Victor Gordon-Lennox | |
|---|---|
| Born | Victor Charles Hugh Gordon-Lennox (1897-09-10)10 September 1897 |
| Died | 25 January 1968(1968-01-25) (aged 70) Sinnington, Yorkshire |
| Other names | V. C. H. Gordon-Lennox |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Notable work | The Whitehall Letter |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1915–1922 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Grenadier Guards |
| Battles / wars | World War I |
Capt.Victor Charles Hugh Gordon-Lennox (10 September 1897 – 25 January 1968) was aBritish Army soldier and journalist who was a diplomatic correspondent forThe Daily Mail andThe Daily Telegraph. In the lead-up to theSecond World War, he was an editor of the influential conservative newsletterThe Whitehall Letter.[1]
Gordon-Lennox was born at 23Lower Sloane St.,Chelsea, London,[2] into the Scottish aristocracy, the only child of politicianLord Walter Gordon-Lennox and his wife, Alice Ogilvy-Grant. His father was the youngest son of the6th Duke of Richmond; his mother was the daughter of the Hon. George Henry Ogilvy-Grant and granddaughter ofFrancis Ogilvy-Grant, 6th Earl of Seafield.
He was educated privately and atTrinity College, Cambridge.[1]
In 1915, during First World War,Gordon-Lennox leftCambridge and enlisted in the 5th (Reserve) Battalion of theGrenadier Guards, and later served with the 1st Battalion. His uncle MajorLord Bernard Gordon-Lennox was killed in 1914 while serving in the same regiment. On 20 November 1916, two days after theBattle of the Somme ended, he was injured in the trenches east ofGueudecourt while his battalion was awaiting relief from the59th Battalion.[3] He then returned to action.[4] In 1917, he served asaide-de-camp toAnthony Gustav de Rothschild of theBuckinghamshire Yeomanry[5] and later to Lieutenant-General SirJohn Du Cane.[1]
After the war, he was military secretary to Lieutenant-GeneralSir Richard Haking atDanzig.[1] He retired in 1922.[6]
From 1923–9, Gordon-Lennox wasThe Daily Mail's political correspondent. From 1930–4, he was the diplomatic correspondent ofThe Daily Telegraph, for which he wrote a "London Day by Day" column under the pseudonym Peterborough. In the 1930s, he,Graham Hutton, and AmericanHelen Kirkpatrick edited a weekly anonymous newsletterThe Whitehall Letter, whichThe Times called "one of the best informed of 'behind the scenes' information sheets" in politics.[1] Critical of Prime MinisterNeville Chamberlain's policy ofappeasement toward Nazi Germany,The Whitehall Letter offered an alternative to establishment media's unwavering support of Chamberlain.[7] It was regularly read by future Prime MinistersWinston Churchill andAnthony Eden; KingGustaf V of Sweden was also a subscriber.[8]
According toThe Times's obituary, he possessed "a knack of getting hold of something that others had missed. Gordon-Lennox was a well-liked character not only in what used to be loosely called "club-land" but in many countries. His distinguished appearance, the width of his contacts, his immense personal charm, made him stand out among journalists of his period."[1]
Gordon-Lennox married three times. From 1923–28, he was married to Ann Dorothy Bridge (née Browne). In 1928, she remarried toSir George Edward Leon, 2nd Baronet.[9]
In December 1932, he married Canadian athlete and journalistDiana Kingsmill, daughter of Admiral SirCharles Kingsmill, inRockcliffe Park,Ottawa. They met in Ottawa that summer while he was reporting on theBritish Empire Economic Conference forThe Telegraph.[10][1] They had a son, Henry George Charles Gordon-Lennox (born 1934), an official with theUNHCR. They were divorced in 1940. She remarriedJ. F. C. Wright.[9]
In 1958, he married Norah Schofield, daughter of newspaper editorGuy Schofield.[9]
An avid motorist, Gordon-Lennox owned one of the fewBentley 8 Litres produced.[1] In the 1930s, he purchased the 1927Bentley 3 Litre belonging to his friendDavid Niven, which gave Niven the funds he needed to leave the army and become an actor.[11]
He died in 1968 inSinnington, Yorkshire.[1]
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