William Philip Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, (23 May 1909 – 5 April 1991), known as Lord De L'Isle and Dudley between 1945 and 1956, was a

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 Gurkha ...

officer, politician and

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

recipient who served as the 15th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1961 to 1965. He was the last non-Australian to hold the position. Sidney was born into an aristocratic family and attended

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

before going on to

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Ma ...

. He became a chartered accountant, but also joined the Territorial Army. During the Second World War, Sidney served with the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in France and Italy; he was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944 for his actions in the

Battle of Anzio The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...

. He 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. T ...

later that year, as a member of the

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 ...

. In 1945, Sidney succeeded his father as

Baron De L'Isle and Dudley Viscount De L'Isle, of Penshurst in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1956 for William Sidney, 6th Baron de L'Isle and Dudley, VC, KG, GCMG, GCVO (1909–1991). History This branch of t ...

, consequently being elevated to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

. He served as

Secretary of State for Air The Secretary of State for Air was a secretary of state position in the British government, which existed from 1919 to 1964. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. The Secretary of State for Air was supported by ...

from 1951 to 1955, under

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, and was raised to the viscountcy in 1956. Lord De L'Isle became governor-general in 1961 on the recommendation of

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the federal government of Australia and is also accountable to federal parliament under the princip ...

. He served for just under four years with little controversy; as well as being the last British governor-general of Australia, he was also the last to wear the traditional vice-regal uniform.

Early life

Sidney was the younger of two children, and the only son, of William Sidney, 5th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley (19 August 1859 – 18 June 1945) and his wife, Winifred Agneta Yorke Bevan (d. 11 February 1959). He was a descendant of

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

by his mistress

Dorothea Jordan Dorothea Jordan, née Bland (21 November 17615 July 1816), was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time mistress of Prince William, Duke of Clarence, later William IV, and the mother of ten illegitimate children by ...

. He was educated at

and

and became a chartered accountant. In 1929 he joined the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

Reserve of Officers.

Marriage and issue

Lord De L'Isle married

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...

Jacqueline Corrine Yvonne Vereker (20 October 1914 – 15 November 1962), daughter of Field Marshal

John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, (10 July 1886 – 31 March 1946) was a senior British Army officer. As a young officer during the First World War, he was decorated with the Victoria Cross for his actio ...

, on 8 June 1940. The couple had five children: * Hon. Elizabeth Sophia (born 12 March 1941, died 3 February 2016), married 5 times, to George Silver Oliver Annesley Colthurst, to Sir Edward Humphry Tyrrell Wakefield, 2nd Bt., to Captain James Silvester Rattray of Craighall-Rattray, 28th of Rattray, to Andrew H. Lane Paneyko, and to Robert Samuel Clive Abel Smith. * Hon. Catherine Mary (born 20 October 1942), married to Martin John Wilbraham, and then to Nicholas Hyde Villiers. * Philip John Algernon, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle (born 21 April 1945) * Hon. Anne Marjorie (born 15 August 1947), married to Lt.-Cdr. David Alexander Harries. * Hon. Lucy Corinna Agneta (born 21 February 1953), married to Michael Willoughby, 13th Baron Middleton After his wife's death, he married the widowed Lady Glanusk (''née'' Margaret Shoubridge) on 24 March 1966 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. They had no children.

War service

During 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 opposi ...

, Sidney fought in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

and the Italian Campaign. While serving as a

company commander A company commander is the commanding officer of a company, a military unit which typically consists of 100 to 250 soldiers, often organized into three or four smaller units called platoons. The exact organization of a company varies by countr ...

in the 5th Battalion,

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

(itself part of 24th Guards Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division), he led a handful of men in the defence of the Anzio beachhead in February 1944, for which he was awarded the

. Sidney led a successful attack which drove German troops of the 147th Grenadier Regiment out of a gully. Later he led another counter-attack and dashed forward, engaging the Germans with his tommy gun at point-blank range, forcing a withdrawal. When the attack was renewed, Sidney and one guardsman were wounded and another killed, but he would not consent to have his wounds dressed until the Germans had been beaten off and the

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

's position had been consolidated. During this time, although extremely weak from loss of blood, he continued to encourage and inspire his men. In later life, when asked where he had been shot, he would jocularly respond that he was shot in Italy. This was to conceal that he had been shot in the

buttocks The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed ...

