Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy (1870 – 1949), also known as Lady Byng, was the wife of Lord Byng

Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy

Field Marshal Julian Hedworth George Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy was a British Army officer who served as Governor General of Canada, the 12th since Canadian Confederation....

, the twelfth Governor General of Canada

Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

.

Born as Marie Evelyn Moreton, she was born to the Hon. Sir Richard Charles Reynolds-Moreton and Janie Ralli on January 11, 1870 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...

. Her father was comptroller at Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...

 during the term of Marquess of Lorne. She married Lord Byng in 1902. She and Lord Byng lived in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 before returning to Canada. They had no children.

Lady Byng is best known today for donating the Lady Byng Trophy

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, formerly known as the Lady Byng Trophy, is presented each year to the National Hockey League "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability"...

 to the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 in 1925. She and her husband were both keen sports fans, especially of ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, and they attended many Ottawa Senators

Ottawa Senators (original)

The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...

 games. They donated the trophy because Lady Byng appreciated gentlemanly play and good sportsmanship

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...

 and wanted to encourage and reward it.

At the end of his term as Governor General, Lord and Lady Byng returned to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, but she returned to live in Canada with friends after his death in 1935. She spent time working at thrift shops in Ottawa during the war and wrote her autobiography Up the Stream of Time. Lady Byng died on June 20, 1949 in Ottawa, Ontario.

A 2/4 March for bagpipes was composed in honour of Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy.