The Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod, or Lady Usher of the Purple Rod when appropriate, is the Usher to the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, established in 1917 and effective since .
The Gentleman Usher is appointed by the Sovereign and holds the office during good behaviour. No specific functions are assigned to the Gentleman Usher but the Statutes require that the Usher shall "execute diligently whatever the Sovereign or Grand Master may be pleased to command touching the interests of the said Order".
The Statutes of the Order
[Article 28 of the 1917 Statutes, article 30 of the 1918 Statutes.] provide that the Gentleman Usher "shall wear around his neck pendent to a purple riband an escocheon of gold enamelled on a field purpure a representation of Britannia surrounded by the circle and motto of the Order and surmounted by an Imperial Crown, and that he shall carry the Purple Rod of the Order, having at the top an escrol thereon the motto of the Order surmounted by a representation of Britannia."
Officeholders from 1918
*1918 – 23 August 1952:
Sir Frederic Kenyon
*30 September 1952 – 2 December 1960:
Sir Ernest Gowers
*2 December 1960 – 8 April 1969:
Malcolm Eve, 1st Baron Silsoe
Arthur Malcolm Trustram Eve, 1st Baron Silsoe (8 April 1894 – 3 December 1976), known as Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve, 1st Baronet, from 1943 to 1963, was a British barrister and First Church Estates Commissioner.
Biography
Eve was the son of Sir ...
*8 April 1969 – 1985:
Sir Robert Bellinger
*1985 – 30 November 2000:
Sir Robin Gillett, Bt.
*30 November 2000 – 23 July 2013:
Sir Alexander Graham
* 23 July 2013 – present
Dame Amelia Chilcott Fawcett DBE CVO (first Lady Usher)
See also
*
Gentleman Usher Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders.
Gentlemen Ushers as servants Historical
Gentlemen Ushers were originally a class of servants fo ...
, ushers of other orders of chivalry
References
{{Reflist
*The ''
London Gazette
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
''.
Order of the British Empire
Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom