John Graham Hope Horsley de la Poer Beresford, 5th Baron Decies PC (5 December 1866 – 31 January 1944), styled The Honourable John Beresford until 1910, was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, and

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

player in the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

Early life

Beresford was born on 5 December 1866 at

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. He was the second son of William Horsley-Beresford, 3rd Baron Decies, by Catherine Anne Dent, daughter of Commander William Dent. He 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 ...

before joining the army in 1887.

Career

Beresford joined the 7th Hussars 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 February 1887, 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 10 April 1889, and 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 7 October 1896. He saw military service mainly in Africa, first during the

Second Matabele War The Second Matabele War, also known as the Matabeleland Rebellion or part of what is now known in Zimbabwe as the First ''Chimurenga'', was fought between 1896 and 1897 in the region later known as Southern Rhodesia, now modern-day Zimbabwe. ...

in 1896 and later during 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 ...

. In January 1900 he was seconded to the Staff, and appointed an Aide-de-camp to the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

, Commander-in-Chief of Ireland. In early February 1902, he was appointed in command of the 37th Battalion,

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

, with the temporary 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 colonel. ...

, and the following May left

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

with his Battalion for service in South Africa. The battalion arrived after hostilities ended in early June, and left for home again on the SS ''Avondale Castle'' in late December 1902. From 1903 to 1904 he served in Somaliland. After retiring from the Regular Army, he became commanding officer of the

South Irish Horse The South Irish Horse was a Special Reserve cavalry regiment of the British Army. Formed as an Imperial Yeomanry regiment in 1902 as the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, it perpetuated a unit formed during the Second Boer War. It transferred t ...

(

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the Haldane Reforms, military reforms im ...

) on 20 January 1912. In 1910 he succeeded his elder brother in the barony. This was an

Irish peerage The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisio ...

and did not entitle him to an automatic seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. However, in 1912 he was elected as an Irish

Representative peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

and was able to take a seat in the upper chamber of Parliament. From 1916 to 1919 he was Chief Press Censor for Ireland. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine on 5 May 1930 reported his stance on British taxation: "The time may have come," said Lord Decies ominously, "when our wealthy men should seriously consider whether they must send their money out of this country." As Director of the British Income Taxpayers' Association, he vowed that he would suggest to them that "the time may have come. ..."

Polo

Beresford was an Irish

player in the

. He was part of the

Foxhunters Hurlingham The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) is the governing body for polo in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates and many other countries. The Federation of International Polo produces the International Rules of Polo through a coop ...

polo team which won the gold medal. In 1908, he played in the first international polo match between England and Argentina at the

Hurlingham Club The Hurlingham Club is an exclusive private social and athletic club located in the Fulham area of London, England. Founded in 1869, it has a Georgian-style clubhouse set in of grounds. It is a member of the Association of London Clubs. Histo ...

Hurlingham, Buenos Aires Hurlingham (28 September) is an Argentine city, capital of the Hurlingham Partido in the province of Buenos Aires., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency It is located in the western part of Greater Buenos Aires. History Hurling ...

alongside

Alexander Godley General Sir Alexander John Godley, (4 February 1867 – 6 March 1957) was a senior British Army officer. He is best known for his role as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and II Anzac Corps during the First World War. Born in G ...

.Horace A. Laffaye, ''Polo in Britain: A History'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2012, p. 37

Personal life

Lord Decies married

Helen Vivien Gould Helen Vivien Beresford, Baroness Decies, formerly Helen Vivien Gould (May 2, 1893 – February 3, 1931) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was one of the two Jay Gould descendants to marry into European aristocracy. Early l ...

, a daughter of American railroad executive

George Jay Gould I George Jay Gould I (February 6, 1864 – May 16, 1923) was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW), Western Pacific Railroad (WP), and the Manhatta ...

and actress Edith Kingdon, on 7 February 1911. They had three children: * Hon. Eileen Vivien de la Poer Beresford (1912–1975) who married Major Robert Alfred O'Brian.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 335. * Hon. Catherine Moya de la Poer Beresford (1913–1967), who married Patrick Herbert Bellew in 1936; they divorced in 1946. * Arthur George Marcus Douglas de la Poer Beresford, 6th Baron Decies (1915–1992). Lady Decies died on 3 February 1931, and following her death he married

Elizabeth Wharton Drexel Elizabeth de la Poer Beresford, Baroness Decies (April 22, 1868 – June 13, 1944), was an American author and Manhattan socialite. Birth She was born on April 22, 1868, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Lucy Wharton and Joseph William Drexel ...

, the daughter of

Joseph William Drexel Joseph William Drexel (January 24, 1833 – March 25, 1888) was a banker, philanthropist, and book collector. Early life Joseph William Drexel was the son of Francis Martin Drexel (1792–1863) and Catherine Hookey (1795–1870). His siblings wer ...

, on 25 May 1936. Elizabeth had previously been married to

Harry Lehr Henry Symes "Harry" Lehr (March 28, 1869 – January 3, 1929) was an American socialite during the Gilded Age who was dubbed "America's Court Jester". Early life Henry Symes Lehr was born on March 28, 1869. He was the fourth child in a family ...

. Lord Decies filed suit for divorce in 1942, which Lady Decies contested. Asked how to say his name, Lord Decies told ''The

Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current ...

'': "With ''ci'' as in ''conscience'' it is ''dee-shees'', and Beresford is ''berysford''."

Charles Earle Funk Charles Earle Funk (1881–1957) was an American lexicographer. He was a member of the Funk family who owned the publisher Funk & Wagnalls; Dr. Isaac Funk was his uncle. Funk wrote several etymological dictionaries An etymological dictionary d ...

, ''What's the Name, Please?'', Funk & Wagnalls, 1936. Lord Decies died on 31 January 1944 at his Ascot home. Lady Decies died at the Hotel Shelton in London on 13 June 1944.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Decies, John Beresford, 5th Baron 1866 births 1944 deaths 19th-century Anglo-Irish people 20th-century Anglo-Irish people Barons in the Peerage of Ireland

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Gould family Irish polo players Irish representative peers Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of London County Council People educated at Eton College Polo players at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic polo players of Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in polo South Irish Horse officers