Henry Ludwig Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett (10 May 1898 – 22 January 1949) was a British

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and financier.

Early life and education

Henry Mond was born in London, the only son of

Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett Alfred Moritz Mond, 1st Baron Melchett, PC, FRS, DL (23 October 1868 – 27 December 1930), known as Sir Alfred Mond, Bt between 1910 and 1928, was a British industrialist, financier and politician. In his later life he became an active Zio ...

and his wife

Violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

(née Goetze). He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was commissioned with the South Wales Borderers on 9 April 1915 and wounded in 1916.Greenaway, Frank (2004) 'Mond family ( 1867-1973)', ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

,

retrieved on 9 March 2007.

Business life

He then joined some of his father's businesses, becoming a director of

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

and serving as deputy chairman from 1940 to 1947. He was also a director of the Mond Nickel Company and

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

Politics

He served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the Isle of Ely 1923-24 as a

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 ...

. He won against Unionist candidate Max Townley in the 1923 general election with a small majority of 467. In the same election his father, Sir Alfred Mond, Bt, lost his seat of Swansea West. He was unable to retain the Isle of Ely at the 1924 general election. Like his father, he later became a Conservative. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Liverpool East Toxteth from 1929 to 1930, when, on the death of his father, he succeeded to the barony becoming the 2nd Baron Melchett., accessed 9 March 2007 He then set about restoring the family finances and moved his interests away from politics to economics.

Religion

PikiWiki Israel 9850 Welcome to Henry Mond

Having been brought up in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, he reverted in the 1930s to his family's original

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

and became a champion of

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

, hoping that the Jews and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

s could live harmoniously alongside each other. He advocated the evacuation of Jews from Germany to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and supported the formation of an independent state of Palestine as part of the British Commonwealth. He was chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine and took an interest in the Maccabi Jewish youth organisation.

Personal life

Glyn Warren Philpot - Portrait of Henry Ludwig Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett of Landford

He married Amy Gwen Wilson (usually called Gwen, the daughter of Edward John Wilson, who lived in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

), at Chelsea Register Office on 30 January 1920. She was described as "a show stopping beauty and artist". Their relationship began when she was living with writer

Gilbert Cannan Gilbert Eric Cannan (25 June 1884 – 30 June 1955) was a British novelist and dramatist. Early life Born in Manchester of Scottish descent, he got on badly with his family, and in 1897 he was sent to live in Oxford with the economist Edwin Ca ...

, a friend of

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

, and they initially formed a ''

ménage à trois A () is a domestic arrangement and committed relationship with three people in polyamorous romantic or sexual relations with each other, and often dwelling together; typically a traditional marriage between a man and woman along with anothe ...

''. From 1930 the couple lived in a London home, Mulberry House in

Smith Square Smith Square is a square in Westminster, London, 250 metres south-southwest of the Palace of Westminster. Most of its garden interior is filled by St John's, Smith Square, a Baroque surplus church, which has inside converted to a concert hall ...

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

. Paying homage to their early relationship, they commissioned a high relief from the prominent artist

Charles Sargeant Jagger Charles Sargeant Jagger (17 December 1885 – 16 November 1934) was a British sculptor who, following active service in the First World War, sculpted many works on the theme of war. He is best known for his war memorials, especially the Royal A ...

called "Scandal", which they displayed in their living room. This showed a naked couple in an intimate embrace watched by society ladies in a state of outrage. The sculpture and the Baron's relationship led to censure and outrage from their contemporaries. In 2008 "Scandal" was bought for £106,000 by the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

where it is on display.

Family

Mrs Henry Mond by Glyn Philpot (1884-1937)

They had had two sons – the Honourable Derek John Henry Mond (18 October 1922 – 30 April 1945),

Julian Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (give ...

(9 January 1925 – 15 June 1973), and one daughter, the Honourable Karis Valerie Violet (26 July 1927 – 8 February 2006). Derek was killed in a flying accident while he was serving with the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1945. Mond bought and restored Colworth House on the edge of the

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

village of

Sharnbrook Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey but was probably first developed in Saxon tim ...

and lived there for twelve years. During

World War II 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 opposin ...

he made the house available for the recuperation of American nurses and to house Jewish refugees. He sold the house to

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

in 1947 due to his wife's belief that moving to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

would restore his health. He died at

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...

in 1949 aged 50 and the title passed to his surviving son Julian. Mond was cremated in Islington.The record on deceased online
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Publications

*''Why the Crisis?'' (1931) *''Modern Money'' (1932) *''Thy Neighbour'' (1937) *''Hunting and Polo''

Coat of arms

Notes

External links

* *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melchett, Henry Mond, 2nd Baron 1898 births 1949 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1929–1931 Melchett, B2 English Jews British Ashkenazi Jews British Zionists English people of German-Jewish descent Converts to Judaism from Anglicanism People educated at Winchester College South Wales Borderers officers British Army personnel of World War I British landowners Henry Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett Jewish British politicians People from Sharnbrook Military personnel from London 20th-century English businesspeople