Sir Henry William George Elwes (born 24 October 1935) is a retired British politician and public servant. He served as a District and County Councillor in Gloucestershire for 32 years and was

Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire. Since 1694, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire. * Edmund Brydges, 2nd Baron Chandos 1559–? *Giles Brydges, 3rd Baron Chando ...

between 1992 and 2010.

Early life

Elwes was born on 24 October 1935. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

near

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, Berkshire.

Military service

As part of

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, Elwes was commissioned 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 ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 4 December 1954. He was given the

service number A service number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they may be used in civilian organizations as well. National identification numbers may ...

438925. He transferred to the Army Emergency Reserve of Officers on 24 June 1956 as a second lieutenant with seniority from 4 December 1954. This ended his active service. Also on 24 June 1956, he was granted the

acting rank An acting rank is a designation that allows a soldier to assume a military rank—usually higher and usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the nature of t ...

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 sub ...

with seniority from 31 May 1956. On 27 May 1959, he transferred to the Regular Army Reserve of Officer (Class III) in the confirmed rank of lieutenant, retaining his seniority.

Career

Elwes was a member of

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

Rural District Council Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

from 1959 to 1974. In 1971, he joined

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

. He served as Vice-Chairman of the council from 1976 to 1983 and in 1991, and Chair from 1983 to 1985. He retired from politics in 1991. Elwes is the Pro-Chancellor of the

University of Gloucestershire , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...

. His appointment was announced in March 2012, and he was installed in October 2012.

Personal life

Elwes married Carolyn Cripps in 1962. They live in Colesbourne Park, (known as 'England's Greatest Snowdrop Garden'), an estate owned by his family since 1600. The botanist

Henry John Elwes Henry John Elwes, FRS (16 May 1846 – 26 November 1922) was a British botanist, entomologist, author, lepidopterist, collector and traveller who became renowned for collecting specimens of lilies during trips to the Himalaya and Korea. He wa ...

is his great-grandfather. Elwes suffered serious injuries when he fell three floors through a building he was inspecting. His life was saved by Great Western Air Ambulance Charity and he subsequently made an excellent recovery.

Honours

He was nominated for High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1976 and 1977. He was appointed High Sheriff for 1979, having been nominated for that year in 1978. On 24 May 1982, he was commissioned a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of

. He was appointed

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

's personal representative in the county of Gloucestershire, on 17 February 1992. In April 1992, he was appointed Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John (KStJ). In the 2009

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

, he was appointed

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elwes, Henry Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order 1935 births Lord-Lieutenants of Gloucestershire High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire Knights of the Order of St John Scots Guards officers Deputy Lieutenants of Gloucestershire Living people Councillors in Gloucestershire People educated at Eton College