The Marquess of Linlithgow | |
|---|---|
 Linlithgow in 1935 | |
| Viceroy and Governor-General of India | |
| In office 18 April 1936 – 1 October 1943 | |
| Monarchs | Edward VIII George VI |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin Neville Chamberlain Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by | The Marquess of Willingdon |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Wavell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 September 1887 South Queensferry,Linlithgowshire, Scotland |
| Died | 5 January 1952(1952-01-05) (aged 64) South Queensferry, Linlithgowshire, Scotland |
| Spouse | |
| Children |
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| Parents |
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| Education | Ludgrove School Eton College |
| Occupation |
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| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1918 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Lothians and Border Horse Royal Scots |
| Battles / wars | |
Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow,KG, KT, GCSI, GCIE, OBE, TD, PC, FRSE (24 September 1887 – 5 January 1952) was a BritishUnionist politician and statesman, agriculturalist, and colonial administrator. He served asGovernor-General and Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943. He also served as vice president of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh,Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh andLord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He was usually referred to asLordLinlithgow, or simplyLinlithgow.
Hope was born atHopetoun House,South Queensferry,Linlithgowshire, Scotland, on 24 September 1887.[1]
He was the eldest son ofJohn Adrian Louis Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, later 1st Marquess Linlithgow, andHersey Everleigh-de-Moleyns, Countess of Hopetoun and later Marchioness of Linlithgow, daughter of the fourthBaron Ventry.[2] His godmother wasQueen Victoria.[3]
He was educated atLudgrove School andEton College and on 29 February 1908 succeeded his father as 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow.[1]
In 1912, aged only 25, he was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh.[1] His proposers wereWilliam Turner,Alexander Crum Brown,Cargill Gilston Knott andJames Haig Ferguson. He served as the society's vice president from 1934 to 1937.[4]
Linlithgow served as an officer on the Western Front during theFirst World War. Transferred fromLothians and Border Horse, he commanded a battalion of theRoyal Scots.[1] He was mentioned in dispatches and appointed an Officer of theOrder of the British Empire, ending the war with the rank ofcolonel.
He then served in various minor roles in theConservative governments of the 1920s and '30s. From 1922 till 1924 he served as the civil lord of theAdmiralty, becoming chairman of theUnionist Party Organisation in 1924 for two years. He also served as president of theNavy League from 1924 until 1931. He was chairman of theMedical Research Council and of the governing body of theImperial College London. Linlithgow was also chairman of the committee on the distribution and prices of agricultural produce and president of the Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture until 1933. In 1926 he was chairman of theRoyal Commission on Agriculture inIndia, which published its findings in 1928.[5] Influenced by submissions to the Royal Commission, "a decade later, when (he) became Viceroy of India he showed a personal interest in nutrition, pushing it to the top of the research agenda".[6] The reason for sending a Commission on Agriculture under Linlithgow was 'because constitutional reform without economic and educational reform will do nothing to ameliorate the condition of life of the mass of the population of India, and this is what matters most.'[7]
From April 1933 to November 1934 he was chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Indian constitutional reform, drawn up to consider the proposals for Indian self-government contained in the government's March 1933White Paper. He agreed to take the job afterLord Salisbury declined it (although he agreed to serve on the committee) andSidney Peel, the second choice, fell ill withphlebitis. Linlithgow told the Joint Select Committee that he would show no favouritism between the Indian factions (Hindus, Muslims and Princely States) and would be neutral just as he was between his own five children. The committee's proposals became theGovernment of India Act 1935.[8]
Having previously declined both thegovernorship of Madras and thegovernor-generalship of Australia (his father was the first Governor-General of Australia),[9] he became theViceroy of India,[2] succeedingLord Willingdon. Travelling out to India on theP&O linerRMSStrathmore, he arrived in Bombay, with his wife, daughters, and personal staff, on 17 April 1936.[10] Linlithgow implemented the plans for local self-government embodied in theGovernment of India Act 1935, which led to provincial governments led by theCongress Party in five of the eleven provinces ofBritish India, but the recalcitrance of the princes prevented the establishment of elected governments in most of theprincely states.[citation needed]
With the outbreak of theSecond World War, Linlithgow's rejection of the request by the Congress for a declaration that India would be given the chance to determine its own future after the war[citation needed] led to the resignation of the Congress ministries. He declared India to be at war with Germany in September 1939, without consulting Indian politicians. On 8 August 1940 Lord Linlithgow made a statement on behalf of the British government. It was known as theAugust Offer and offered greater rights in the governance of India to the Indian people. The proposal was rejected by most Indian politicians, including the Congress Party and theMuslim League. Disputes between the British administration and Congress ultimately led to massive Indian civil disobedience in theQuit India Movement. Linlithgow suppressed the disturbances and arrested the Congress leaders. Some historians have partly blamed Linlithgow for theBengal famine of 1943 which resulted in three million deaths.[11]
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His seven-year tenure as viceroy, the longest in the history of theRaj, ended in 1 October 1943, succeeded by Field MarshalLord Wavell who had beenCommander-in-Chief, India since January 1942.
Indians were not kind in their assessments of his career.V. P. Menon inThe Transfer of Power in India stated: "His 7½ year regime – longer than that of any other Viceroy – was conspicuous by its lack of positive achievement. When he left India, famine stalked portions of the countryside. There was economic distress due to the rising cost of living and the shortage of essential commodities. On the political side, SirTej Bahadur Sapru expressed the general feeling thus: 'Today, I say, after seven years of Lord Linlithgow's administration the country is much more divided than it was when he came here'."
A sincerePresbyterian, he served asLord High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland in 1944 and 1945. He died in 1952.
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| Ribbon | Description | Notes |
 | Order of the Garter | Appointed Knight Companion (KG) in 1943[12] |
 | Order of the Thistle | Appointed Knight (KT) in 1928[12] |
| Order of the Star of India | Appointed Knignt Grand Commander (GCSI) in 1936 |
| Order of the Indian Empire | Appointed Knignt Grand Commander (GCIE) |
| Order of the British Empire | Appointed Officer (OBE) |
| Order of Saint John |
|
| 1914 Star | 1917 |
| British War Medal | 1919 |
| Victory Medal | Withmention in dispatches oak leaf |
| King George V Silver Jubilee Medal | 6 May 1935 |
| King George VI Coronation Medal | 12 May 1937 |
| Territorial Decoration | (TD) |
On 19 April 1911 he married Doreen Maud Milner (1886–1965), the younger daughter ofSir Frederick Milner.[1][13] They had twin sons and three daughters:
In some circles the three girls were known as Faint Hope, Little Hope, and No Hope.[17]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Viceroy of India 1936–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Lieutenant of West Lothian 1929–1952 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh 1946–1952 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Marquess of Linlithgow 1908–1952 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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