Sir George Frederick Stanley (14 October 1872 – 1 July 1938) was a British soldier and Conservative Party politician who served as a member of the UK Parliament for Preston and, later, Willesden East. He also served the Governor of Madras from 1929 to 1934 and as Acting Viceroy of India in 1934.

Life

The sixth son of

Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby (15 January 1841 – 14 June 1908), known as Hon. Frederick Stanley until 1886 and Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886–1893, was a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician in the Un ...

, Stanley was educated at Wellington College and at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

. In 1903, he married Lady Beatrix Taylour, the youngest daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Headfort. He was the grandson of Edward Smith-Stanley, the former British Prime Minister. He entered the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

in 1893 and was promoted to captain in 1900. He served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in 1899–1900 and was Adjutant with the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

from 1904 to 1909. He later 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 ...

and was mentioned in despatches and awarded the CMG in 1916. He was

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 ...

Member of Parliament for Preston from 1910 to 1922 and for Willesden East from 1924 to 1929. He held office as

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of ...

from 1919 until 1921, as

Financial Secretary to the War Office The Financial Secretary to the War Office and for certain periods known as the Finance Member of the Army Council, was a junior ministerial office of the British government established in 1870. In May 1947 the office was unified with that of the ...

from 1921 to 1922, Parliamentary

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 1922 to 1923,

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions 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. ...

from 1924 to 1929. Furthermore, he was

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized ...

from 1929 to 1934. He was appointed 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 ...

in 1927 and made a

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

(GCIE) in 1929 and a

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

in 1934.

As Governor of Madras

Stanley was appointed Governor of Madras on 26October 1929 at an annual salary of 1,20,000. He arrived in India and took over as governor on 12November 1929. Stanley assumed the governorate at a critical juncture. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

had just begun, and the economy was deteriorating. The Premier P. Subbarayan resigned after the 1930 elections when his party was voted out. The

Swaraj Party The Swaraj Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party, was a political party formed in India on 1 January 1923 after the Gaya annual conference in December 1922. Chauri Chaura The Swaraj Party was formed on 1 January 1923 by Indi ...

boycotted the elections as a part of the

Civil Disobedience Movement Civil disobedience is the active and professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders, or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". ...

and the Justice Party was voted to power in the 1930 and 1934 elections. B. Munuswamy Naidu served as Premier from 1930 to 1932, but he had to resign in 1932 due to the strong opposition of landowning elements in the party. Naidu was succeeded by Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili whose administration soon became notorious for mis-governance. During his tenure as governor, Stanley was responsible for implementing the Mettur Dam across the

Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari and Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin is estimated to be and encompasses the states o ...

. Mettur Project, pp 151 Mettur Project, pp 153 Mettur Project, pp 479 The project's inauguration, on 21August 1934, was attended by people from all parts of the Presidency. The reservoir created by the Dam was named Stanley Reservoir in his honour. On 17January 1930, Stanley laid the foundation stone of a Gaudiya Math and a temple at

Royapettah Royapettah is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Location Royapettah is located at the central part of the city of Chennai, with an elevation of 9 m (29 ft.) above mean sea level. The neighbourhood comes under Teynampet Zone (numbe ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. The first service of the Madras suburban line of the South Indian Railway Company was flagged off by Stanley from

Chennai Beach Chennai Beach (formerly known as Madras Beach) (station code: MSB) is a railway terminus of the Southern Railway network in Parry's Corner, Chennai, India. Built on reclaimed land, the station serves the suburban services of the Chennai Subu ...

railway station on 2April 1931. Muthiah, pp 322 In 1933, Stanley inaugurated the five-year medicine and surgery diploma course at the Royapuram Medical College. On 2July 1938, the school was renamed Stanley Medical College in his honour. In 1931, he had received

Ignatius Elias III St. Ignatius Elias III (13 October 1867 – 13 February 1932) (Syriac: ܐܝܓܢܛܝܘܣ ܐܠܝܐܣ ܬܠܝܬܝܐ) was the Patriarch of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from 1917 until his death in 1932. Biography Nasri was born on ...

, the Patriarch of Antioch, on his way to

Malankara Malankara may refer to: * Malankara Church, a collection of Indian apostolic churches ** Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, an autonomous division of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India ** Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, an Oriental Orth ...

Commemoration

The Government Stanley Medical College in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India is named in memory of Stanley. The Diploma in Medicine and Surgery program was inaugurated here in 1933 by Stanley when he was the Governor of Madras. The college formerly known as Royapuram Medical School was renamed Stanley Medical School on 27 March 1934 in his honour. It was renamed to Stanley Medical College in 1938.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, George Frederick 1872 births 1938 deaths Younger sons of earls Honourable Artillery Company officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1924–1929 People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...