George Herbert Duckworth
Encyclopedia
Sir
George Herbert Duckworth CB
FSA
(1868 – 27 April 1934) was an English public servant.
, of Orchardleigh Park, Somerset
, by his marriage to Julia Princep Jackson, a niece of the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron
, Duckworth had a brother, Gerald
, who later founded the London publishing firm of Duckworth & Co
. After Herbert Duckworth's death, Julia Duckworth married secondly the author Leslie Stephen
, and Duckworth was thus a half-brother of the painter Vanessa Bell
and the writer Virginia Woolf
, leading members of the Bloomsbury Group
, and of Thoby
and Adrian Stephen
. Virginia Woolf later accused her two Duckworth half-brothers of molesting her as a child.
Duckworth was educated at Eton
, where in 1886 he was a member of the First XI
for cricket
, and then at Trinity College, Cambridge
.
Charles Booth
, and then from 1902 to 1905 as secretary to Austen Chamberlain
, at a time when Chamberlain was in the Cabinet
, first as Postmaster General and then as Chancellor of the Exchequer
. From 1906 to 1908 Duckworth was secretary to the Treasury Committee on War Risks of Shipping, and from 1908 to 1933 Secretary to the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments. During the First World War
he was appointed deputy Director of Munitions Finance, serving from 1915 to 1918, and in 1918 as Controller of Labour Finance. In 1919 he became a Companion of the Order of the Bath
. After the war, from 1919 to 1920, he was Controller of Munitions Housing Schemes. In 1924 he became a Trustee and first Chairman of the Irish Land Trust, which had the aim of providing houses and land for ex-service men in Ireland. In 1927 he was knighted and the same year served as a member of the Royal Commission on London Squares and Open Spaces. The next year, 1928, he was on the Advisory Committee on the New Survey of London Life and Labour.
, and together they had three sons. They lived at Dalingridge Place, West Hoathley, Sussex
, while in London
Duckworth was a member of the Travellers and Garrick Club
s.
He was Honorary Treasurer of the Royal Archæological Institute and a Fellow
of the Society of Antiquaries of London
.
Duckworth's son Henry George (died 1992) married Mary Katharine Medina (1911–2009), the younger daughter of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield
. Their twin daughters Harriet Angela Victoria and Sarah Margaret Katharine were born in 1951.
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
George Herbert Duckworth CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
FSA
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
(1868 – 27 April 1934) was an English public servant.
Early life and family
The son of Herbert Duckworth, a barristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, of Orchardleigh Park, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, by his marriage to Julia Princep Jackson, a niece of the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron
Julia Margaret Cameron
Julia Margaret Cameron was a British photographer. She became known for her portraits of celebrities of the time, and for photographs with Arthurian and other legendary themes....
, Duckworth had a brother, Gerald
Gerald Duckworth
Gerald de l'Etang Duckworth was a British publisher.-Background and early life:Duckworth was a son of Herbert Duckworth, a London barrister, by his wife Julia Jackson. His middle name, de l'Etang, was the surname of one of his mother's ancestors, Antoine de l'Etang, a page to Queen Marie Antoinette...
, who later founded the London publishing firm of Duckworth & Co
Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd
-History:Founded in 1898 by Gerald Duckworth, Duckworth is an independent British publisher. It was important in the development of English literature in the first half of the twentieth century, being the publisher of figures such as Virginia Woolf , W. H. Davies, Anthony Powell, John Galsworthy...
. After Herbert Duckworth's death, Julia Duckworth married secondly the author Leslie Stephen
Leslie Stephen
Sir Leslie Stephen, KCB was an English author, critic and mountaineer, and the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell.-Life:...
, and Duckworth was thus a half-brother of the painter Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury group, and the sister of Virginia Woolf.- Biography and art :...
and the writer Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
, leading members of the Bloomsbury Group
Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group or Bloomsbury Set was a group of writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists who held informal discussions in Bloomsbury throughout the 20th century. This English collective of friends and relatives lived, worked or studied near Bloomsbury in London during the first half...
, and of Thoby
Thoby Stephen
Julian Thoby Stephen , known as the Goth, was the elder brother of several members of the Bloomsbury Group, namely his sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf and his younger brother Adrian....
and Adrian Stephen
Adrian Stephen
Adrian Stephen was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, an author and psychoanalyst, and the brother of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell...
. Virginia Woolf later accused her two Duckworth half-brothers of molesting her as a child.
Duckworth was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, where in 1886 he was a member of the First XI
First eleven
First eleven or first XI may refer to the eleven players in an organisation's leading team, particularly a cricket team or association football team....
for cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, and then at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
.
Career
From 1892 to 1902, Duckworth acted as secretary (without pay) to the philanthropistPhilanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Charles Booth
Charles Booth (philanthropist)
Charles Booth was an English philanthropist and social researcher. He is most famed for his innovative work on documenting working class life in London at the end of the 19th century, work that along with that of Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree influenced government intervention against poverty in the...
, and then from 1902 to 1905 as secretary to Austen Chamberlain
Austen Chamberlain
Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain, KG was a British statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and half-brother of Neville Chamberlain.- Early life and career :...
, at a time when Chamberlain was in the Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
, first as Postmaster General and then as Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
. From 1906 to 1908 Duckworth was secretary to the Treasury Committee on War Risks of Shipping, and from 1908 to 1933 Secretary to the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments. During the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he was appointed deputy Director of Munitions Finance, serving from 1915 to 1918, and in 1918 as Controller of Labour Finance. In 1919 he became a Companion of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
. After the war, from 1919 to 1920, he was Controller of Munitions Housing Schemes. In 1924 he became a Trustee and first Chairman of the Irish Land Trust, which had the aim of providing houses and land for ex-service men in Ireland. In 1927 he was knighted and the same year served as a member of the Royal Commission on London Squares and Open Spaces. The next year, 1928, he was on the Advisory Committee on the New Survey of London Life and Labour.
Private life
On 10 September 1904, Duckworth married Lady Margaret Herbert (1870–1958), a daughter of Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of CarnarvonHenry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon
Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, PC, DL, FSA, FRS , known as Lord Porchester from 1833 to 1849, was a British politician and a leading member of the Conservative Party...
, and together they had three sons. They lived at Dalingridge Place, West Hoathley, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, while in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Duckworth was a member of the Travellers and Garrick Club
Garrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:The Garrick Club was founded at a meeting in the Committee Room at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on Wednesday 17 August 1831...
s.
He was Honorary Treasurer of the Royal Archæological Institute and a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
.
Duckworth's son Henry George (died 1992) married Mary Katharine Medina (1911–2009), the younger daughter of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield
Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield
Admiral of the Fleet The Rt Hon. Sir Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, GCB, OM, KCMG, CVO, PC was a Royal Navy officer and held the position of First Sea Lord from 1933 to 1939...
. Their twin daughters Harriet Angela Victoria and Sarah Margaret Katharine were born in 1951.