Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford
Encyclopedia
Hastings William Sackville Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford MA
(21 December 1888 – 9 October 1953), nicknamed Spinach Tavistock, was the son of Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford
.
Educated at Eton College
, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford
with a Master of Arts
(M.A.). In November 1914 he married Louisa Crommelin Roberta Jowitt Whitwell; the couple had three children:
A keen naturalist he arranged a 1906 expedition to Shaanxi
, China
to collect zoological specimens for the British Museum
during which Arthur de Carle Sowerby
discovered a new species of Jerboa
.
He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, but never fought in the First World War owing to ill health. His subsequent advocacy of pacifism during the 1930s, and his attempt to mediate a truce in the Second World War by visiting the German legation in Dublin, led to his name being placed on a list of persons to be arrested in the event of a German invasion http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/12/nna12.xml. He went on to be patron of the British Peoples Party
based in Covent Garden, an anti-war party that was accused of fascist
sympathies. Despite this, he contributed articles on Social Credit
and pacifism
to Guy Aldred
's journal, The Word, between 1940 and his death. He was also an ornithologist, specialising in parrot
s and budgerigars, to whom he would feed chocolates, although his eldest son was often reduced to eating them; his other pets included a spider to whom, according to Nancy Mitford
's The English Aristocracy, he would regularly feed roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. His cohort was John Beckett
a former Labour party
Member of Parliament whom other fascist groups complained syphoned his monies which could have been spent on more worthy projects.
He died in 1953, aged 64, as a result of a gunshot wound in the grounds of his estate in Devon: perhaps incurred in a hunting accident, but perhaps deliberately self-inflicted, the latter explanation having been proffered by his elder son.
Hastings Russell features largely in his son John Ian's memoir, A Silver-Plated Spoon (World Books, 1959). He is described as "The loneliest man I ever knew, incapable of giving or receiving love, utterly self-centred and opinionated. He loved birds, animals, peace, monetary reform, the park and religion." In conjunction with his father, Hastings Russell managed to tie up the family fortunes in a way that made it extremely difficult for his son and heir to access the property.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(21 December 1888 – 9 October 1953), nicknamed Spinach Tavistock, was the son of Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford
Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford
Herbrand Arthur Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford KG KBE DL LLD FRS FSA was the son of Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford.-Family:...
.
Educated at Eton College
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"....
, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
with a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
(M.A.). In November 1914 he married Louisa Crommelin Roberta Jowitt Whitwell; the couple had three children:
- John Ian Robert Russell, 13th Duke of BedfordJohn Russell, 13th Duke of BedfordJohn Ian Robert Russell, 13th Duke of Bedford was a British peer and writer, the son of Hastings Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford. He was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1985.- Biography :...
(1917–2002), who supplied a detailed and hostile portrait of him in the 1959 memoir A Silver-Plated Spoon; - Lady Daphne Crommelin Russell (b. 2 September 1920);
- Lord Hugh Hastings Russell (1923–2005), a conscientious objectorConscientious objectorA conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
in the Second World War, married Rosemary Markby and had issue.
A keen naturalist he arranged a 1906 expedition to Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to collect zoological specimens for the British Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
during which Arthur de Carle Sowerby
Arthur de Carle Sowerby
Arthur de Carle Sowerby was British naturalist, explorer, writer, and publisher in China. His father was Arthur Sowerby .-Background:...
discovered a new species of Jerboa
Jerboa
The jerboa form the bulk of the membership of the family Dipodidae. Jerboas are hopping desert rodents found throughout Asia and Northern Africa. They tend to be found in hot deserts....
.
He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, but never fought in the First World War owing to ill health. His subsequent advocacy of pacifism during the 1930s, and his attempt to mediate a truce in the Second World War by visiting the German legation in Dublin, led to his name being placed on a list of persons to be arrested in the event of a German invasion http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/10/12/nna12.xml. He went on to be patron of the British Peoples Party
British Peoples Party (1940s)
The British People's Party was a British far right political party founded in 1939 and led by ex-British Union of Fascists member and Labour Party Member of Parliament John Beckett.-Origins:...
based in Covent Garden, an anti-war party that was accused of fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
sympathies. Despite this, he contributed articles on Social Credit
Social Credit
Social Credit is an economic philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas , a British engineer, who wrote a book by that name in 1924. Social Credit is described by Douglas as "the policy of a philosophy"; he called his philosophy "practical Christianity"...
and pacifism
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
to Guy Aldred
Guy Aldred
Guy Alfred Aldred - often Guy A. Aldred - was a British anarchist communist and a prominent member of the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation...
's journal, The Word, between 1940 and his death. He was also an ornithologist, specialising in parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s and budgerigars, to whom he would feed chocolates, although his eldest son was often reduced to eating them; his other pets included a spider to whom, according to Nancy Mitford
Nancy Mitford
Nancy Freeman-Mitford, CBE , styled The Hon. Nancy Mitford before her marriage and The Hon. Mrs Peter Rodd thereafter, was an English novelist and biographer, one of the Bright Young People on the London social scene in the inter-war years...
's The English Aristocracy, he would regularly feed roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. His cohort was John Beckett
John Beckett
John Warburton Beckett was a leading figure in British politics between the world wars, both in the Labour Party and Fascist movements....
a former Labour party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament whom other fascist groups complained syphoned his monies which could have been spent on more worthy projects.
He died in 1953, aged 64, as a result of a gunshot wound in the grounds of his estate in Devon: perhaps incurred in a hunting accident, but perhaps deliberately self-inflicted, the latter explanation having been proffered by his elder son.
Hastings Russell features largely in his son John Ian's memoir, A Silver-Plated Spoon (World Books, 1959). He is described as "The loneliest man I ever knew, incapable of giving or receiving love, utterly self-centred and opinionated. He loved birds, animals, peace, monetary reform, the park and religion." In conjunction with his father, Hastings Russell managed to tie up the family fortunes in a way that made it extremely difficult for his son and heir to access the property.