Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne, (8 May 1895 – 23 February 1939) was a

British peer A Peerage is a form of crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary and lifetime titled appointments of various ranks, which form both a constituent part of the legislative process and the British hono ...

and

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

, the son of the 4th Baron Brabourne.

Early life

Born on 8 May 1895 to

Cecil Knatchbull-Hugessen, 4th Baron Brabourne Cecil Marcus Knatchbull-Hugessen, 4th Baron Brabourne (27 November 1863 – 15 February 1933) was an English cricketer, and later a British peer. Knatchbull-Hugessen was born in Lowndes Square in Chelsea, the fourth child and second son of Ed ...

, and his wife Helena Flesch von Brunningen (an Austrian noblewoman), as Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull-Hugessen, he dropped the Hugessen part of his surname by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract, because it binds only one party. Etymology Th ...

in June 1919. Knatchbull was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

Military career

Knatchbull was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

on 17 November 1914. He served in the Gallipoli Campaign from April 1915, attached to No. 3 Squadron,

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

, flying

artillery spotting An artillery observer, artillery spotter, or forward observer (FO) is a soldier responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire support onto a target. An artillery observer usually accompanies a tank or infantry unit. Spotters ensure that ...

missions, receiving promotion to lieutenant on 23 July. On 22 September 1915 he received a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

from General Ian Hamilton, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, and on 8 November was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his "distinguished service in the Field during the operations at the Dardanelles." Knatchbull was seconded to the staff to serve as an aide-de-camp on 8 June 1916, serving until 20 April 1918, when he was seconded to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

as a Staff Officer, 3rd Class. He was later promoted to the

acting rank An acting rank is a designation that allows military personnel to assume a higher military rank, which is usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the natu ...

of captain, and then to acting major on 11 October 1918 when appointed Staff Officer, 2nd Class (Air). On 8 November 1918 he received a mention in despatches from Field Marshal Sir

Douglas Haig Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army. During the First World War he commanded the British Expeditionary F ...

. After the end of the war, on 1 August 1919, he was granted a permanent commission in the RAF with the rank of lieutenant. However, he was placed on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...

on 1 April 1920, and on 1 October was placed on the retired list on account of ill-health contracted on active service, with the rank of flight lieutenant.

House of Commons

Knatchbull was elected

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashford in 1931 and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Samuel Hoare,

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...

, from 1932 to 1933.

House of Lords

In 1933, upon his father's death, he succeeded as

Baron Brabourne Baron Brabourne, of Brabourne in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the Liberal politician Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen, the second son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 9th Baronet, of Mersh ...

following which he was made

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

and was invested as a

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

Governor of Bombay

While Governor of

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

he laid the foundation stone at the historic

Brabourne Stadium The Brabourne Stadium is an international cricket stadium in Mumbai in Western India, built in the British Bombay era. It is the home ground of the Mumbai men's and Mumbai women's cricket team, women's cricket teams. It can accommodate 50,000 pe ...

cricket ground in 1936 after conducting negotiations for the land with Anthony de Mello of the

Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India (CCI) is a cricket club located on Dinsha Wacha Road, in Churchgate of Mumbai, India. It was conceived as India's counterpart to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is considered one of the most prestigious clubs in the na ...

(CCI).

Governor of Bengal

In 1937 he also became a

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

and served as

Governor of Bengal In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hooghly district, Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, Governors and presidents were appointed to look after co ...

until 1939, the year he died.

Acting Viceroy of India

In June 1938, he was appointed as an Acting

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

. He served as the Viceroy for four months, as Lord Linlithgow (the then current Viceroy) had gone to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

for a short vacation.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

, the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of Indian religion-based political party

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

, had a meeting with Brabourne on 16 August 1938 at his residence in Shimla. In the meeting, he requested Brabourne to accept him as the representative of all

India's Muslims Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India also has the third-largest number of Muslims in the world. ...

and in return he promised to support the British at the central assembly, but the Viceroy declined to do so. The Viceroy knew that if Jinnah is made the representative of Muslims, it would be a caution for the image of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in the vision of other leaders. This disappointed Jinnah and he became even more resolved in his approach towards an aggressive demand for a separate Muslim state in South Asia. Brabourne served as the Viceroy till 22 October 1938.

Family

On 22 January 1919, he married Lady Doreen Browne, youngest daughter of the 6th Marquess of Sligo, in

St Peter's Church, Eaton Square St. Peter's Church, Eaton Square, is a Church of England parish church at the east end of Eaton Square, Belgravia, London. It is a neoclassical building designed by the architect Henry Hakewill with a hexastyle portico with Ionic columns and ...

. They had two sons: * Norton Cecil Michael Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne (1922–1943) * John Ulick Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne (1924–2005). In 1946 he married Patricia Mountbatten (later

2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma Patricia Edwina Victoria Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Baroness Brabourne, , , (née Mountbatten; 14 February 1924 – 13 June 2017), was a British peeress and third cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. She was the elder daughter of A ...

) and had issue. His widow, The Dowager Lady Brabourne, was murdered in the 1979 bombing by

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, Royal Navy off ...

's boat. One of their grandsons also died in the bombing.

References

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brabourne, Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron 1895 births 1939 deaths Royal Artillery officers Royal Air Force officers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross 5

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knatchbull, Michael Knatchbull, Michael UK MPs who inherited peerages Governors of Bombay British governors of Bengal People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Naval Air Service aviators Royal Air Force personnel of World War I