William Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech
PC | |
---|---|
Secretary of State for the Colonies | |
In office 28 May 1936 – 16 May 1938 | |
Monarchs | Edward VIII George VI |
Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
Preceded by | J. H. Thomas |
Succeeded by | Malcolm MacDonald |
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
In office 1938 – 14 February 1964 as a hereditary peer | |
Preceded by | The 3rd Baron Harlech |
Succeeded by | The 5th Baron Harlech |
Personal details | |
Born | 11 April 1885 |
Died | 14 February 1964 | (aged 78)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse |
Lady Beatrice Gascoyne-Cecil (m. 1913) |
William George Arthur Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech,
Background
Harlech, the son of George Ormsby-Gore, 3rd Baron Harlech, and Lady Margaret Gordon, daughter of Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly, was born at Eaton Square, London. He was educated at Eton College and New College, Oxford.[2][1]
Military service and First World War
Ormsby-Gore served in the
He was mobilized at the outbreak of the
He strongly opposed the secret
He was recalled to England in 1917 to serve as Parliamentary Private Secretary to
Ormsby-Gore remained serving in the yeomanry after the war until 1921.[10] In 1939 he was appointed an honorary colonel of the 10th Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.[11]
Political career
Harlech was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Denbigh Boroughs by a majority of eight votes at the January 1910 general election,[2] sitting for the seat until he was selected for and won Stafford at the 1918 general election. He sat in the House of Commons until he entered the House of Lords on succeeding to his father's peerage in 1938 as the 4th Baron Harlech.[1]
He was British representative to the Permanent Mandates Commission of the League of Nations from 1921 to 1922.[12] He played a catalyst role in expanding the powers of the Commission and making colonial powers accountable to the Commission.[13] He was influential in establishing a process whereby subjects in the mandates could petition the League of Nations and have their grievances publicized.[14]
He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1922 to 1929 (with a brief interruption during the short-lived Labour government of 1924).[1]
In the
During the
Cultural interests
He had an extensive library at his Shropshire home, Brogyntyn near Oswestry, which he downsized after moving out of the mansion in 1955.[6] He and his father deposited a valuable collection of Brogyntyn manuscripts at the National Library of Wales.[1]
He was author of:
- Florentine Sculptors of the Fifteenth Century (1930)
- Guide to the Mantegna Cartoons at Hampton Court (1935)
- Three volumes in the series Guides to the Ancient Monuments of England.[21][22][23]
Further work
After retiring from politics he served on the board of
Described as having "a deep interest in the arts",
Personal life
Lord Harlech married Lady Beatrice Edith Mildred Gascoyne-Cecil (born 10 August 1891, died 1980), daughter of James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury, in 1913. They had six children:[25]
- Mary Hermione Ormsby-Gore (born 7 September 1914, died 26 September 2006), married firstly Captain Robin Francis Campbell in 1936 (divorced 1946) and secondly in 1947 Sir Alexander Lees Mayall, KCVO, CMG.[26]
- Owen Gerard Cecil Ormsby-Gore (born 30 July 1916, died 3 October 1935)
- William David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech (born 20 May 1918, died 26 January 1985)
- Katherine Margaret Alice Ormsby-Gore, DBE (born 4 January 1921, died 22 January 2017), married Maurice Macmillan, Viscount Macmillan of Ovenden, son of Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton and Lady Dorothy Cavendish.[27]
- Captain John Julian Stafford Ormsby-Gore (born 12 April 1925, died 18 April 2008), unmarried.[28]
- Elizabeth Jane Ormsby-Gore (born 14 November 1929, died 19 January 2004), married William Simon Pease, 3rd Baron Wardington.[29]
Lord Harlech died in February 1964,
Coat of arms
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Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "ORMSBY-GORE, WILLIAM GEORGE ARTHUR (1885 - 1964), 4th BARON HARLECH politician and banker". biography.wales.
- ^ ISBN 0-19-861372-5. Article by K. E. Robinson.
- ^ Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1909. Kelly's. p. 1249. Under Ormsby-Gore, William George Arthur. His sketch in the ODNB dates his commissioning in 1908.
- ^ Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1913. Kelly's. p. 1313.
- ^ Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1920. Kelly's. p. 1237.
- ^ a b c d e Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 22. p. 988.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-957048-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-957048-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-957048-5.
- ^ Kelly's Handbook of Distinguished People, 1939. Kelly's. p. 886.
- ^ a b Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1964. Kelly's. p. 949.
- ISBN 978-0-19-957048-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-957048-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-957048-5.
- ^ "No. 33235". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1926. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 14301". The Edinburgh Gazette. 4 January 1927. p. 1.
- ^ "No. 33246". The London Gazette. 8 February 1927. p. 833.
- ^ "No. 14312". The Edinburgh Gazette. 11 February 1927. p. 173.
- ^ "No. 34518". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1938. p. 3689.
- ^ "No. 15500". The Edinburgh Gazette. 14 June 1938. p. 487.
- ^ Ormsby-Gore, William George Arthur, Lord Harlech (1935). Ancient Monuments in the Care of the Ministry of Public Building and Works. Illustrated Regional Guide No 1. Northern England. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Full-text of the bound edition (1952) is available at the Internet Archive. - ^ Ormsby-Gore, William George Arthur, Lord Harlech (1936). Ancient Monuments in the Care of the Ministry of Public Building and Works. Illustrated Regional Guide No 3. East Anglia and The Midlands. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Full-text of the second edition (1955) is available at the Internet Archive. - ^ Ormsby-Gore, William George Arthur, Lord Harlech (1967). Ancient Monuments in the Care of the Ministry of Public Building and Works. Illustrated Regional Guide No 5. North Wales. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "No. 38236". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 March 1948. p. 1859.
- ^ The Peerage, entry for 4th Lord Harlech
- ^ The Peerage, entry for Hon. Mary Ormsby-Gore
- ^ The Peerage, entry for Hon. Katherine Ormsby-Gore
- ^ Obituary
- ^ The Peerage, entry for Hon. Elizabeth Ormsby-Gore
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