Ralph Edward Blackett Beaumont

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, TD, DL, JP (12 February 1901 – 18 September 1977), styled The Honourable from 1907, was a British 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.

Background and education

Born at

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for t ...

London 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 majo ...

, he was the second son of

Wentworth Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale Wentworth Canning Blackett Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale PC, JP, DL (2 December 1860 – 12 December 1923), styled The Hon. Wentworth Beaumont between 1906 and 1907, and Lord Allendale from 1907, was a British Liberal politician. Backgro ...

and his wife Lady Alexandrina Louise Maud Vane-Tempest, daughter of

George Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry George Henry Robert Charles William Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry, KP (26 April 1821 – 6 November 1884), styled Viscount Seaham between 1823 and 1854 and known as The Earl Vane between 1854 and 1872, was a British aristocrat, busin ...

. His older brother was

Wentworth Beaumont, 2nd Viscount Allendale Wentworth Henry Canning Beaumont, 2nd Viscount Allendale, (6 August 1890 – 16 December 1956) was a British peer, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland, and army captain. Origins He was the son of Wentworth Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale ...

. Beaumont was educated in

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 ...

and went then to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1923 and with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1953.

Military career

He joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and was promoted to a second lieutenant of the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

in 1931. Beaumont became lieutenant in 1934 and captain with the begin of the

Second World War 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 ...

in 1939. He was finally advanced to lieutenant-colonel in 1947. Beaumont received the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

in 1948 and an additional clasp two years later. Having reached the age limit in 1956, he left the Army.

Political career

He stood unsuccessfully for

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverh ...

in 1929. Beaumont entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

in 1931, sitting as a

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 ...

(MP) for Portsmouth Central until the war's end in 1945. During this time he was appointed

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

in 1935, a post he held until 1940, and to the

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

in 1942 until his defeat in the

general election 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 ( ...

three years later. From 1952, he worked as a Development Commissioner. Beaumont was nominated

High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire The office of High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire was established in 1541 since then a High Sheriff was appointed annually until 1974 when the office was transformed into that of High Sheriff of Powys as part of the creation of Powys from the amalgama ...

in 1957, representing the county also as

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He was chairman of the Montgomeryshire County Agriculture Executive Committee and served as a member of the

Council on Tribunals The tribunal system of the United Kingdom is part of the national system of administrative justice with tribunals classed as non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Tribunals operate formal processes to adjudicate disputes in a similar way to cou ...

from 1958. Having been previously a deputy lieutenant, he became Vice Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire in 1962 until his death in 1977. Beaumont was awarded a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the New Year's Honours 1967.

Family

On 22 March 1926, he married Helena Mary Christine Wray, younger daughter of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Cecil Wray, at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...

, and had by her three children. Beaumont's wife died in 1962 and he survived her until 1977; he was buried at St Peter's Church,

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a popul ...

. His older son was the

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

n politician John Ralph Beaumont.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Ralph 1901 births 1977 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy Lieutenants of Montgomeryshire High Sheriffs of Montgomeryshire People educated at Eton College Royal Welch Fusiliers officers UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Younger sons of viscounts