Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne
Encyclopedia
Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne, PC (16 January 1873 – 14 June 1939), known as The Lord Ashby St Ledgers from 1910 to 1914 and as The Lord Wimborne from 1914 to 1918, was a British politician, and one of the last Lords Lieutenant
of Ireland
, serving in that position at the time of the Easter Rising
.
. He was the elder brother of Frederick Guest, Oscar Guest
and Henry Guest
and a first cousin of Winston Churchill
. He was educated at Eton
and Trinity College, Cambridge
. He was a Captain in the Dorset Imperial Yeomanry
and served in South Africa
being awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal
with two clasps.
in 1900 (a seat he had unsuccessfully contested in 1898), as a Conservative
, and retained his seat in the general election of 1900
. In 1904, during the controversy within the Conservative Party over adopting protectionism
, Guest and other members of his family followed Churchill into the Liberal Party
in support of free trade
. He sat as an MP until 1910, when he was raised to the peerage
as Baron Ashby St Ledgers, of Ashby St Ledgers
in the County of Northampton
, and became Paymaster General in the government of H. H. Asquith
. He served as Paymaster General until 1912, and later served as a Lord in Waiting on King George V
. In 1914 he succeeded his father as Baron Wimborne. At the start of World War I
he was appointed to the staff of the newly formed 10th (Irish) Division under Lieutenant-General Sir Bryan Mahon
at the Curragh Camp
.
in succession to Lord Aberdeen
. At this time the Lord Lieutenant was largely a ceremonial position; real power was in the hands of the Chief Secretary
and the Under-Secretary. Determined to be more involved in decision-making, he was appointed Director of Recruiting in October 1915, heading up the new Department of Recruiting for Ireland. He insisted on being kept up to date on the state of the country, and had the Under-Secretary, Sir Matthew Nathan
, send him police reports, details of prosecutions and recruitment figures.
On the weekend preceding the Easter Rising
, following the capture of the German arms ship Aud and the arrest of Sir Roger Casement
, Wimborne urged Nathan to order the arrest of a large number of rebel leaders. Nathan was unwilling to do so without the authorisation of the Chief Secretary, Augustine Birrell
, who was in London. Before the authorisation was received the Rising began on 24 April 1916. Wimborne proclaimed martial law
in Dublin. Thereafter the military took control. A new Commander-in Chief, General Sir John Maxwell
, arrived in Ireland on 28 April and the rebels surrendered on 29 April. Wimborne initially refused to offer his resignation after the Rising. He resigned under pressure from the government but was re-appointed. The Royal Commission
on the 1916 Rebellion (the Hardinge
commission) exonerated Wimborne of any blame for the Rising, saying that his position as Lord Lieutenant was "anomalous in quiet times and almost unworkable in times of crisis". He continued as Lord Lieutenant for another two years. On his retirement in 1918 he was created Viscount Wimborne, of Canford Magna
in the County of Dorset.
. They had one son and two daughters. By the 1930s they were living separate lives, though remaining on the friendliest terms. From 1934 until her death Alice was linked with the composer William Walton
. Wimborne died in June 1939, aged 66, at Wimborne House in Arlington Street, London, the house in which he was born. He was succeeded by his only son, Ivor
. Lady Wimborne died in April 1948, aged 67.
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, serving in that position at the time of the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
.
Background and education
Guest was the son of Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne and Lady Cornelia, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of MarlboroughJohn Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough
John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, KG, PC , styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British statesman and nobleman...
. He was the elder brother of Frederick Guest, Oscar Guest
Oscar Guest
Hon. Oscar Montague Guest was a politician in the United Kingdom, initially with the Liberal Party and later as a Conservative...
and Henry Guest
Henry Guest
Christian Henry Charles Guest , usually known as Henry Guest, was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom.- Family :...
and a first cousin of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. He 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"....
and 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...
. He was a Captain in the Dorset Imperial Yeomanry
Imperial Yeomanry
The Imperial Yeomanry was a British volunteer cavalry regiment that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Officially created on 24 December 1899, the regiment was based on members of standing Yeomanry regiments, but also contained a large contingent of mid-upper class English volunteers. In...
and served in South Africa
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
being awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal
Queen's South Africa Medal
The Queen's South Africa Medal was awarded to military personnel who served in the Boer War in South Africa between 11 October 1899 and 31 May 1902. Units from the British Army, Royal Navy, colonial forces who took part , civilians employed in official capacity and war correspondents...
with two clasps.
Political career, 1900–1915
He was elected to Parliament for PlymouthPlymouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Plymouth was a parliamentary borough in Devon, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in 1298 and again from 1442 until 1918, when the borough was merged with the neighbouring Devonport and the combined area divided into three single-member constituencies.-In the...
in 1900 (a seat he had unsuccessfully contested in 1898), as a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, and retained his seat in the general election of 1900
United Kingdom general election, 1900
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1900*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
. In 1904, during the controversy within the Conservative Party over adopting protectionism
Imperial Preference
Imperial Preference was a proposed system of reciprocally-levelled tariffs or free trade agreements between the dominions and colonies within the British Empire...
