Richard Eric Onslow Long, 3rd Viscount Long, (22 August 1892 – 12 January 1967) was a British

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 and Territorial Army officer.

Background

Long was a member of a long-established Wiltshire family. He was the younger son of

Walter Long, 1st Viscount Long Walter Hume Long, 1st Viscount Long, (13 July 1854 – 26 September 1924), was a British Unionist politician. In a political career spanning over 40 years, he held office as President of the Board of Agriculture, President of the Local Govern ...

, by Lady Dorothy Blanche, daughter of

Richard Boyle, 9th Earl of Cork Richard Edmund St Lawrence Boyle, 9th Earl of Cork and Orrery KP, PC (19 April 1829 – 22 June 1904), styled Viscount Dungarvan between 1834 and 1856, was a British courtier and Liberal politician. In a ministerial career spanning between ...

. He was the younger brother of

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Walter Long, and the nephew of Lord Gisborough. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

.''Burke's''. In 1922 Long was initiated into

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in the Chaloner Lodge No. 2644, meeting at

Melksham Melksham () is a town on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, the Melksham built-up area had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire's fifth-largest settlement af ...

. Later he also joined the Lodge of Assistance No. 2773, meeting in central London. He became a

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 ...

in 1923.

Political career

Long was elected to 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. ...

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 Westbury at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in 1927, following the death of the sitting Conservative MP Walter Shaw. He was re-elected at the 1929 general election, but stood down at the 1931 election.

Military career

Long served in

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 ...

, when he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) 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 ...

. Between the wars he reached the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the part-time

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial ...

. He served again in

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 ...

, becoming Commander of 329 Battery in 32nd Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (7th City of London) in 1941,Planck, Appendix H, p. 259. based at Carlton Hall near

Saxmundham Saxmundham ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England, set in the valley of the River Fromus about north-east of Ipswich and west of the coast at Sizewell. The town is bypassed by the main A12 road between London and Lowestoft. The town is serv ...

, Suffolk. He was asked to resign in 1942. After the war, he became Honorary Colonel of 604 Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (Royal Fusiliers).

Personal life

In 1944, his nephew

Walter Long, 2nd Viscount Long Walter Francis David Long, 2nd Viscount Long (14 September 1911 – 23 September 1944), was a British peer and soldier. Early life The eldest son of Brigadier-General Walter Long (d. 1917) and Sibell Vanden Bempde-Johnstone, granddaughter o ...

was killed in action in the war. Walter had no male heirs, so Long succeeded to his nephew's titles, becoming the 3rd

Viscount Long __NOTOC__ Viscount Long, of Wraxall in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1921 for the Conservative politician Walter Long, who had previously served as Member of Parliament, Presiden ...

. Prior to this he had been generally known as "Major Eric Long". In 1946 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. Lord Long married Gwendolyn Hague-Cook in 1916, and they had four children: * Walter Reginald Basil Long, born 13 December 1918, served in World War II as Lieutenant, Royal Artillery, drowned on active service in Greece, 28 April 1941 * Noreen Long, born 21 January 1921, married Major John Cairns Bartholomew, Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry * Richard Gerald Long, born 29 January 1929, who succeeded his father as 4th Viscount Long * John Hume Long, born 4 July 1930. Gwendolyn died in 1959. Viscount Long died at a

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

hospital on 12 January 1967, aged 74, and is buried in the family vault at

West Ashton West Ashton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is about southeast of Trowbridge, near the A350 between Melksham and Yarnbrook which bypasses Trowbridge. The parish includes the hamlets of Dunge (), East Town () and Rood As ...

, Wiltshire. According to his obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', he once described the

Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

as 'dangerous beasts'. When women

peers Peers may refer to: People * Donald Peers * Edgar Allison Peers, English academician * Gavin Peers * John Peers, Australian tennis player * Kerry Peers * Mark Peers * Michael Peers * Steve Peers * Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...

were introduced into 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 ...

he said: "I will of course speak to them if they thrust their presence in my face, but otherwise I will do my best to overlook them". He said of women that they had "not a clue" about politics.Obituary, ''The Times'', Friday, 13 January 1967
p. 12
Issue 56833

Awards

Viscount Long held the following awards: * Knight Commander,

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I ( el, Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is a Greek order instituted by King Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek r ...

of Greece * Freedom of the City of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

(1947) *

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 ...

Notes

References

* ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage,'' 100th Edn, London, 1953. * C. Digby Planck, ''The Shiny Seventh: History of the 7th (City of London) Battalion London Regiment'', London: Old Comrades' Association, 1946/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2002, . * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Eric, 3rd Viscount Long 1892 births 1967 deaths People educated at Harrow School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Artillery officers Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry officers

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs who inherited peerages People from Wiltshire Place of birth missing Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers London Regiment officers British Army officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II