Bernard Arthur William Patrick Hastings Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard, (17 September 1874 – 10 September 1948), styled Viscount Forbes from 1874 to 1889, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician.

Background

Granard was the son of

George Forbes, 7th Earl of Granard George Arthur Hastings Forbes, 7th Earl of Granard KP (5 August 1833 – 25 August 1889), styled Viscount Forbes from 1836 to 1837, was an Irish peer and soldier. Background and education He was the son of Major-General George Forbes, Viscount Fo ...

, and Mary Frances Petre, daughter of William Petre, 12th Baron Petre. At age 14, he succeeded as eighth Earl of Granard on the death of his father in 1889.

Political career

Upon reaching maturity in 1895 Granard was able to take his seat in 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 ...

under his junior title ''Baron Granard'', which was in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. When the Liberals came to power in 1905 under

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 19 ...

, Granard was appointed a Lord-in-waiting to

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

(government whip in the House of Lords) and Assistant

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsible ...

, posts he held until 1907 and 1909 respectively. In 1907 he was admitted to the Privy Council and appointed

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (Ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse ( la, Magister Equitu ...

, an office he retained until 1915. Granard was also involved in Irish politics. He was a member of the Irish Food Convention, Food Controller for Ireland in 1918, in which year he was also admitted to the Irish Privy Council. He was a member of the short-lived

Senate of Southern Ireland The Senate of Southern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Southern Ireland, established ''de jure'' in 1921 under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The Act stipulated that there be 64 senators, but only 39 were selecte ...

in 1921 and of the

Senate of the Irish Free State A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1922 to 1934. He was again Master of the Horse between February 1924 and 1936, but by this time this post had ceased being a political office. Granard also served as Vice-Admiral of

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

Lord Lieutenant of Longford This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Longford. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 1831. ...

Orders

He was made a Knight's of several orders in different countries: * Order of St Patrick in 1909. *

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 ...

in France. *

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

in Spain. *

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star ( Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of t ...

in Sweden. * Order of the Dannebrog in Denmark. *

Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910 it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was ...

in Portugal. * Order of the White Eagle in Serbia. *

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

in Spain. *

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

in Greece. He was also working as assistant

Postmaster General of the United Kingdom The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom was a Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electr ...

, Lord-in-waiting and Masters of the horse to King

between 1905 and 1910, and to King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

Military

In 1896, Granard was commissioned into the 3rd (

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

) Battalion,

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

, but on 29 November 1899 he transferred to a regular commission as a second lieutenant in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the E ...

. Following the outbreak of 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 ...

in late 1899, he was with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment as it left

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

on the SS ''Britannic'' in March 1900. He served with the 1st Battalion in South Africa from 1900 to 1902, taking part in the

Battle of Belfast The Battle of Berg-en-dal (also known as the Battle of Belfast or Battle of Dalmanutha) took place in South Africa during the Second Anglo-Boer War. The battle was the last set-piece battle of the war, although the war was still to last another ...

(August 1900) and operations at

Komatipoort Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 8 km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the Kruger Park, and just 5 km from the Mozambique border ...

. While in South Africa, he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 20 July 1901. Following the end of the war, Lord Granard left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

for England on the ''SS Simla'' in late July 1902. Promotion to captain followed in 1905. In 1908 he was appointed

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

in the

Post Office Rifles The Post Office Rifles was a unit of the British Army, first formed in 1868 from volunteers as part of the Volunteer Force, which later became the Territorial Force (and later the Territorial Army). The unit evolved several times until 1921, aft ...

. He resigned his commissions in the Post Office Rifles in 1910 and the Scots Guards in 1911. In 1916 he was recalled to command the 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment. He was later Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

Forces from 1917. Apart from his political and military career, Granard was also on the board of

Arsenal Football Club Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (incl ...

, and was club chairman from 1936 to 1939.

Family

Lord Granard married, in 1909, Beatrice Mills, daughter of the wealthy American businessman Ogden Mills from Staatsburg, New York. She was the twin sister of

Gladys Mills Phipps Gladys Mills Phipps (June 19, 1883 - October 19, 1970) was a United States socialite, sportsperson, and a thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse owner and horse breeding, breeder who began the Phipps family dynasty in American horse racing. She was ...

. Her brother, Ogden L. Mills, was the 50th

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

. They had four children, including Eileen Beatrice, the wife of the 5th Marquess of Bute. Lord Granard died one week before his 74th birthday. He was succeeded by his eldest son

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

. Apart from his seat at Castleforbes, Newtownforbes, County Longford,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Lord Granard had a London residence at Forbes House, Halkin Street, and a residence at 73 Rue de Varenne,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

References

External links

* *''Whitaker's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage 1935'', London, p. 297. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Granard, Bernard Forbes, 8th Earl of 1874 births 1948 deaths British Militia officers Gordon Highlanders officers Scots Guards officers Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922) officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Arsenal F.C. directors and chairmen Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of St Patrick Lord-Lieutenants of Longford Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) Lords-in-Waiting Members of the 1922 Seanad Members of the 1925 Seanad Members of the 1928 Seanad Members of the 1931 Seanad Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) Members of the Senate of Southern Ireland Independent members of Seanad Éireann Earls of Granard