Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was a British aristocrat, writer, poet and heir to part of the

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its achievements in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout beer Guinnes ...

brewing fortune. He was vice-chairman of

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

plc and authored several works of poetry and novels.

Early life

Guinness was the son of Col. The Hon. Walter Guinness (later created

Baron Moyne Baron Moyne, of Bury St Edmunds in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1932 for the Hon. Walter Guinness, a Conservative politician. A member of the prominent Guinness brewing family, he ...

), third son of

Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, (10 November 1847 – 7 October 1927) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish businessman and philanthropist. A member of the prominent Guinness family, he was the head of the family's eponymous Guinnes ...

, and his wife, Lady Evelyn Erskine (1883–1939), daughter of

Shipley Erskine, 14th Earl of Buchan Shipley Gordon Stuart Erskine, 14th Earl of Buchan, (27 February 1850 – 16 April 1934), styled Lord Cardross from 1857 until 1898, was a Scottish nobleman and racehorse owner. Biography Cardross was the eldest son of David Stuart Erskine, ...

. He was educated at

Heatherdown School Heatherdown School, formally called Heatherdown Preparatory School, was an independent preparatory school for boys, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. Set in of grounds, it typically taught between eighty and ninety boys betwee ...

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1931. At Oxford, Guinness was a member of the Railway Club. As an heir to the

brewing fortune and a handsome, charming young man, Guinness was considered an eligible bachelor. One of London's "

bright young things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a group of Bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in London during the Roaring Twenties. The name was given to them by the tabloid press. They threw flamboyant fancy dress part ...

", he was an organiser of the 1929 "Bruno Hat" hoax art exhibition held at his home in London.

Marriages and family

In 1929, Guinness married The Hon. Diana Freeman-Mitford, daughter of the 2nd Baron Redesdale and one of the

Mitford sisters The Mitford family is an aristocratic British family who became particularly well known in the 1930s for the six Mitford sisters, the daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife, Sydney Bowles. They were celebrated and ...

. They had two sons: * Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne (born 16 March 1930) * Hon. Desmond Walter Guinness (8 September 1931 – 20 August 2020) The couple became leaders of the London artistic and social scene and were dedicatees of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

's second novel ''

Vile Bodies ''Vile Bodies'' is the second novel by Evelyn Waugh, published in 1930. It satirises the bright young things, the rich young people partying in London after World War I, and the press which fed on their doings. The original title ''Bright You ...

''. However, they divorced in 1933 after Diana deserted Guinness for British fascist leader Sir

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when he, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, turned to fascism. ...

. In 1931, Guinness bought Biddesden House – an 18th-century

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

in Wiltshire, near Ludgershall village and the Hampshire town of

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

– together with about . In 1990, he and his family owned about 600 acres in Ludgershall parish, including Biddesden Farm. Guinness remarried in 1936 to Elisabeth Nelson (1912–1999), daughter of

Thomas Arthur Nelson Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain Thomas Arthur Nelson, (22 September 1876 – 9 April 1917) was a Scottish international rugby union player, soldier and publisher in his family's firm of Thomas Nelson (publisher), Thomas Nelson ...

, of the

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

publishing family, with whom he had the following children: * Hon. Rosaleen Elisabeth Guinness (born 7 September 1937) * Hon. Diarmid Edward Guinness (23 September 1938 – 15 August 1977) * Hon. Fiona Evelyn Guinness (born 26 June 1940) * Hon. Dr. Finn Benjamin Guinness (born 26 August 1945) * Hon. Thomasin Margaret Guinness (born 16 January 1947) * Hon. Kieran Arthur Guinness (born 11 February 1949) * Hon. Catriona Rose Guinness (born 13 December 1950) * Hon. Erskine Stuart Richard Guinness (born 16 January 1953)

Public life

During World War II, Guinness served for three years in the Middle East with the Spears Mission to the

Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

, being a fluent French speaker. He gained the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foo ...

. In November 1944, Guinness succeeded to the barony when his father, posted abroad as

Resident Minister A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of ind ...

in the Middle East by his friend

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, was assassinated in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. After the war, Lord Moyne was on the board of the

corporation as vice-chairman from 1947 to 1979, as well as the Guinness Trust and the

Iveagh Trust The Iveagh Trust is a provider of affordable housing in and around Dublin in Ireland. It was initially a component of the Guinness Trust, founded in 1890 by the then Edward Cecil Guinness, great-grandson of the founder of the Guinness Brewery, t ...

, and sat as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He served for 35 years as a trustee of the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

and donated several works to the gallery. He wrote a number of critically applauded novels, memoirs, books of poetry, and plays. With Frank Pakenham he sought the return of the "

Lane Bequest {{Short description, Collection of paintings The Lane Bequest is a collection of 39 paintings from the estate of Sir Hugh Lane. The collection is mainly paintings by French 19th-century artists, including several by the Impressionists, including m ...

" to Dublin, resulting in the 1959 compromise agreement. He was invested as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

. He served as pro-chancellor of

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

from 1965 to 1977 and was made an honorary fellow in 1977.

Death

Lord Moyne died in 1992 at

Biddesden House Biddesden House (or Biddesden Park) is a Listed building, Grade I listed English country house in east Wiltshire, about north-west of Andover, Hampshire. The house stands in parkland about east of Ludgershall, Wiltshire, Ludgershall village, ...

, his Wiltshire home, and was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage,

Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne (born 16 March 1930), is a British peer, businessman and writer. A member of the Guinness family, he is the elder of the two sons of Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, and his first wife Diana Mitford (la ...

Bibliography

*Plays: ''The Fragrant Concubine, A Tragedy'' (1938); ''A Riverside Charade'' (1954) *Children's books: ''The Story of Johnny and Jemima'' (1936); ''The Children of the Desert'' (1947); ''The Animal's Breakfast'' (1950); ''Catriona and the Grasshopper'' (1957); ''Priscilla and the Prawn'' (1960); ''The Girl with the Flower'' (1966). *Poetry: ''Twenty-three Poems'' (1931); ''Under the Eyelid'' (1935); ''Reflexions'' (1947); ''Collected Poems'' (1956); ''The Rose in the Tree'' (1964); ''The Clock'' (1973); ''On a Ledge'' (1992). *Novels: ''Singing Out of Tune'' (1933); ''Landscape with Figures'' (1934); ''A Week by the Sea'' (1936); ''Lady Crushwell's Companion'' (1938); ''A Fugue of Cinderellas'' (1956); ''Leo and Rosabelle'' (1961); ''The Giant's Eye'' (1964); ''The Engagement'' (1969); ''Hellenic Flirtation'' (1978) *Memoirs: ''Potpourri'' (1982); ''Personal Patchwork 1939–45'' (1986); ''Diary Not Kept'' (1988). *Songs: Ed.

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

: ''Broadsides; a Collection of Old and New Songs'' (1935); Dublin:

Cuala Press The Cuala Press was an Irish private press set up in 1908 by Elizabeth Yeats with support from her brother William Butler Yeats that played an important role in the Celtic Revival of the early 20th century. Originally Dun Emer Press, from 1908 ...

.Lithograph reprint in 1971 by Irish University Press, .

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moyne, Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron 1905 births 1992 deaths

Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was a British aristocrat, writer, poet and heir to part of the Guinness family brewing fortune. He was vice-chairman of Guinness plc and authored several works of poetry a ...

20th-century British lawyers 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English poets Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Barons Moyne British Army personnel of World War II British male poets English barristers English male novelists Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Irish art collectors People educated at Eton College People educated at Heatherdown School