November 1974
- ^ Davis, Stephen: Old Gods Almost Dead
- ^ "Amanda Harlech's highland fling with Chanel". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Lord Harlech obituary: Wife's departure was the start of peer's sad decline" Archived 3 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine, The Sydney Morning Herald, February 12, 2016.
- ^ a b "Lord Harlech Marries Pamela Colin In London Ceremony Attended by 100". The New York Times. 12 December 1969. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
- ^ "Lord Harlech killed in crash". Shropshire Star. 26 January 1985. p. 1.
- ^ Hughes, Robert (30 October 2007), The Parish Church Llanfihangel-y-Traethau Ynys (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2016, retrieved 24 March 2016
- ^ "No. 42330". The London Gazette. 18 April 1961. p. 2836.
- ^ "No. 42452". The London Gazette. 1 September 1961. p. 6413.
- ^ "No. 42573". The London Gazette. 16 January 1962. p. 433.
References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, [page needed]
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [better source needed]
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
- Leaming, Barbara. “Jack Kennedy: The Education of a Statesman” (2006). W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. Numerous references.
External links
- The U.S. Government's Biographical File on Sir David Ormsby-Gore (December 1962)
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by David Ormsby Gore
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