George Lambert, 2nd Viscount Lambert, DL TD (27 November 1909 – 24 May 1989) was a British politician.

Early life

Lambert was the eldest son of long-serving

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Member of Parliament, the Rt. Hon. George Lambert. He was educated at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was commissioned into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, but transferred to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1940. He became a lieutenant-colonel and a

war Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

liaison officer, visiting the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

South-East Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...

Commands.

Political career

In Parliament, Lambert spoke on agriculture matters. After almost fifty years in Parliament, George Lambert senior stepped down at the 1945 general election and was created Viscount Lambert. Lambert junior stood successfully as a

National Liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A serie ...

candidate in his father's seat,

South Molton South Molton is a town and civil parish in the North Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. The town is on the River Mole. In 2021 it had a population of 6225. South Molton is a market town trading mostly in sheep and cattle. There wa ...

. In 1950 the constituency was abolished and replaced by Torrington, which Lambert continued to serve until his father's death in 1958, at which point he joined 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 ...

. This prompted the

1958 Torrington by-election The 1958 Torrington by-election, in Devon, England, was the first gain by the British Liberal Party at a by-election since Holland with Boston in 1929. Background The election was caused by the accession of George Lambert, National Liberal and ...

and 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. For example, while the political systems ...

's first by-election gain in almost thirty years.

Personal life

He married Patricia (Patsy) Quinn in 1939. Quinn who was Anglo-Irish, came over from her family home Greylands in Dalkey just south of Dublin to be educated in England where she was educated at the Sacred Heart Convent in Roehampton where she shared a room with

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

and they became lifelong friends; she was a bridesmaid at her first wedding. She was a model for Norman Hartnell the famous designer and regularly modelled for HM the Queen (later the Queen Mother). Lambert and his wife had a son, George, educated at Harrow, who served in the Royal Horseguards (Blues) retiring as a Captain, who died in 1970 in a car accident at the age of 29, and a daughter Louise, who married Sir Peter Gibbings in 1975, Chairman of the Guardian Newspaper 1973-1988 and the Radio Authority. Lady Gibbings works in the voluntary sector supporting mentoring and prison visiting programmes. She is a trustee of the Forward Trust. They have one son Dominic Lord Lambert handed the family estate Coffins at Spreyton near Crediton in Devon to his son George who, as mentioned above, was tragically killed in a car accident in 1971. After 6 generations of Lambert occupation Coffins was sold in 1972 and Lambert moved to Switzerland where he died in 1989. Patsy, Viscountess Lambert, died in 1991. His brother Michael who lived near Siena inherited the title but he died without male issue in 1999 and the title became extinct.

Arms

References

External links

* 1909 births 1989 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of New College, Oxford Deputy lieutenants of Devon National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of World War II Royal Engineers officers Royal Artillery officers UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs who inherited peerages {{England-UK-MP-stub