Sir Gyles Isham, 12th Baronet (31 October 1903 – 29 January 1976) was an English aristocrat,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

(who appeared in several films in the 1930s) and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

Life and career

Gyles Isham was born 31 October 1903 in

Lamport, Northamptonshire Lamport is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The village is on the A508, about south of Market Harborough and north of Northampton. Nearby is Lamport Hall. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population w ...

, England to Sir Vere Isham, the 11th Baronet of Lamport, and his wife Millicent Vaughan. Educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1926 he was President of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

and graduated as a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

(promoted to

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1930). He became an actor, appearing from 1929 to 1938 in several

Shakespeare plays Shakespeare's plays are a canon of approximately 39 dramatic works written by English poet, playwright, and actor William Shakespeare. The exact number of plays—as well as their classifications as tragedy, history, comedy, or otherwise—is a ...

at the

Old Vic Theatre The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and other venues. He also appeared from 1933 to 1937 in ten films, including the acclaimed ''Anna Karenina'' of 1935. Enlisting in the

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 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, in 1940 he was commissioned as an officer into the King's Royal Rifle Corps and served in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

in the Western Desert Campaign, by 1943 reaching the rank of

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 ...

. He also succeeded in 1941, during his Libyan service, to the Baronetcy of Lamport with the death of his father, thereby becoming Sir Gyles Isham. He served after the war as Defence Secretary Officer in Palestine. He contested the 1950 General Election as Conservative Party candidate for

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

, finishing second. Returning to his family manor at

Lamport Hall Lamport Hall in Lamport, Northamptonshire is a fine example of a Grade I Listed House. It was developed from a Tudor Manor but is now notable for its classical frontage. The Hall contains an outstanding collection of books, paintings and furnitu ...

, he served in 1952 as Deputy Lieutenant of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, was a member from 1955 to 1964 of the

Northamptonshire County Council Northamptonshire County Council was the county council that governed the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, recreated in 1974 by the Local Government Act 19 ...

, and served in 1958 as

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respo ...

. He was a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

in 1964 of the National Portrait Gallery, and president between 1968 and 1976 of the Association of Genealogists, during which time he wrote several books and pamphlets on the history of Northamptonshire. He also opened

, the family manor, to the public for the first time in 1974 and established the Lamport Hall Trust, to which the manor passed at his death. Sir Gyles died on 29 January 1976 at the age of 72 at St. Matthew's Nursing Home, Northampton, England. Isham was homosexual, and had no children; he was succeeded as baronet by Sir Ian Isham, a distant cousin of his descended from the 7th baronet.Lamport Hall (official guidebook).

Filmography

* '' Anne One Hundred'' (1933) as Nixon * '' Purse Strings'' (1933) as James Willmore * '' The Iron Duke'' (1934) as Czar of Russia * '' What's in a Name?'' (1934) as Schultz * '' Regal Cavalcade'' (1935) as Dining Officer * ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, «Анна Каренина», p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever writt ...

'' (1935) as Levin * '' The Perfect Gentleman'' (1935) as Man (uncredited and unconfirmed) * ''

The House of the Spaniard ''The House of the Spaniard'' is a 1936 British comedy thriller film directed by Reginald Denham and starring Peter Haddon, Brigitte Horney and Allan Jeayes. It is set in Lancashire and Spain, during the ongoing Spanish Civil War. It was shot a ...

'' (1936) as John Gilchrist * '' Secret Lives'' (1937) as Franz Abel * ''

Under Secret Orders ''Under Secret Orders'', also known as ''Mademoiselle Doctor'', is a 1937 British spy film directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Erich von Stroheim, John Loder, Dita Parlo and Claire Luce. It is an English-language version of the Frenc ...

'' (1937) as Lt. Hans Hoffman

Selected publications

* ''The Correspondence of Bishop Brian Duppa and Sir Justinian Isham 1650-1660,'' Northamptonshire Record Society, 1954. * ''Sir Thomas Isham: an English collector in Rome, 1677-8,: A Selection of Pictures, Engravings, Books and Manuscripts Lent by Sir Gyles Isham, Bart., from Lamport Hall, Northampton: Exhibited at Central Art Gallery, Northampton, 12th July to August, 1969,'' County Borough of Northampton - Museums and Art Gallery, 1969. * * He also annotated the 1971 translation by Norman Marlow of ''The diary of Thomas Isham of Lamport (1658-81),'' Gregg Publishing, 343 p.

Notes

References

* ''Lamport Hall - Past and Present (the official guidebook)'', 1992, Lamport Hall Preservation Trust, Lamport Hall, Northamptonshire, 28 p. * Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003), ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition,'' Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A, and London, England, 3 vol.

External links

*
Portrait of Sir Gyles Isham at Lamport Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isham, Sir Gyles 1903 births 1976 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England English male film actors English male stage actors 20th-century English male actors Members of Northamptonshire County Council High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire Deputy Lieutenants of Northamptonshire British expatriate male actors in the United States Presidents of the Oxford Union British Army personnel of World War II King's Royal Rifle Corps officers