The Lord Newton | |
|---|---|
 "An Imperialist without Guile", caricature bySpy inVanity Fair, 1908. | |
| Paymaster General | |
| In office 9 June 1915 – 18 August 1916 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | H. H. Asquith |
| Preceded by | The Lord Strachie |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Henderson |
| Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 10 December 1916 – 10 January 1919 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 March 1857 (1857-03-18) |
| Died | 21 March 1942 (1942-03-22) (aged 85) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Thomas Wodehouse Legh, 2nd Baron NewtonPC,DL (18 March 1857 – 21 March 1942) was aBritish diplomat andConservative politician who served asPaymaster General during theFirst World War.
Newton was the son ofWilliam Legh, 1st Baron Newton, and Emily Jane Wodehouse, daughter of the Venerable Charles Nourse Wodehouse,Archdeacon of Norwich. The Legh family had been landowners inCheshire for centuries. Newton was educated atEton andChrist Church, Oxford.[1]
In 1879 he entered theDiplomatic Service and served as anattaché at the British Embassy in Paris from 1881 to 1886.[1] The latter year he was elected to theHouse of Commons asMember of Parliament for his home constituency ofNewton, a seat he held until 1898,[1][2] when he succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Newton and took his seat in theHouse of Lords. He was appointed adeputy lieutenant of Cheshire on 23 February 1901.[3] In 1915 Prime MinisterH. H. Asquith appointed himPaymaster General,[4] with special responsibility for representing theWar Office in Parliament when theSecretary of State for War was unable to attend. The same year he was admitted to thePrivy Council.
In 1916 Lord Newton became Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and was put in charge of two departments at theForeign Office, one dealing with foreign propaganda and the other with prisoners of war. In October 1916 he was appointed controller of the newly established Prisoner of War Department, and in this position he negotiated the release of thousands of British prisoners of war.[1]
Lord Newton was appointed adeputy lieutenant forCheshire in February 1901.[3] He served as an officer in theLancashire Hussars Imperial Yeomanry, and was promoted to the substantive rank ofmajor on 1 July 1901,[5] before he resigned with the honorary rank oflieutenant-colonel in October 1902.[6]
Lord Newton was also the author of two biographies, one onRichard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons, published in 1913, and the other onHenry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, published in 1929. In 1941 he published his memoirs, entitledRetrospection.[1]
During theSpanish Civil War, Lord Newton was a strong supporter ofGeneral Franco and the fascists, serving on the Friends of National Spain committee.[7]
Lord Newton married Evelyn Caroline Davenport, daughter ofWilliam Bromley-Davenport, in 1880. They had five children, two sons and three daughters. His younger sonSir Piers Legh served asMaster of the Household from 1941 to 1953. Lady Newton died in September 1931. Lord Newton survived her by eleven years and died in March, 1942, aged 85. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest sonRichard Legh. The latter's son,Peter Legh, 4th Baron Newton, was also aConservative politician and government minister.[1]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNewton 1886–1898 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Paymaster General 1915–1916 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs 1916–1919 | Office abolished |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Baron Newton 1898–1942 | Succeeded by |
