William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle

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William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, 1962

William Philip Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle , VC , KG , GCMG , GCVO , KStJ , PC (born May 23, 1909 in Chelsea , London , † April 5, 1991 in Tonbridge , Kent ) was a highly decorated British officer, later then a politician and, among other things, the fifteenth Governor General of Australia .

Early life

He was born in the London borough of Chelsea in 1909 to William Sidney, 5th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley and his wife Winifred Agneta Yorke Bevan. He attended Eton College , studied at Magdalene College at the University of Cambridge and was licensed as a Chartered Accountant .

On June 8, 1940, Sidney married his wife Jacqueline Corrine Yvonne Vereker (1914–1962), the daughter of Field Marshal John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort , the Commander in Chief of the British Expeditionary Force in France during World War II . Sidney and his wife had five children (one boy, four girls).

Military career

In June 1929 he joined the British Army as a second lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards . He rose to the rank of Captain and Temporary Major . Sidney served in the Grenadier Guards in France and Italy during World War II. With a few men he defended a beach position against German troops at Anzio during Operation Shingle . He later launched another counterattack that pushed the Germans back. After the next attack, one soldier from Sidney's squad was killed and one soldier was injured. He was also badly wounded and lost a lot of blood. Despite his weakness due to the loss of blood, he encouraged his men to continue fighting and was finally able to push back the enemy with his unit. For this mission, Sidney was awarded the Victoria Cross on March 30, 1944 , the UK's highest award for superior bravery in the face of the enemy.

Political career

House of Commons and House of Lords

In a by-election in the Chelsea constituency in 1944, Sidney was elected unopposed as a member of the Conservative Party in the British House of Commons .

When his father died in June 1945, Sidney inherited his title as 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley and the associated seat in the House of Lords . He resigned as the House of Commons. In 1951 Sidney was admitted to the Privy Council and under Winston Churchill Secretary of State for Aviation. He held the latter post for four years until 1955. During this time he also traveled to Australia , where he visited the Woomera Prohibited Area for weapons research and met with Prime Minister Robert Menzies .

On January 12, 1956, Sidney was raised to the hereditary Viscount De L'Isle .

Governor General

After the sudden death of William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil in 1961, Menzies proposed the appointment of Sydney as Governor General of Australia. He filled the office with dignity and traveled all over the country. By the end of his term in office in 1965, there were no political problems as the government around Robert Menzies was well established.

On May 11, 1961 he was beaten to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George and on March 14, 1963 to the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order . He was also accepted as Knight of Justice in the Order of Saint John .

Late years

Coat of arms of William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle

In 1965 he inherited from his distant relative Sir Sidney Shelley, 8th Baronet (1880-1965) also the nobility title 9th Baronet , of Castle Goring in the County of Sussex , which had been awarded in 1806 in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. He then expanded his family crest to include that of the Shelley family.

After the death of his first wife in 1962, he married Margaret Shoubridge, widow of Wilfred Bailey, 3rd Baron Glanusk, on March 24, 1966 in Paris .

Even after the end of his term as governor-general he was interested in the development of Australia and he visited the country several times, most recently to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Australia in 1988. For the occasion, he unveiled a bronze statue, which is now in the grounds of Government House in Canberra is .

On April 23, 1968 Sidney was accepted as a Knight Companion in the Order of the Garter. He was one of only three Britons to receive both the highest military distinction (Victoria Cross) and the highest order of knighthood .

De L'Isle continued to represent conservative views even after his retirement from politics and was a co-founder of the British Freedom Association , which campaigned for free markets.

Viscount De L'Isle died on April 5, 1991 in Tonbridge. He was buried in the family vault in the graveyard of St. John the Baptist Church in Penshurst . His titles of nobility passed to his son.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ London Gazette . No. 33508, HMSO, London, June 21, 1929, p. 4121 ( PDF , English).
  2. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 36445, HMSO, London, March 28, 1944, p. 1477 ( PDF , English).
  3. ↑ a b Peerage: De L'Isle and Dudley at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
  4. ↑ London Gazette . No. 40684, HMSO, London, January 13, 1956, p. 278 ( PDF , English).
  5. ↑ a b Knights and Dames at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
  6. ↑ Baronetage: SHELLEY of Castle Goring, Sussex at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
  7. ↑ Knights of the Garter at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
predecessor Office successor
New title created Viscount De L'Isle
1956-1991 		Philip Sidney
William Sidney Baron De L'Isle and Dudley
1945-1991 		Philip Sidney
personal data
SURNAME Sidney, William, 1st Viscount De L'Isle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sidney, William Philip; Sidney, William, 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley; De L'Isle, William Sidney, 1st Viscount
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British officer, politician, Member of the House of Commons and Governor General of Australia
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Chelsea , London
DATE OF DEATH April 5, 1991
Place of death Tonbridge , Kent