Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Baron Willingdon (1915)

Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon , GCSI , GCMG , GCIE , GBE , PC , KStJ (birth name: Freeman Thomas ; born September 12, 1866 , † August 12, 1941 ) was a British politician of the Liberal Party who was under others 1900-1910 Member of Parliament ( House of Commons ) was. After leaving the House of Commons, he was raised in 1910 as Baron Willingdon in the Hereditary Peerage of the Peerage of the United Kingdom . He was also Governor of Bombay from 1913 to 1918 and Governor of Madras between 1919 and 1924 .

In 1924 he was promoted to Viscount Willingdon and served as Governor General of Canada from 1926 to 1930 . He was then raised in 1931 to Earl of Willingdon and Viscount Ratendone . Most recently he held the office of Governor General and Viceroy of India between 1931 and 1936 and was finally raised to Marquess of Willingdon in 1936 .

Life

Family background and member of the House of Commons

Freeman Thomas was the youngest child and only son of Freeman Frederick Thomas and his wife Mabel Brand, a daughter of Henry Brand , who was Speaker of the House of Commons between 1872 and 1884 and in 1884 as Viscount Hampden , Viscount Hampden, of Glynde in the County of Sussex was raised to the nobility. When he was two years old, his father's death resulted in a half-orphan. After attending the renowned Eton College , he graduated from the University of Cambridge and then served as an officer in the Sussex Artillery until 1897 . He took the name Freeman-Thomas by Royal License in 1892 and married Lady Marie Adelaide Brassey on July 20, 1892, daughter of Thomas Brassey, 1st Baron Brassey , who was a member of the House of Commons from 1865 and from 1868 to 1886 and after his elevation to the Baron Brassey member of the upper house ( House of Lords ) was. Freeman-Thomas served as the aide-de-camp of his father-in-law Baron Brassey, who was Governor of Victoria from 1895 to 1900 , between 1897 and 1900 .

After his return, Freeman-Thomas was elected as a candidate of the Liberal Party on October 1, 1900 for the first time as a member of the House of Commons and initially represented the constituency of Hastings until January 12, 1906 . During this time he was during the tenure of Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1905-1906 in the Treasury as Junior Lord of the Treasury operates. After he had to leave the House of Commons after his electoral defeat by Harvey du Cros from the Conservative Party on January 12, 1906, he was re-elected to the House of Commons on July 24, 1906 in a by-election in the Bodmin constituency and was able to stand in this by-election prevailing with 4,969 votes (56.2 percent) against his opponent of the Liberal Unionist George John Sandys , who received 3,876 votes (43.8 percent). In January 1910, he decided not to run again and left the House of Commons.

Member of the House of Lords and Governor of Bombay and Madras

Almost six months after his departure from the House of Freeman-Thomas was on 20 July 1910 as Baron Willingdon, of Ratton in the County of Sussex in the hereditary nobility (Hereditary peerage) the Peerage of the United Kingdom raised and belonged until his death the House of Lords as a member. At the beginning of his membership in the upper house, he acted between 1911 and 1913 as Lord-in-Waiting and thus as Whip of the faction of the Liberal Party.

He then succeeded George Sydenham Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe as Governor of Bombay on February 17, 1913 and held this office until he was replaced by George Lloyd on December 16, 1918. During this time, he was made Knight in 1913 Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1917 and Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) in 1918 . He then succeeded Alexander Cardew Governor of Madras on April 10, 1919 and held this post until he was replaced by George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen on April 12, 1924. Subsequently, on June 23, 1924, he was given the hereditary title of nobility Viscount Willingdon, of Ratton in the County of Sussex .

Governor General of Canada and Viceroy of India

Statue of the Earl of Willingdon as Viceroy of India in Coronation Park of New Delhi

As the successor to Julian Byng, 1st Baron Byng of Vimy , Viscount Willingdon became Governor General of Canada on August 5, 1926 and held this office as representative of the British monarch until April 4, 1931, whereupon he was replaced by Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough was replaced. As governor general he was also supreme commander of the Dominion Canada and in 1927 received the Canadian honorary citizenship (Freedom of Canada) . In 1931 he was also appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG) and also a member of the Privy Council (PC). In addition, he was elevated to Earl of Willingdon and Viscount Ratendone, of Willingdon in the County of Sussex on February 20, 1931 .

On April 18, 1931, the Earl of Willingdon was appointed Governor General and Viceroy of India to succeed Edward Wood, 1st Baron Irwin . He stayed in this position for exactly five years until April 18, 1936 and was then replaced by Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow . On his return to Great Britain he was raised to Marquess of Willingdon on May 26, 1936 .

The Marquess of Willingdon, who was also Knight of Justice of the Order of Saint John (KStJ), also became an honorary citizen of Edinburgh (Freedom of Edinburgh) in 1936 . Most recently, between 1936 and his death in 1941, he held the position of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and the associated title of Constable of Dover Castle . He was also Chancellor of the Order of St Michael and St George.

Marriage and offspring

His marriage to Lady Marie Adelaide Brassey, which was closed on July 20, 1892 and lasted until his death, resulted in two sons. The older son Gerard Frederick Freeman-Thomas was a lieutenant on 14 September 1914 the First World War . The second son Inigo Brassey Freeman-Thomas inherited the title of 2nd Marquess of Willingdon and the subordinate titles after the death of his father .

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Edward Wood, 1st Baron Irwin Viceroy of India
1931–1936
Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow
New title created Baron Willingdon
1910-1941
Inigo Freeman-Thomas
New title created Viscount Willingdon
1924-1941
Inigo Freeman-Thomas
New title created Earl of Willingdon
1931-1941
Inigo Freeman-Thomas
New title created Marquess of Willingdon
1936-1941
Inigo Freeman-Thomas