Edward Montagu Cavendish Stanley, Lord Stanley, (9 July 1894 – 16 October 1938) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. The eldest son of the

17th Earl of Derby Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, (4 April 1865 – 4 February 1948), styled Mr Edward Stanley until 1886, then The Hon Edward Stanley and then Lord Stanley from 1893 to 1908, was a British soldier, Conservative politician, d ...

, he held minor political office before being appointed

Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs The position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet-level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free S ...

in 1938, sitting in the cabinet alongside his brother

Oliver Stanley Major (Honorary Colonel, TA) Oliver Frederick George Stanley (4 May 1896 – 10 December 1950) was a prominent British Conservative politician who held many ministerial posts before his relatively early death. Background and education Stanle ...

. However, Stanley died only five months after this appointment, aged 44; his eldest son, Edward John Stanley, later succeeded to the earldom in his stead.

Background and education

Stanley was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, the eldest son and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

of Edward Stanley, later to become 17th Earl of Derby, by Lady Alice Montagu. He was spectacularly well-connected to leading political families. His father was at the time of Stanley's birth

MP for Westhoughton, Lancashire, and went on to serve as

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

from 1916 to 1918 and from 1922 to 1924. His paternal grandfather, the 16th Earl of Derby, was a former

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

MP, Colonial Secretary, and

Governor-General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

. His great-uncle, the 15th Earl, twice served as

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwe ...

and was Prime Minister Lord Salisbury's stepfather, while his best-known ancestor was his great-grandfather, the 14th Earl, who was Leader of the Conservative Party for 22 years (1846–1868; the longest tenure in that office) and Prime Minister three times (1852, 1858–59, and 1866–68). His paternal grandmother, Lady Constance Villiers, was daughter of

Lord Clarendon Earl of Clarendon is a title that has been created twice in British history, in 1661 and 1776. The family seat is Holywell House, near Swanmore, Hampshire. First creation of the title The title was created for the first time in the Peer ...

, who himself served on three occasions as Foreign Secretary. Lord Stanley's paternal uncles Sir Arthur and Sir George also served as Conservative MPs. His maternal grandfather was William Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester, also a Conservative peer and MP. His maternal grandmother Louisa von Alten married after the death of the Duke of Manchester, Spencer, Duke of Devonshire, also known as Lord Hartington, who for a time (before inheriting his peerage) was Leader of the Liberal Party in the House of Commons. His sister Victoria married Neil Primrose, the son of Liberal Prime Minister Lord Rosebery.

was his younger brother, and his son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

became an MP. He became known by the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some con ...

''Lord Stanley'' in 1908, when his father succeeded in the earldom of Derby. He was educated at Eton and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

.thepeerage.com Rt. Hon. Sir Edward Montagu Cavendish Stanley, Lord Stanley
/ref>

Military career

Lord Stanley was commissioned a second lieutenant on 2 July 1914. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

on 15 November 1914, later with seniority from 3 November 1914, and became a substantive lieutenant on 11 November 1914. On 29 January 1916, he was made a supernumerary temporary captain with the Guards, relinquishing the rank on 12 May 1916. Lord Stanley was appointed

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the newly formed

Household Battalion The Household Battalion was an infantry battalion of the British army during the Great War. It was formed in September 1916 from the reserves of the Household Cavalry regiments (the 1st Life Guards, 2nd Life Guards and the Royal Horse Guards) to ...

on 9 September 1916, again as a temporary captain. He received a substantive captaincy on 26 September 1916 and served as adjutant until 12 January 1917. He was appointed a staff captain and seconded on 13 August 1917, and made a

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section dire ...

on 22 January 1918, a post he held until 11 March 1918. He served as a

general staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

, 3rd grade, from 6 May 1918 to 8 October 1918. On 9 October 1918, he was again appointed a brigade major, serving in that capacity until 2 November 1919. Lord Stanley was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

on 3 June 1919, for his service in Italy during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. On 27 November 1920, he retired from the Army and entered the reserve of officers as a captain.

Political career

Lord Stanley was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

on 28 June 1917 in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

in Liverpool Abercromby. He left Parliament the following year, when the seat was abolished for the 1918 general election. During this time, he was the

Baby of the House Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament from which the term originated. The title is named after the Father of the Hous ...

. He returned to Parliament in the 1922 general election when he was elected for Fylde. He served under

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative Party politician who dominated the government of the United Kingdom between the world wars, serving as prime minister on three occasions, ...

as a Junior Lord of the Treasury from 1924 to 1927 and was a

Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in government, the offic ...

from 1927 to 1929. On the formation of the National Government after the

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, Stanley was made

Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy. It was usually ...

under

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

. On 26 February 1934, he was admitted to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

. In 1935 he was made

Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs The position of Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British ministerial position, subordinate to that of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, created in 1925 to deal with British relations with the Dominions – Canada, Aust ...

by Baldwin, and later that year was made

. Two years later, Lord Stanley became Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma. On 16 May 1938 he entered the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. His brother, Oliver, was also in the Cabinet as

President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. This is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th century, that evolved gradually into a government ...

. However, in October 1938, five months after being appointed to the cabinet, Lord Stanley died in Marylebone, aged 44. Neville Chamberlain paid tribute to him in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

: "So great, indeed, was his keenness and his interest in Imperial relations that he insisted on carrying out his intention to visit Canada, although even then he was suffering from the disease which has now ended fatally. Perhaps in that office he would have, for the first time, found an opportunity of showing the full extent of his powers, for those who knew him best had long recognised that he possessed to an exceptional degree the high qualities of steady judgment and sterling good sense, combined with a complete and utter selflessness and integrity of purpose."theyworkforyou.com House of Commons debates, 1 November 1938
/ref>

Family

Lord Stanley married the Honourable Sibyl Louise Beatrix Cadogan, daughter of

Henry Cadogan, Viscount Chelsea Henry Arthur Cadogan, Viscount Chelsea, (born Henry Arthur Cadogan; 13 June 1868 – 2 July 1908) was a British Army officer, civil servant and politician. This Viscount Chelsea (the title is a courtesy title) was a Conservative Member of the Ho ...

, in 1917; they had three sons. He died in Marylebone, London, in October 1938, aged 44, predeceasing his father by ten years. His eldest son

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

succeeded his grandfather in the earldom in 1948. Another son,

, later became MP for Fylde North. Lady Stanley died in June 1969, aged 76.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Edward Stanley, Lord 1894 births 1938 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British Secretaries of State for Dominion Affairs British courtesy barons and lords of Parliament Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Grenadier Guards officers Heirs apparent who never acceded Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 People educated at Eton College Presidents of the Board of Trade Recipients of the Military Cross

UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945