The Earl of Selkirk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Lord of the Admiralty | |
| In office 14 January 1957 – 14 October 1959 | |
| Preceded by | The Viscount Hailsham |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Carrington |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
| In office 20 December 1955 – 13 January 1957 | |
| Prime Minister | Anthony Eden Harold Macmillan |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Woolton |
| Succeeded by | Charles Hill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1906-01-04)4 January 1906 |
| Died | 24 November 1994(1994-11-24) (aged 88) |
| Spouse | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | Royal Air Force |
| Rank | Group Captain |
| Commands | No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron (1934–38) |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Officer of the Order of the British Empire Air Force Cross Mentioned in Despatches (2) |
Group CaptainGeorge Nigel "Geordie" Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk,KT, GCMG, GBE, AFC, AE, PC, QC (4 January 1906 – 24 November 1994) was aBritish nobleman andConservative politician.
Born atMerly,Wimborne,Dorset, he was the second son ofNina Mary Benita, youngest daughter of Major R. Poore, Salisbury, and the13th Duke of Hamilton and Brandon. He was educated atEton College,Balliol College, Oxford, theUniversity of Edinburgh (LLB) and at theUniversity of Bonn,Vienna University and theSorbonne. He was admitted to theFaculty of Advocates in 1935, takingsilk in 1959.[1][2]
He playedcricket forWiltshire in the 1927Minor Counties Championship.[3]
He was a member ofEdinburgh Town Council from 1935 to 1940 and served as aCommissioner ofGeneral Board of Control (Scotland) from 1936 to 1939 and as a Commissioner forSpecial Areas in Scotland 1937–39. He commandedNo. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron in theRoyal Auxiliary Air Force 1934–38. He was awarded theAir Force Cross in 1938.[4]
With the outbreak of theSecond World War Douglas-Hamilton joined theRoyal Air Force. He served asFighter Command's chief intelligence officer and the personal assistant to Air Chief MarshalSir Hugh Dowding. Douglas-Hamilton was also involved in countering the German task force operating near Ceylon.[2]
Douglas-Hamilton was twiceMentioned in Despatches and appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire in 1941.[5]
On the death of his father in 1940, he succeeded as the 12thEarl of Selkirk under the terms of aspecial remainder of 1688, his elder brother becoming the14th Duke of Hamilton.
From 1946 to 1950, Selkirk served as the president of theCockburn Association, an influential conservationist and civic amenity body.[6]
On 6 August 1947, he marriedAudrey Sale-Barker, analpine skiing champion and prominent aviator.[2]
In 1945 he was elected as a Scottishrepresentative peer, giving him a seat in theHouse of Lords which he held until 1963. He served as alord in waiting to KingGeorge VI (1951–1952) and to QueenElizabeth II (1952–1953). He held ministerial office in Conservative governments, serving aspaymaster general from November 1953 to December 1955, aschancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from December 1955 to January 1957, and asfirst lord of the Admiralty from January 1957 to October 1959.
In 1955 Selkirk was appointed aprivy counsellor, in 1959 as aknight grand cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, also in 1959 as aQueen's Counsel[7] and in 1963 as aknight grand cross of the Order of the British Empire. In 1976 he became aknight of the Order of the Thistle, the highest Scottish honour.
He also held the office of deputy keeper ofHolyroodhouse from 1937 until his death, theduke of Hamilton being hereditary keeper. He was made a freeman ofHamilton,Scotland in 1938. He was also an honorary chief of theSaulteaux Indians, 1967, and an honorary citizen of the City ofWinnipeg and of the town ofSelkirk, Manitoba.
From 1959 to 1963, Selkirk wasHigh Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Singapore and Commissioner General for South-East Asia. He was also the British Representative toSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization from 1960 to 1963. While in Singapore, Selkirk was also the British representative and Chairman of the Internal Security Council, a tripartite committee responsible for Singapore's internal security from 1959 to 1963.[2]
In 1957, Lord Selkirk moved into Rose Lawn Coppice,Ashington, Dorset. He had inherited the house, which had been built in 1925 bycricketer andBritish Army officerBrigadier General Robert Poore (1866–1938) under the will of his widow Lady Poore (1867–1957), and lived there until his own death in 1994.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New government | Lord-in-waiting 1951–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 1953–1955 | Vacant Title next held by Walter Monckton |
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1955–1957 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | First Lord of the Admiralty 1957–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Selkirk 1940–1994 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
