Michael Hicks Beach, 2nd Earl St. Aldwyn

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Michael John Hicks Beach, 2nd Earl St. Aldwyn PC , GBE , TD ( October 9, 1912 - January 29, 1992 ) was a British peer and politician of the Conservative Party .

life and career

Hicks Beach was born on October 19, 1912, the only son of Michael Hicks Beach, Viscount Quenington , who died in World War I in 1916 and the grandson of Michael Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St. Aldwyn . His mother was Marjorie Brocklehurst, daughter of Henry Dent Brocklehurst, she also died in 1916. He inherited his grandfather's title in April 1916, at the age of three. He attended Eton College and fought as a major in the 1st Royal Gloucestershire Hussars during World War II .

Membership in the House of Lords

When his grandfather died in 1916, he inherited his title as 2nd Earl St. Aldwyn and the then associated seat in the House of Lords , which he was only able to take when he came of age. This happened because the father had died shortly before. On June 24, 1964, he gave his inaugural address.

In 1954, Hicks Beach was appointed Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in the government of Winston Churchill , an office he also held under Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan , the department was renamed the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1955.

He was promoted from Macmillan to Captain of the Honorable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms ( Chief Government Whip in the House of Lords ) in 1958 . He remained so under Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1964. After the Conservatives had lost their majority in 1964, Hicks Beach was Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords from 1964 to 1970. When the Tories came back to power in 1970 under Edward Heath , Hicks Beach was reappointed Captain of the Honorable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms , which he remained until the fall of the government in 1974. From 1969 to 1978 he was Vice Chancellor of the Order of Saint John and in 1978 Chancellor.

From 1974 to 1978 he was again Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords. He was away from his political career and Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, and Vice-Lord-Lieutenant was from Gloucestershire from 1981 to 1987. In 1969 he member of the Privy Council and the 1964 Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire appointed . In 1980 he was raised to the Knight Grand Cross of the same order.

Family and death

On June 26, 1948, he married Diana Mary Christian (* 1915), daughter of Henry Christian George Mills. They had three sons. He died in January 1992 at the age of 79. His eldest son Michael inherited his title.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Michael John Hicks-Beach, 2nd Earl St. Aldwyn on thepeerage.com , accessed September 18, 2016.
  2. ^ Charles Kidd, David Williamson (ed.): Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. St Martin's Press, New York 1990.
  3. ^ The Peerages of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom Entry on the Leigh Rayment website , accessed on January 30, 2013.
  4. ↑ Saint Aldwyn, Earl (UK, 1915) Entry in Cracroftspeerage , accessed January 31, 2013.
predecessor Office successor
Michael Hicks Beach Earl St. Aldwyn
1916-1992 		Michael Hicks Beach
Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue Captain of the Honorable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms
1957–1964 		Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd
Frank Beswick, Baron Beswick Captain of the Honorable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms
1970–1974 		Annie Llewelyn-Davies, Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe
Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue Conservative Chief Whip in the House of Lords
1957–1978 		Bertram Bowyer, 2nd Baron Denham
personal data
SURNAME Hicks Beach, Michael, 2nd Earl St. Aldwyn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hicks Beach, Michael John, 2nd Earl Saint Aldwyn (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British peer and politician (Conservative Party)
DATE OF BIRTH October 9, 1912
DATE OF DEATH January 29, 1992