, Guest and other members of his family followed Churchill into the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
in support of free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
. He sat as an MP until 1910, when he was raised to the peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
as Baron Ashby St Ledgers, of Ashby St Ledgers
Ashby St Ledgers
Ashby St Ledgers is a village in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire, England, although the postal address is Rugby in Warwickshire. The Manor House is famous for being the location for the planning of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. The building is now part of the Crown estate.-Location:The...
in the County of Northampton
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, and became Paymaster General in the government of H. H. Asquith
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
. He served as Paymaster General until 1912, and later served as a Lord in Waiting on King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
. In 1914 he succeeded his father as Baron Wimborne. At the start of World War I
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 to the staff of the newly formed 10th (Irish) Division under Lieutenant-General Sir Bryan Mahon
Bryan Mahon
General Sir Bryan Thomas Mahon KCB, KCVO, PC, DSO was a British Army general and Irish Free State Senator.-Military career:Mahon was born at Belleville, County Galway...
at the Curragh Camp
Curragh Camp
The Curragh Camp is an army base and military college located in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Army.- Brief history of the Curragh's military heritage :...
.
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1915–1918
In February 1915 Wimborne was appointed Lord Lieutenant of IrelandLord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
in succession to Lord Aberdeen
John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair
John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC , known as The Earl of Aberdeen from 1870 to 1916, was a Scottish politician...
. At this time the Lord Lieutenant was largely a ceremonial position; real power was in the hands of the Chief Secretary
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
and the Under-Secretary. Determined to be more involved in decision-making, he was appointed Director of Recruiting in October 1915, heading up the new Department of Recruiting for Ireland. He insisted on being kept up to date on the state of the country, and had the Under-Secretary, Sir Matthew Nathan
Matthew Nathan
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan GCMG, PC was a British soldier and civil servant, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queensland...
, send him police reports, details of prosecutions and recruitment figures.
On the weekend preceding the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
, following the capture of the German arms ship Aud and the arrest of Sir Roger Casement
Roger Casement
Roger David Casement —Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and shortly before his execution for treason, when he was stripped of his British honours—was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary, and nationalist....
, Wimborne urged Nathan to order the arrest of a large number of rebel leaders. Nathan was unwilling to do so without the authorisation of the Chief Secretary, Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell PC, KC was an English politician, barrister, academic and author. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916, resigning in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising.-Early life:...
, who was in London. Before the authorisation was received the Rising began on 24 April 1916. Wimborne proclaimed martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
in Dublin. Thereafter the military took control. A new Commander-in Chief, General Sir John Maxwell
John Maxwell (British Army officer)
General Sir John Grenfell Maxwell GCB, KCMG, CVO, DSO, PC was a British Army officer and colonial governor. He served in the Mahdist War in the Sudan, the Boer War, and in the First World War, but he is best known for his role in the suppression of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland and subsequent...
, arrived in Ireland on 28 April and the rebels surrendered on 29 April. Wimborne initially refused to offer his resignation after the Rising. He resigned under pressure from the government but was re-appointed. The Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on the 1916 Rebellion (the Hardinge
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916.-Background and education:...
commission) exonerated Wimborne of any blame for the Rising, saying that his position as Lord Lieutenant was "anomalous in quiet times and almost unworkable in times of crisis". He continued as Lord Lieutenant for another two years. On his retirement in 1918 he was created Viscount Wimborne, of Canford Magna
Canford Magna
Canford Magna is a village in Dorset, England. The village is situated just south of the River Stour and lies in between the towns of Wimborne Minster and Poole. The village is the site of the large boarding school - Canford School. The school was previously the mansion and estate of Lord Wimborne....
in the County of Dorset.
Family
In 1902 Wimborne married the Honourable Alice Grosvenor, daughter of Robert Grosvenor, 2nd Baron EburyRobert Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Ebury
Robert Wellesley Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Ebury was a British politician.He was educated at Harrow School and King's College London....
. They had one son and two daughters. By the 1930s they were living separate lives, though remaining on the friendliest terms. From 1934 until her death Alice was linked with the composer William Walton
William Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
. Wimborne died in June 1939, aged 66, at Wimborne House in Arlington Street, London, the house in which he was born. He was succeeded by his only son, Ivor
Ivor Guest, 2nd Viscount Wimborne
Ivor Grosvenor Guest, 2nd Viscount Wimborne , was a British politician.-Biography:Wimborne was the son of Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne, and his wife the Hon. Alice Katherine Sibell, daughter of Robert Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Ebury...
. Lady Wimborne died in April 1948, aged 67.