Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Cecil Murray, 3rd Viscount Elibank, CMG, DSO (27 March 1879 – 5 December 1962) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer and politician.

Early life and education

Murray was the fourth son of (1st) Viscount Elibank of

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...

and his wife Blanche Alice ''née'' Scott of

Portsea, Portsmouth Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all th ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. The family moved to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

in Germany in 1886, and he received his early education in the city. He was a student for at least some time at

Sunningdale School Sunningdale School is a family-run boys' preparatory independent boarding school of around 100 pupils, situated in Sunningdale in Berkshire, close to London, England. Introduction Sunningdale School is a small school that seeks to educate its ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

Career

He entered the

Royal Military College Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Indian Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the British Indian Army, Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal Army, Bengal, Madras Army, Madras and Bombay Army, Bombay Armies, which were later combined ...

on 20 July 1898. In the same year he became Aide-de-Camp to the

Lieutenant Governor of Bengal The Governor was the chief colonial administrator in the Bengal presidency, originally the "Presidency of Fort William" and later "Bengal province". In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to ...

, Sir John Woodburn. He served as part of the international force that intervened to suppress the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1900 and commanded a Mounted Infantry Company, protecting the Sinho-Shanhaikwan Railway. He subsequently served on the North-West Frontier and in

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

. In 1907 he was promoted to captain in the 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force). In March 1908

John William Crombie John William Crombie (4 March 1858 – 22 March 1908) was a Scottish woollen manufacturer, folklorist and Liberal Party politician. Early life Crombie was born in Aberdeenshire, the eldest son of John Crombie of Balgownie Lodge, near Aberdeen.' ...

the member of parliament for Kincardinshire died, and Murray was selected by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

to contest the resulting by-election. He won the seat, and remained MP for Kincardineshire and its successor constituency, Kincardine and Aberdeenshire West, until 1923. From 1910 until the outbreak of war in 1914 he was

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

Sir Edward Grey Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. An adhe ...

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

. He served in

World War I 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 ...

in France and Belgium from 1914 to 1916 with the 2nd

King Edward's Horse King Edward's Horse (The King's Overseas Dominions Regiment) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1901, which saw service in the First World War. Early history The regiment was originally formed as part of the Imperial Yeomanry ...

, was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) 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 ...

and awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in 1916. He was Assistant Military Attaché in Washington from 1917 to 1918, and was awarded the CMG in 1919. Although a member of the Liberal Party which formed part of the

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

, Murray became a stern critic of the policies pursued by the Prime Minister,

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

. He lost his seat at the 1923 general election. Following the loss of his Commons seat he continued to take an active interest in politics, in particular foreign policy, and wrote a number of books and pamphlets on the subject. He became a director of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

from 1923 to 1948 and of

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. When the Liberal Party split over support for the National Government in 1931, Murray initially remained with the main section of the party in opposition, but joined the National Liberals in 1936.

Later life and death

In 1951 he succeeded to two titles: the Viscountcy of Elibank and the Lordship Elibank of Ettrick Forest, following the death of his elder brothers. He was a Member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a perso ...

. In 1931 he married the actress

Faith Celli Faith Celli (27 November 1888 – 16 December 1942), born Dorothy Faith Standing, was an English actress, particularly associated with the plays of J. M. Barrie and A. A. Milne. She had a 20-year career from 1907, after which she retired from the ...

. The couple had no children, and she died in 1942. He died in December 1962. On his death, the title of Lord Elibank and the baronetcy passed to his kinsman James A. F. C. Erskine-Murray (great grandson of the seventh Lord Elibank), the Viscountcy becoming extinct.

References

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elibank, Arthur Murray, 3rd Viscount 1879 births 1962 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Murray, Arthur Murray, Arthur Cecil Murray, Arthur Cecil Murray, Arthur Cecil Murray, Arthur Cecil Murray, Arthur Cecil Murray, Arthur Cecil Elibank, V3 British Indian Army officers British military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition Members of the Royal Company of Archers Westminster, Arthur Murray, 9th Earl of People educated at Sunningdale School