Arthur Herbert Tennyson Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers, (20 March 1887 – 14 July 1944), was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who was the 16th

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and the ...

, from 1926 to 1931 and Administrator of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1930-31. He had a long involvement with the Boy Scout Movement and became the Boy Scouts Association's

Chief Scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...

of the British Empire from 1942 until his death.

Early life

Somers was born in

Freshwater, Isle of Wight Freshwater is a large village and civil parish at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. The southern, coastal part of the village is Freshwater Bay, named for the adjacent small cove. Freshwater sits at the western end of the ...

, the eldest son of Herbert Haldane Somers-Cocks and the former Blanche Clogstoun. His godfather was

Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

. Somers' father died when he was seven years old. He succeeded a distant relative as

Baron Somers Baron Somers, of Evesham in the County of Worcester, is a title that has been created twice. The title was first created in the Peerage of England in 1697 for Sir John Somers, so that he could sit in the House of Lords and serve as Lord Chancel ...

at the age of twelve. He attended Charterhouse School before going on to

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. He was an able cricketer, and played 17 first-class games. In 1904, whilst a schoolboy at Charterhouse, he made 115 against

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

,''Obituaries, 1944.''

Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "bible of cricket" was first used in the 1930s by Alec Waugh in a ...

, 1945. and two years later he made his first-class debut for

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, scoring 0 and 13. He rarely had enough time to play cricket, but in the 1920s he made a further 16 first-class appearances ''for'' Worcestershire, his highest score being 52 against

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in May 1925. In later life he became both a vice-president of Worcestershire County Cricket Club and, in 1936, President of the MCC.

Military career

In 1906, Somers joined the

1st Regiment of Life Guards, later taking leave to farm in Canada before rejoining his regiment in 1914 at the start of 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 commanded the 6th Battalion of the new

Tank Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armo ...

in 1918. He was twice wounded,

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 ...

, awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

, 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 ...

, and appointed to the French

Legion of Honour 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, ...

.Australian Dictionary of Biography article on Lord Somers
/ref>

Governor of Victoria and Administrator of Australia

Somers was appointed

in 1926. He "had charm and natural gaiety which won him popularity ... warm and generous, he had a genuine interest in people, as well as a high sense of duty and leadership ... a shrewd and successful governor". Following the expiry of

Lord Stonehaven John Lawrence Baird of Urie, 1st Viscount Stonehaven, 1st Baron Stonehaven, 2nd Baronet, 3rd of Ury, (27 April 1874 – 20 August 1941) was a British politician who served as the eighth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1925 to 19 ...

's term as

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Administrator of Australia until

Sir Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs (6 August 1855 – 11 February 1948) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the ninth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1936. He had previously served on the High Court of A ...

took office in January 1931.

Freemasonry

Somers was initiated as a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

into Household Brigade Lodge No.2614 under the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

some 18 years before he arrived in Victoria and served as the Grand Master of the United

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...

of Victoria between 1927 and 1932.

Lord Somers Camp

In 1929, at his own expense, Somers brought together teenage boys from different backgrounds in Australia to what was named

Lord Somers Camp Lord Somers Camp, or "Big Camp", is an annual week-long camp for boys and girls held in Somers, Victoria, Australia. Founded in Anglesea, Victoria, in 1929 by The 6th Baron Somers, the then Governor of Victoria, the camp has been running co ...

which continues to this day. The idea of the camp was based upon the Duke of York camps in the England that operated until the start of the Second World War.

Boy Scouts Association

The Boy Scouts Association appointed Somers as its chief commissioner in 1932 and then its deputy Chief Scout from 1935 to 1941.

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

, the founder and chairman and

for life of the Boy Scouts Association, designated Somers as his successor as the association's Chief Scout. Following Baden-Powell's death, the Boy Scouts Association appointed Somers as its

of the British Empire in March 1941 until his death in 1944.

Family

Somers married Daisy Finola Meeking in 1921 and had a daughter: * Elizabeth Violet Virginia Somers Cocks (1922–1986), who married Major Benjamin Alexander Frederick Hervey-Bathurst (1920–1997), 2nd son of Sir Frederick Edward William Hervey-Bathurst, 5th Baronet.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Somers, Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron 1887 births 1944 deaths British Life Guards officers 6 British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting English cricketers Governors of Victoria (Australia) Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Legion of Honour Lord-Lieutenants of Herefordshire Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Chief Scouts (The Scout Association) Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Tank Regiment officers Worcestershire cricketers Australian Freemasons Masonic Grand Masters