David Euan Wallace, MC PC (20 April 1892 – 9 February 1941) was a British

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

politician who was an ally of

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...

and briefly served as Minister of Transport during

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 ...

Early life

Wallace was born on 20 April 1892. He was the son of John Wallace, of Glassingall,

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

. His paternal grandparents were David Wallace, an

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a larg ...

, and Janet (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Weir) Wallace. His aunt, Edith Wallace, was the wife of Maj. Robert Dunbar Sinclair-Wemyss. He was educated at Harrow before attending the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

Career

In 1911, Wallace joined the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards Reserve, gaining the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, serving as adjutant from 1915 to 1918. He was decorated with the award of 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 ...

(MC) after being wounded four times during the

Great War 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 ...

. After the War, he became assistant Military

Attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

at the British Embassy in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He acted as a special

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

for the North-East coast and acted as '' aide-de-camp'' to the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

in 1920.

Political career

He was first elected to the House of Commons at Member of Parliament (MP) for Rugby from 1922 to 1923, then represented Hornsey from 1924 until his death in 1941 (when he was considered one of the richest members of 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 ...

). He served as Assistant Government

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

from 1928 to 1929; Junior Lord of the Treasury in 1929 and 1931; Civil Lord of the Admiralty from 1931 to 1934;

Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department This article lists past and present parliamentary under-secretaries of state serving the home secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office. Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present *April 1782: Evan Nepean *Apri ...

from 1935 to 1935;

Secretary for Overseas Trade The Secretary for Overseas Trade was a junior Ministerial position in the United Kingdom government from 1917 until 1953, subordinate to the President of the Board of Trade. The office was replaced by the Minister of State for Trade on 3 Septem ...

from 1935 to 1937;

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom was a member of Parliament assigned to assist the Board of Trade and its President with administration and liaison with Parliament. It replaced the Vice-President of the Board ...

from 1937 to 1938;

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the first lord of the Treasury, the chancellor of the Exchequer, the ch ...

from 1938 to 1939. On 21 April 1939,

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

appointed Wallace the Minister of Transport. Wallace was invested as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

by King

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

in June 1936, along with Lt.-Col. David John Colville ( Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland) and, his former brother-in-law,

Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, (20 June 1900 – 28 January 1976), styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 (and sometimes nicknamed "Buck De La Warr" after that), was a British politician. He was the first hereditar ...

( Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education).

Personal life

Wallace was twice married and the father of five sons, four of whom died while serving in the military. On 26 November 1913 Wallace married Lady (Myra) Idina Sackville, daughter of The 8th Earl De La Warr and Lady Muriel Agnes Brassey. Lady Idina designed Kildonan House in Barrhill, South Ayrshire with the architect James Miller in homage to her childhood home, but they separated before it was completed. Before the marriage ended in divorce in 1919, they were the parents of two sons: * David John Wallace MC (1914–1944), a

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

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

who was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during

while serving with the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(during the Battle of Menina) and who married Joan Prudence Magor, a daughter of Richard Magor of Chelmsford, in 1939. * Gerard Euan Wallace (1915–1943), a

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

who was killed in a flying accident in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

in August 1943, aged 27 and who married Mary Elizabeth Koch de Gooreynd, née Lawson, in November 1940. On 10 May 1920, he was married to Barbara Lutyens (1898–1981), the daughter of architect

Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

and Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (a daughter of Edith Villiers and The 1st Earl of Lytton, the

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

and British Ambassador to France). Together, they were the parents of three sons: * John Wallace (1922–1946), a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the Life Guards who died, unmarried, as a result of a general anaesthetic during a nose operation, while on active service. * Edward Peter Wallace DFC (1923–1944), a Flight Lieutenant in the

who was killed in action during

. He was unmarried. * William Euan "Billy" Wallace (1927–1977), who was educated at Eton and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, and was a former escort of

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

, whom he had known since childhood. He married the Hon. Elizabeth Anne Hoyer Millar, daughter of The 1st Baron Inchyra and Anna de Marees van Swinderen (the daughter of Dutch diplomat

René de Marees van Swinderen Jhr. Reneke (René) de Marees van Swinderen (6 October 1860, in Groningen – 17 January 1955, in London) was a Dutch diplomat and politician. He married Elizabeth Lindsay Glover 21 December 1904 in Washington, D.C. Career *From September 9, ...

), in 1965.Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition'', 3 volumes (

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1076.

, by then married to Antony Armstrong-Jones, attended the wedding. He inherited a coal and iron fortune estimated at more than £2,000,000. After undergoing a serious operation before Christmas 1940, Wallace died on 9 February 1941. His widow, who married Herbert Agar (the American journalist who was editor of the ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...

'') in 1945, lived another forty years before her death in 1981.

Descendants

Through his eldest son David, he was a grandfather of two: Laura Jacqueline Wallace (b. 1941), who married Dominic Paul Morland (a son of Sir Oscar Charles Morland GBE KCMG, of Pickering,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and Alice Lindley) in 1963, they divorced and she married, secondly, Keith Fitchett, in 2003; and Cary Davina Wallace (b. 1942), who married

David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford David Arthur Russell Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, (born 18 January 1936) is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist, and economic consultant. Having been successively Secretary of State for Energy and then for Transport und ...

References

External links

* * *
(David) Euan Wallace (1892-1941), Captain and politician
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Euan 1892 births 1941 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British Life Guards officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English people of Scottish descent Lords of the Admiralty Lutyens family Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Parliamentary Secretaries to the Board of Trade People educated at Eton College Recipients of the Military Cross Secretaries of state for transport (UK) UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945