Richard Eric Onslow Long, 3rd Viscount Long, (22 August 1892 – 12 January 1967) was a British Conservative Party politician and Territorial Army officer.

Background

Long was a member of a long-established Wiltshire family. He was the younger son of

Walter Long, 1st Viscount Long Walter Hume Long, 1st Viscount Long, (13 July 1854 – 26 September 1924), was a British Unionist politician. In a political career spanning over 40 years, he held office as President of the Board of Agriculture, President of the Local Gover ...

, by Lady Dorothy Blanche, daughter of Richard Boyle, 9th Earl of Cork. He was the younger brother of Brigadier-General Walter Long, and the nephew of Lord Gisborough. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

.''Burke's''. In 1922 Long was initiated into

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

in the Chaloner Lodge No. 2644, meeting at

Melksham Melksham () is a town and civil parish on the Bristol Avon, River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. The parish population was 18,113 at the 2021 census. History Early history Excavations in ...

. Later he also joined the Lodge of Assistance No. 2773, meeting in central London. He became a Justice of the Peace in 1923.

Political career

Long was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westbury at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in 1927, following the death of the sitting Conservative MP Walter Shaw. He was re-elected at the 1929 general election, but stood down at the 1931 election.

Military career

Long served in

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 ...

, when he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. Between the wars he reached 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 part-time

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when t ...

. He served again in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, becoming Commander of 329 Battery in 32nd Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (7th City of London) in 1941,Planck, Appendix H, p. 259. based at Carlton Hall near

Saxmundham Saxmundham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is set in the valley of the River Fromus about north-east of Ipswich and west of the coast at Sizewell. The town is bypassed ...

, Suffolk. He was asked to resign in 1942. After the war, he became Honorary Colonel of 604 Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (Royal Fusiliers).

Personal life

In 1944, his nephew Walter Long, 2nd Viscount Long was killed in action in the war. Walter had no male heirs, so Long succeeded to his nephew's titles, becoming the 3rd

Viscount Long __NOTOC__ Viscount Long, of South Wraxall, Wraxall in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The title was created in 1921 for the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician Walter Long, 1st Viscount Lo ...

. Prior to this he had been generally known as "Major Eric Long". In 1946 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. Lord Long married Gwendolyn Hague-Cook in 1916, and they had four children: * Walter Reginald Basil Long, born 13 December 1918, served in World War II as Lieutenant, Royal Artillery, drowned on active service in Greece, 28 April 1941 * Noreen Long, born 21 January 1921, married Major John Cairns Bartholomew, Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry * Richard Gerald Long, born 29 January 1929, who succeeded his father as 4th Viscount Long * John Hume Long, born 4 July 1930. Gwendolyn died in 1959. Viscount Long died at a

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

hospital on 12 January 1967, aged 74, and is buried in the family vault at West Ashton, Wiltshire. According to his obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', he once described the

Socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

as 'dangerous beasts'. When women peers were introduced into 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 said: "I will of course speak to them if they thrust their presence in my face, but otherwise I will do my best to overlook them". He said of women that they had "not a clue" about politics.Obituary, ''The Times'', Friday, 13 January 1967
p. 12
Issue 56833

Awards

Viscount Long held the following awards: * Knight Commander,

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I () is a Greek Order (distinction), order instituted by King Constantine I of Greece, Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek royal fami ...

of Greece * Freedom of the City of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

(1947) *

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

Notes

References

* ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953. * C. Digby Planck, ''The Shiny Seventh: History of the 7th (City of London) Battalion London Regiment'', London: Old Comrades' Association, 1946/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, . * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Eric, 3rd Viscount Long 1892 births 1967 deaths People educated at Harrow School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Artillery officers Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry officers

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs who inherited peerages Politicians from Wiltshire Place of birth missing Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers London Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II