Shield of Arms of Alan Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland, KG, CBE, MVO, TD

Alan Ian Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland, (17 April 1880 – 23 August 1930) was a British peer, army officer, and newspaper proprietor.

Military career

Percy was a second lieutenant of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion

the Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Ar ...

, when he was admitted as a second lieutenant in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

on 24 January 1900. He was part of a detachment sent to South Africa in March 1900 to reinforce the 3rd battalion during the

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

, and served with his regiment there until the war ended. For his service, he received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

. Following the end of the war, he returned to the United Kingdom in August 1902. During his time as ADC in Canada, he undertook a wager to walk 111 miles from one city to another in three days—despite blizzards and heavy snowfall, he completed the challenge and won the wager. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served with the Grenadier Guards, working with the Intelligence Department to provide eyewitness accounts of battles and the front line. His brother Lord William Percy also served during the war; wounded in 1915, he spent the remainder of the war working as a military attorney. He was made a Chevalier of the ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

''. On 1 October 1918 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the

3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) The 2nd Royal Surrey Militia, later the 3rd Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) was an auxiliary regiment raised in Surrey in the Home counties of England. From its formal creation in 1797 the regiment served in home defence in all of ...

.''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953: 'Northumberland'.

Political activities

Politically Percy was a Tory diehard. He was a staunch supporter of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. He wrote for the ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'' on military matters. From 1921, he funded the Boswell Publishing Company, and then in 1922 until his death, the ''Patriot'', a radical right-wing weekly which published articles by

Nesta Webster Nesta Helen Webster (née Bevan, 24 August 1876 – 16 May 1960) was an English author who promoted antisemitic canards and revived theories about the Illuminati.Who are the Illuminati? ''Independent on Sunday'' (London) 6 November 2005. S ...

and promulgated a mix of

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

and

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. In 1924, he acquired an interest in ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

''.

Other activities

The Duke was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Northumberland. Since 1802, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Northumberland. *Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland *Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland ? ...

. For one year before his death, he served as Chancellor of the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

, a role his father had also held. His father, the 7th Duke, was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

on the

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...

up to his death. In July 1918, he was chosen to fill the vacancy on the council in his father's place.

Family

Percy was the son of

Henry Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland Henry George Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland, (29 May 1846 – 14 May 1918), styled Lord Warkworth between 1865 and 1867 and Earl Percy between 1867 and 1899, was a British Conservative politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household und ...

, and Lady Edith Campbell. On 18 October 1911, Percy married Lady Helen Magdalan Gordon-Lennox (daughter of

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond and Lennox, 2nd Duke of Gordon, (27 December 1845 – 18 January 1928), 7th Duke of Aubigny ( French peerage in the French nobility), styled Lord Settrington until 1860 and Earl of March between ...

). They had six children: * Henry George Alan Percy, 9th Duke of Northumberland (15 July 1912, killed in action 21 May 1940) * Hugh Algernon Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland (6 April 1914, died 11 October 1988); he married Lady Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott on 12 June 1946. They have seven children. *

Lady Elizabeth Ivy Percy Elizabeth Ivy Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton, OBE, DL (25 May 1916 – 16 September 2008), was the daughter of Alan Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland (1880–1930) and his wife, Helen. She was born as Lady Elizabeth Ivy Percy at Alnwick ...

(25 May 1916 – 16 September 2008); she married

Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton Air Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, (3 February 1903 – 30 March 1973) was a Scottish nobleman and aviator who was the first man to fly over Mount Everest. When German Deputy Führer Rudol ...

on 2 December 1937. They have five children. *Lady Diana Evelyn Percy (23 November 1917 – 16 June 1978); she married

John Egerton, 6th Duke of Sutherland John Sutherland Egerton, 6th Duke of Sutherland, (10 May 1915 – 21 September 2000) was a British peer from the Egerton family. He was styled Viscount Brackley until 1944, when he became the 5th Earl of Ellesmere on inheriting his father's sub ...

on 29 April 1939. They had no children. * Lord Richard Charles Percy (11 February 1921 – 20 December 1989). Educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. Joined the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in 1941, serving with the Regiment's 1st Battalion in the

Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadier ...

in North West Europe until retiring with the rank of Major in 1946; joined the Territorial Army regiment, the

Northumberland Hussars The Northumberland Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, transferred to the Royal Artillery for the duration of the Second World War. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of t ...

in 1947 (Lieutenant-Colonel commanding 1958–1961). He was a lecturer in Zoology at Newcastle University for 36 years. He married Sarah Jane Elizabeth Norton (1937–1978), daughter of Petre Norton of The Manor House,

Whalton Whalton is a small village in Northumberland, England. The population at the 2001 census was 427, which increased to 474 by the 2011 Census. It hosts an annual ''Bale Fire'' on 4 July, the date on which midsummer's eve was celebrated before the ...

, on 10 September 1966. They had two children: **Algernon Alan Percy (17 March 1969) **Josceline Richard Percy (2 June 1971) :Lord Richard Charles Percy married secondly Hon. Clayre Campbell in 1979. *Lord Geoffrey William Percy (8 July 1925 – 4 December 1984); he married Mary Elizabeth Lea on 27 May 1955. They had one daughter: **Diana Ruth Percy (22 November 1956) The 8th Duke died on 23 August 1930 and was buried in the

Northumberland Vault Honouring individuals with burials and memorials in Westminster Abbey has a long tradition. History Henry III rebuilt Westminster Abbey in honour of the Royal Saint Edward the Confessor, whose relics were placed in a shrine in the sanctuary a ...

, within

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. He was succeeded in the dukedom and his other titles by his eldest son, George.

Works

''A Year Ago: Eye-witness's Narrative of the War from March 30th to July 18th, 1915''
with E. D. Swinton, Longmans, Green & Co., 1916.
"The Realities of the Situation,"
''The Patriot'', Vol. I, No. 1, 9 February 1922.
''First Jewish Bid For World Power''
Reprinted from the Patriot, January, 1930. * The Shadow on the Moor, 1930 *"La Salamandre" The story of a vivandière 1934 Other * W. H. Mallock
''Democracy; being an Abridged Edition of 'The Limits of Pure Democracy
with an introduction by the Duke of Northumberland, Chapman & Hall, Ltd., 1924.

References

External links

*
Alnwick Castle website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northumberland, Alan Percy, 8th Duke of 1880 births 1930 deaths Military personnel from London Chancellors of Durham University Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 308 Grenadier Guards officers Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Northumberland Members of the Royal Victorian Order British Army personnel of World War I

Alan Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland Alan Ian Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland, (17 April 1880 – 23 August 1930) was a British peer, army officer, and newspaper proprietor. Military career Percy was a second lieutenant of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion the Queen's (Royal West S ...

British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Burials at Westminster Abbey British landowners Conservative Party (UK) politicians Members of Middlesex County Council English people of Scottish descent Antisemitism in England 20th-century British businesspeople Surtees Society