The Earl of Onslow | |
|---|---|
 1928 portrait | |
| Chairman of Committees | |
| In office 1931–1944 | |
| Monarchs | George V Edward VIII George VI |
| Lord Chancellor | The Viscount Sankey The Viscount Hailsham The Viscount Maugham The Viscount Caldecote The Viscount Simon |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Donoughmore |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Stanmore |
| Paymaster General | |
| In office 1928–1929 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | The Duke of Sutherland |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Arnold |
| Under-Secretary of State for War | |
| In office 1924–1928 | |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
| Secretary | The Earl of Derby |
| Preceded by | Clement Attlee |
| Succeeded by | The Duke of Sutherland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1876-08-23)23 August 1876 |
| Died | 9 June 1945(1945-06-09) (aged 68) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
| Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
Richard William Alan Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow (23 August 1876 – 9 June 1945), styledViscount Cranley until 1911, was a Britishpeer, diplomat, parliamentary secretary and government minister.
Viscount Cranley was the eldest son ofWilliam Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow, and Florence Coulston Gardner. He was educated atEton andNew College, Oxford before joining theDiplomatic Service in 1901.
He became anattaché toMadrid a year later,Third Secretary toTangier in 1903 and toSt Petersburg in 1904 andSecond Secretary toBerlin in 1907. In 1909, he became assistant private secretary toSir Edward Grey, theSecretary of State for Foreign Affairs. He then held a number of positions in theForeign Office as a clerk in 1910, private secretary to theUnder-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs from 1911 to 1913 and assistant clerk from 1913 to 1914.
Onslow joined the army on the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914, being commissioned as a second lieutenant on 15 June 1915.[1] He wasmentioned in despatches three times, received anOBE and the FrenchLegion of Honour. In later years he was honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd BattalionQueen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and honorary colonel of the30th (Surrey) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery.[2][3]
Onslow had succeeded to his father's title and seat in theHouse of Lords in 1911. After the war, he was aLord-in-waiting from 1919 to 1920, aCivil Lord of the Admiralty from 1920 to 1921,Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1921,Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health from 1921 to 1923,Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education from 1923 to 1924,Under-Secretary of State for War and vice-president of theArmy Council from 1924 to 1928, and chairman of the Committees and Deputy Speaker of theHouse of Lords from 1931 to 1944.
Onslow was alsopresident of the Royal Statistical Society from 1905 to 1906[4] and president of theZoological Society of London from 1936 to 1942.[5]
Onslow was the donor of 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land at the top ofStag Hill, Guildford in 1933 on whichGuildford Cathedral was built.[6]
Onslow devoted much of his retirement to writing, producingThe Empress Maud (1939);Sixty-three Years: Diplomacy, the Great War and Politics, with Notes on Travel, Sport and Other Things (1939), which went through several editions; andThe Dukes of Normandy and Their Origin (1945), which was completed in the year of his death and published posthumously.
Lord Onslow married Violet Marcia Catherine Warwick Bampfylde, the only daughter ofCoplestone Bampfylde, 3rd Baron Poltimore, on 22 February 1906. They had two children:
Lord Onslow died on 9 June 1945, aged 68, and was succeeded in the peerage by his only son.
As Dowager Countess of Onslow, Violet gave the futureQueen Elizabeth II a diamond and ruby butterfly brooch as a wedding gift in 1947.[7] She died on 23 October 1954.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lord-in-waiting 1919–1920 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Civil Lord of the Admiralty 1920–1921 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen | Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries 5 April–7 April 1921 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health 1921–1923 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education 1923–1924 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Under-Secretary of State for War 1924–1928 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 1928–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords 1931–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Royal Statistical Society 1905–1906 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Earl of Onslow 1911–1945 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
