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. ...

William Legge, 7th Earl of Dartmouth (22 February 1881 – 28 February 1958), styled Viscount Lewisham between 1891 and 1936, was a

British peer The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term ''peerage'' can be used both collec ...

and

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

politician, who was Acting

Lord Great Chamberlain The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable of England, Lord Hi ...

1928–36.

Background

Legge was the eldest son of the 6th Earl of Dartmouth. 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He 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 Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) on 11 June 1902.

Political and military career

In 1907, he joined the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

and entered Parliament in 1910 as

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

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

, a seat he held until 1918. While a lieutenant in the

Staffordshire Yeomanry The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a unit of the British Army. Raised in 1794 following Prime Minister William Pitt's order to raise volunteer bodies of men to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion, the Staffordshir ...

, he was appointed honorary colonel of the 7th Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

, on 27 April 1910. On 23 April 1912, he was promoted to captain in the Staffordshire Yeomanry, and received a temporary promotion to major on 1 November 1914. He served with the Staffordshire Yeomanry in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in the

First World War 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 ...

, for which he was awarded 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 ...

, and made an officer of the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sultana ...

. On 13 December 1917, he was promoted acting lieutenant-colonel while commanding a Yeomanry regiment. He ceased command on 24 June 1918 and reverted to the rank of major. On 22 November 1922, he resigned his honorary colonelcy. Lewisham was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Staffordshire on 18 November 1920. He was

High Bailiff of Westminster A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

from 1930 to 1942 and was made a

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

for his services on 1 January 1934. Legge inherited his father's titles in 1936.

Family

Viscount Lewisham, as he was then styled, married Lady Ruperta Wynn-Carington, third daughter of Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire, on 7 December 1905. They had six children: *Lady Mary Cecilia Legge (1906–2003), married Noel Findlay. * Lady Elizabeth Legge (1908–2000), married Ronald Lambert Basset. *Lady Diana Legge (1910–1970), married (1) Hon. John Hamilton-Russell, son of 9th

Viscount Boyne Viscount Boyne, in the province of Leinster, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1717 for the Scottish military commander Gustavus Hamilton, 1st Baron Hamilton of Stackallan. He had already been created Baron Hamilton of St ...

(killed 1943); (2) Adrian Matthews. *William Legge, Viscount Lewisham (1913–1942), killed at the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. *Lady Barbara Legge (1916–2013), married Adam Kwiatkowski. *Lady Josceline Gabrielle Legge (1918–1995), married Hon. Dermot Chichester, who would later accede to the titles

Baron Templemore Baron Templemore, of Templemore in the County of Donegal, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, since 1975 a subsidiary title of the Marquess of Donegall, Marquessate of Donegall. It was created on 10 September 1831 for Arthur Chiche ...

and

Marquess of Donegall Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Sir ...

. Following the death of his father-in-law in 1928, Lord Dartmouth acted as Deputy

until the death of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

in 1936. Lord Dartmouth died in February 1958, aged 77. As he had no surviving male issue, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Humphry Legge.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dartmouth, William Legge, 7th Earl of 1881 births 1958 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 7 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Legge, William Legge, William Legge, William UK MPs who inherited peerages British Army personnel of World War I Staffordshire Yeomanry officers

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Deputy Lieutenants of Staffordshire