Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was a British aristocrat, writer, poet and heir to part of the

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its achievements in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout beer Guinnes ...

brewing fortune. He was vice-chairman of

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

plc and authored several works of poetry and novels.

Early life

Guinness was the son of Col. The Hon. Walter Guinness (later created Baron Moyne), third son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, and his wife, Lady Evelyn Erskine (1883–1939), daughter of Shipley Erskine, 14th Earl of Buchan. He was educated at

Heatherdown School Heatherdown School, formally called Heatherdown Preparatory School, was an independent preparatory school for boys, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. Set in of grounds, it typically taught between eighty and ninety boys betwee ...

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1931. At Oxford, Guinness was a member of the Railway Club. As an heir to the

brewing fortune and a handsome, charming young man, Guinness was considered an eligible bachelor. One of London's " bright young things", he was an organiser of the 1929 "Bruno Hat" hoax art exhibition held at his home in London.

Marriages and family

In 1929, Guinness married The Hon. Diana Freeman-Mitford, daughter of the 2nd Baron Redesdale and one of the Mitford sisters. They had two sons: * Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne (born 16 March 1930) * Hon. Desmond Walter Guinness (8 September 1931 – 20 August 2020) The couple became leaders of the London artistic and social scene and were dedicatees of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

's second novel '' Vile Bodies''. However, they divorced in 1933 after Diana deserted Guinness for British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. In 1931, Guinness bought Biddesden House – an 18th-century

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

in Wiltshire, near Ludgershall village and the Hampshire town of Andover – together with about . In 1990, he and his family owned about 600 acres in Ludgershall parish, including Biddesden Farm. Guinness remarried in 1936 to Elisabeth Nelson (1912–1999), daughter of Thomas Arthur Nelson, of the Nelson publishing family, with whom he had the following children: * Hon. Rosaleen Elisabeth Guinness (born 7 September 1937) * Hon. Diarmid Edward Guinness (23 September 1938 – 15 August 1977) * Hon. Fiona Evelyn Guinness (born 26 June 1940) * Hon. Dr. Finn Benjamin Guinness (born 26 August 1945) * Hon. Thomasin Margaret Guinness (born 16 January 1947) * Hon. Kieran Arthur Guinness (born 11 February 1949) * Hon. Catriona Rose Guinness (born 13 December 1950) * Hon. Erskine Stuart Richard Guinness (born 16 January 1953)

Public life

During World War II, Guinness served for three years in the Middle East with the Spears Mission to the Free French, being a fluent French speaker. He gained the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foo ...

. In November 1944, Guinness succeeded to the barony when his father, posted abroad as Resident Minister in the Middle East by his friend

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, was assassinated in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. After the war, Lord Moyne was on the board of the

corporation as vice-chairman from 1947 to 1979, as well as the Guinness Trust and the Iveagh Trust, and sat as a crossbencher in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He served for 35 years as a trustee of the National Gallery of Ireland and donated several works to the gallery. He wrote a number of critically applauded novels, memoirs, books of poetry, and plays. With Frank Pakenham he sought the return of the " Lane Bequest" to Dublin, resulting in the 1959 compromise agreement. He was invested as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

. He served as pro-chancellor of

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

from 1965 to 1977 and was made an honorary fellow in 1977.

Death

Lord Moyne died in 1992 at Biddesden House, his Wiltshire home, and was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, Jonathan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne.

Bibliography

*Plays: ''The Fragrant Concubine, A Tragedy'' (1938); ''A Riverside Charade'' (1954) *Children's books: ''The Story of Johnny and Jemima'' (1936); ''The Children of the Desert'' (1947); ''The Animal's Breakfast'' (1950); ''Catriona and the Grasshopper'' (1957); ''Priscilla and the Prawn'' (1960); ''The Girl with the Flower'' (1966). *Poetry: ''Twenty-three Poems'' (1931); ''Under the Eyelid'' (1935); ''Reflexions'' (1947); ''Collected Poems'' (1956); ''The Rose in the Tree'' (1964); ''The Clock'' (1973); ''On a Ledge'' (1992). *Novels: ''Singing Out of Tune'' (1933); ''Landscape with Figures'' (1934); ''A Week by the Sea'' (1936); ''Lady Crushwell's Companion'' (1938); ''A Fugue of Cinderellas'' (1956); ''Leo and Rosabelle'' (1961); ''The Giant's Eye'' (1964); ''The Engagement'' (1969); ''Hellenic Flirtation'' (1978) *Memoirs: ''Potpourri'' (1982); ''Personal Patchwork 1939–45'' (1986); ''Diary Not Kept'' (1988). *Songs: Ed. W. B. Yeats: ''Broadsides; a Collection of Old and New Songs'' (1935); Dublin: Cuala Press.Lithograph reprint in 1971 by Irish University Press, .

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moyne, Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron 1905 births 1992 deaths Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne 20th-century British lawyers 20th-century English lawyers 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English poets Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Barons Moyne British Army personnel of World War II British male poets English barristers English male novelists Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Irish art collectors People educated at Eton College People educated at Heatherdown School