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Lieutenant ColonelEdward Southwell Russell, 26th Baron de Clifford,OBE, TD (31 January 1907 – 3 January 1982), was the only son ofJack Southwell Russell, 25th Baron de Clifford, andEva Carrington.
In 1935 he became the lastpeer to be tried in theHouse of Lords for a felony,manslaughter, the result of a car accident. He was found not guilty. He lost his father to a road accident; in hismaiden speech in 1928 in the House of Lords he called for mandatorydriving tests. Later he spoke in favour ofspeed limits, both of which measures were introduced in 1934. He was one of four peers to have at times before 1945 supportedSir Oswald Mosley and hisBritish Union of Fascists.
Russell was born inBelgravia, London,[1] educated atEton College and studied engineering atImperial College London. In 1926 he was commissioned into the 21st (Royal Gloucestershire Hussars) Armoured Car Company of theTerritorial Army; he was promotedlieutenant in 1929 andcaptain in 1938. His hobby until 1935 was racing cars, and he was a young supporter of fascistSir Oswald Mosley and hisBritish Union of Fascists.
In 1926 inMarylebone, he married Dorothy Evelyn Meyrick, daughter of43 Club ownerKate Meyrick.[2] Since he was nineteen, the law at the time required him to have his mother's consent to the marriage, which he knew he could not obtain due to his fiancée's association with theWest End. He, therefore, lied about his age claiming to be 21, for which he was fined £50 by theLord Mayor of London in themagistrates' court.
In 1928 he made his maiden speech in the House of Lords, on the subject of road safety, in which he proposed introducing mandatory driving tests for anyone applying for a driving licence. During his career in the House, he also argued for speed limits to be imposed. (Both measures were introduced by theRoad Traffic Act 1934.)
On 15 August 1935, Lord de Clifford was involved in a high-speed head-on collision which caused him injury and killed a 26-year-old driver inSurrey, Douglas George Hopkins, while driving his sports car on the wrong side of the road.[3] When a jury in thecoroner's court found unanimously that an 'accident involving others' was the cause of death, and that he had been well beyond the speed limit, the police charged him with afelony. At first he wasindicted and committed for trial at theOld Bailey, until it dawned on the courts that, as he was apeer of the realm, only the House of Lords could try him for a felony. Since this had not occurred since 1901, whenThe 2nd Earl Russell was convicted ofbigamy, the House set up aselect committee to investigate the precedents and rules for such a proceeding.
The trial commenced on 12 December, with theLord Chancellor,Lord Hailsham, presiding, in the capacity ofLord High Steward appointed bythe Crown for the occasion.[4] TheAttorney General prosecuted the case. Admission to the public was by ticket only. This was to be the last ever trial in the House of Lords, since the right of peers to be tried by their peers for felonies was abolished by theCriminal Justice Act 1948. (The House still has the power to tryimpeachments.[5])
Lord de Clifford's defence was that Hopkins's vehicle had been travelling at excessive speed on the wrong side and that de Clifford had been compelled to switch lanes at the last moment to avoid a collision, only for the other vehicle to do the same. This defence was successful and he was acquitted.[4]
Lord de Clifford still faced another charge of dangerous driving, which was not a felony and therefore could not be tried in the House. He was due to be tried in the Old Bailey in January. However, in view of his acquittal, the prosecution abandoned their case and a verdict of not guilty was entered.
He made no more speeches in the House of Lords for nearly forty years.
In 1936 he suedThe Spectator forlibel, settling out of court. He was named as aco-respondent in a divorce petition. Whether this was true or false, his own marriage survived.
Following his trial in the House of Lords, de Clifford gave up racing cars. During theSecond World War he transferred to theRoyal Army Ordnance Corps in 1942 and theRoyal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1943. In 1946, having reached the rank oflieutenant colonel, he joined theregular army. He was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1955 New Year Honours.[6]
Having separated from his wife after the war, he divorced her in 1973 and married Mina Margaret, daughter of Mr G. E. Sands, the same year.[6]
Lord de Clifford, whose last home was inSilvington, Shropshire,[6] died in 1982 aged 74 and was survived by his second wife and two sons by his first wife. He was succeeded in the barony by his elder son,John Edward.
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| Peerage of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Baron de Clifford 1909–1982 | Succeeded by |