Herbert Henry Spender-Clay, PC CMG DL JP (4 June 1875 – 15 February 1937) was an English soldier and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1910 to 1937.

Early life

Herbert Henry Spender-Clay was born on 4 June 1875, the only son of the former Sydney Garrett and Joseph Spender-Clay, one of the largest shareholders in the Bass Brewing Company. He was a godson of Rev. John Harden Clay, the son of Herbert's great-uncle Rev. John Clay. Spender-Clay was educated at

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 ...

and

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

Career

On 10 June 1896 was commissioned 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 ...

in the

2nd Life Guards The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 20 April 1898, and served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, during which he was further promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 25 September 1901. Following his return from South Africa, he resigned his commission in early September 1902 to take up farming on his father's estate in Surrey, which he inherited. He was elected at January 1910 general election as the

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 Tunbridge division of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was re-elected in

December 1910 The following events occurred in December 1910: December 1, 1910 (Thursday) * Porfirio Diaz was inaugurated for his eighth term as President of Mexico."Record of Current Events", ''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (January 1911), pp ...

, and when the division was abolished in boundary changes for the 1918 general election he was returned as a

Coalition Conservative The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

for the new Tonbridge division. He held that seat through a further six

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

until his death. In April–May 1917 he was a member of the

Balfour Mission The Balfour Mission, also referred to as the Balfour Visit, was a formal diplomatic visit to the United States by the British Government during World War I, shortly after the United States declaration of war on Germany (1917). The mission's purpo ...

, intended to promote cooperation between the United States and the UK during

World War I 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 ...

. Herbert was Deputy Lieutenant and J.P. for

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and a Charity Commissioner. He was appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1929, and made CMG.

Personal life

In 1897, when Spender-Clay was just 21 years old, he was tricked into signing promissory notes worth a lot of money by his friend Lord

William Beauchamp Nevill Lord William Beauchamp Nevill (23 May 1860 – 12 May 1939) was an English Aristocracy (class), aristocrat who was born into the wealthy family of William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny, grew up in Eridge Castle, and attended Eton College. ...

. Following two court actions called the ''Hidden Signature Cases'', Spender-Clay was absolved from having to pay for this, and Lord William was convicted of fraud and imprisoned. On 29 October 1904, at the age of 29, Spender-Clay married Pauline Astor, who was then 24, at St Margaret's Church, Westminster with Claude de Crespigny as his best man. She was the elder daughter of

William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor William Waldorf "Willy" Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-British attorney, politician, businessman (hotels and newspapers), and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of ...

and Mary Dahlgren Paul. They lived at Ford Manor,

Lingfield, Surrey Lingfield is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, approximately south of London. Several buildings date from the Tudor period and the timber-frame medieval church is Grade I listed. The stone cage or old ...

and also had a London house at 21 Hill Street. Herbert and Pauline had three daughters: * Phyllis Mary Spender-Clay (1905–1972),Townend, Peter. ''Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 18th edition. 3 volumes''.

London, England London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1965-1972, volume 1, page 530. who married Sir Philip Bouverie Bowyer Nichols, a younger son of

Bowyer Nichols John Bowyer Buchanan Nichols (13 November 1859 – 2 June 1939), known as Bowyer Nichols, was an English poet and artist. Nichols was the son of Francis Morgan Nichols, an editor and writer, and was paternally descended from the printer and wri ...

Lawford Lawford is a large village and civil parish in the Tendring district of northeast Essex, England. It is approximately northeast from the centre of Colchester and west of, and contiguous with, Manningtree. Mistley merges with the east side of M ...

Hall, in 1932. * Rachel Pauline Spender-Clay (1907–1996), who married the Hon. Sir

David Bowes-Lyon Sir David Bowes-Lyon KCVO (2 May 1902 – 13 September 1961) was the sixth son and last child of Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck, as well as their tenth and youngest child. His el ...

, the youngest son of the 14th Earl of Strathmore, and brother of

the Queen Mother ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

, at

St James Piccadilly Westminster St James (or St James Piccadilly) was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish followed the building of the Church of St James, Piccadilly, in 1684. After several failed attempts, the ...

in 1929. * Sybil Gwendoline Spender-Clay (1910–1912), who died young.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, 2 volumes.'' Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999, volume 1, page 131. He died on 15 February 1937 aged 61 at his London home at 2 Hyde Park Street, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

following

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

, and was buried at Dormansland, Surrey.

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter, he was a grandfather of two grandsons and two granddaughters. Through his second daughter, he was a grandfather of two: Davina Katherine Bowes-Lyon (1930–2017), who married John Dalrymple, 13th Earl of Stair, and

Simon Alexander Bowes-Lyon Sir Simon Alexander Bowes-Lyon (born 17 June 1932) is a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and was Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire from 1986 to 2007. He was created a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in The Queen's Birthday Honour ...

(b. 1932), who married Caroline Mary Victoria Pike.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spender-Clay, Herbert 1875 births 1937 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Life Guards officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Deputy Lieutenants of Surrey Astor family Livingston family