Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
|---|---|
| In office 7 December 1962 – 30 November 1993 Hereditary peerage | |
| Preceded by | The 1st Baron Milford |
| Succeeded by | The 3rd Baron Milford |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 February 1902 Brentwood, Essex, England |
| Died | 30 November 1993 (aged 91) London, England |
| Political party | Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
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| Occupation | Ambulance driver, lord, artist |
Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford (25 February 1902 – 30 November 1993) was the only member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) ever to sit in the House of Lords.[1]
Early life
Philipps was the eldest son of Laurence Philipps, 1st Baron Milford. Philipps aimed to become an artist and after studying at Oxford,[2] set up a studio in Paris, but found little success.
Spanish civil-war
He abandoned his artistic endeavours to join
At the end of the Spanish Civil War, Phillips chartered a ship, paid for by donations, to transport 5000 Spanish Republicans from France to Mexico.[6]
Following his experiences, in 1937 he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), which led his father to
Post-war life and career
Having worked as an agricultural labourer in Gloucestershire during the war, Wogan became involved in the
In 1946, Philipps was elected as a Communist
In 1962, Philipps inherited his father's title and agreed to sit in the House of Lords as the second Baron Milford.[3] Ironically, this meant that the CPGB's last parliamentary representative was in the House of Lords. He intended to disclaim the peerage but the CPGB leader Harry Pollitt persuaded him to stay on; in his maiden speech he called for the abolition of the institution.[9][2]
Personal life and death
In 1928, he married the novelist Rosamond Lehmann. The couple had two children: Hugo, who became 3rd Baron Milford on his father's death, and Sarah. By the end of the 1930s, Lehmann had left Philipps for poet Cecil Day-Lewis, but she and Philipps did not divorce until 1944.[10]
Philipps' second marriage was to Cristina Casati, Viscountess Hastings, in 1944.[11] She was previously married to Francis Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon and was the only child of the eccentric Italian arts patron Luisa Casati. The couple ran a progressive farm in Gloucestershire.[11]
His wife Christina died in 1953. A year later, Philipps married Tamara Kravetz, the widow of
Philipps died in London on 30 November 1993, aged 91.[11]
Arms
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References
- ISBN 0-340-64928-3
- ^ a b c d "West Country Communists | Tolpuddle Martyrs". Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Michael Walker, Wogan Philipps Archived 2006-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Compendium of Communist Biography
- ^ Michael Walker, George and Nan Green Archived 2006-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Compendium of Communist Biography
- ISBN 978-1-4088-5398-6.
- ISBN 978-1-78131-233-9.
- ^ "Rosamond Lehmann". Arlindo-correia.org. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ "UK General Election results: February 1950". Psr.keele.ac.uk. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- TIME Magazine Archive Jul. 12, 1963
- ISBN 0-7136-1140-5
- ^ a b c d Sally Belfrage (3 December 1993). "Obituary: Lord Milford - People - News". The Independent. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
- ^ Debrett's Peerage. 2019. p. 3636.
External links
- Wogan Philipps profile. Retrieved 21 September 2007.
| International | |
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| Artists | |
| People | |
