Cecil Ramage
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Cecil Beresford Ramage, MC (17 January 1895 – 22 February 1988) was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
, actor and Liberal politician.


Life

Following his education at the
Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, Stockbridge, is now part of the Senior Scho ...
, Ramage was commissioned as an officer in the
Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...
at the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He served in
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,
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
and
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and was awarded the
Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
.Obituary, ''The Times'' (London, England), 26 February 1988 Following the war, he went up to
Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...
, where he became President of the Oxford Union. At Oxford he first took to the stage, appearing in ''
Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published ...
'' with Cathleen Nesbitt, whom he married in 1921. They had two children. Instead of taking up acting as a profession after university, Ramage read law. He was called to the bar at the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
, and practised on the
Oxford Circuit The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
. At the 1922 general election, he was the Liberal candidate for the constituency of Newcastle West, but was defeated by David Adams of the Labour Party. Another election was held in 1923 and Ramage stood again and was elected as Member of Parliament (MP). He was only to be in the
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for a short period, as he was defeated at the subsequent general election in 1924. He was the Liberal candidate at
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at the 1929 general election, but failed to be elected. By this time, Ramage was a professional actor, appearing in
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, the
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and toured with the
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Company in the
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. He had a number of minor roles in films, including '' Secret of Stamboul'' (1936), ''
Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'', or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'', is the third novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published as a serial from 1838 to 1839. The character of Nickleby is a young man who must support his ...
'' (1947) and ''
Kind Hearts and Coronets ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime film, crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays eight characters. The plot is loosely based ...
'' (1949). His career eventually declined, and he retired from the stage and was separated from his wife, Nesbitt, who died in 1982, aged 93. He played the Crown Counsel in ''
Kind Hearts and Coronets ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime film, crime black comedy film directed by Robert Hamer. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays eight characters. The plot is loosely based ...
'', whose devastating cross-examination of Louis Mazzini does much to discredit him.


Death

Cecil Beresford Ramage died in 1988, aged 93. Of the 64 former MPs who only served in the parliament of 1924, he was the last survivor, outliving his parliamentary service by 63 years.


Filmography


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramage, Cecil 1895 births 1988 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1923–1924 Royal Scots officers Members of the Middle Temple People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Presidents of the Oxford Union Male actors from Edinburgh British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Scottish barristers Scottish male stage actors Scottish male film actors 20th-century Scottish male actors British actor-politicians Politicians from Edinburgh