. The ribbon for the medal was made from one of his father-in-law Lord Gort's uniforms and was awarded by

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Harold Alexander, commanding the

Allied Armies in Italy The Allied Armies in Italy (AAI) was the title of the highest Allied field headquarters in Italy, during the middle part of the Italian campaign of World War II. In the early and later stages of the campaign the headquarters was known as the ...

, on 3 March 1944 in Italy.

Political life

At a by-election in October 1944, he was elected unopposed to the

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 in ...

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 o ...

(MP) for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. His father died in June 1945 and he succeeded as 6th Baron De L'Isle and Dudley, requiring translation to the

. He thus retired from the House of Commons prior to the July 1945 general election. In 1951 he was appointed

under

and held that office until 1955. During this time he visited

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, travelling to Woomera to examine weapons research and meeting the Prime Minister,

. In 1956 he was created Viscount De L'Isle, of Penshurst in the County of Kent.

Governor-General

Following the death in office of Lord Dunrossil in February 1961, Prime Minister

recommended De L'Isle as his military honours, aristocratic background, and political experience apparently made him, according to one author, Menzies' "vision of ideal governor-general material". De L'Isle was sworn in on 3 August 1961. He continued Dunrossil's revival of the full ceremonial vice-regal uniform, but would be the last governor-general to do so. De L'Isle faced no constitutional issues during his time in office; the Official Secretary throughout his term was

Murray Tyrrell Sir Murray Louis Tyrrell (1 December 1913 – 13 July 1994) was an Australian public servant, noted as the Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia for a record term of 26 years, 1947–73, in which time he served six governor ...

. De L'Isle was the first governor-general since

William McKell Sir William John McKell (26 September 1891 – 11 January 1985) was an Australian politician who served as the 12th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1947 to 1953. He had previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 1947 ...

(1947–1953) to have children living at Yarralumla, and this made him popular with the general public. However, his wife fell ill in his first year of office, and died on 16 November 1962, aged 48. Despite this, he chose to continue in office until the expiry of Dunrossil's original five-year term in 1965. Two of his daughters, Catherine and Anne, acted as the official hostesses in place of their mother.

Retirement and death

By the time of his retirement in 1965, public opinion was strongly in favour of an Australian Governor-General, although this was not a reflection on his performance in the role. His continuing interest in Australia was shown by several visits after his retirement, the last for Australia's

bicentenary __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe *French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated i ...

in 1988 when he presented a bronze statue, which now stands in the grounds of Government House in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. In 1975 he co-founded what is now called

The Freedom Association The Freedom Association (TFA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom that describes itself as "a non-partisan, classically liberal campaign group, which has links to the Conservative Party and UK Independence Party (UKIP). TFA was founded in ...

, a free-market campaign group opposed to the post-war consensus that played a prominent role in the

Grunwick Dispute The Grunwick dispute was a British industrial dispute involving trade union recognition at the Grunwick Film Processing Laboratories in Chapter Road, Dollis Hill in the London suburb of Willesden, that led to a two-year strike between 1976 and 197 ...

. Viscount De L'Isle died in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

on 5 April 1991 and was buried in the Sidney family vault at

St John the Baptist, Penshurst St John the Baptist Church at Penshurst, Kent is a Grade I listed Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Rochester in England. Those buried or commemorated here include Knights, Earls, Viscounts, a Viceroy of India, a Governor-General of Austral ...

. He was the last surviving Victoria Cross recipient who had been a member of both Houses of Parliament. He was succeeded in his titles by his only son,

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

Styles and honours

* ''The Honourable'' William Sidney (1909–30 March 1944) * ''The Honourable'' William Sidney VC (30 March 1944 – 11 October 1944) *''The Honourable'' William Sidney VC MP 11 October 1944 – 18 June 1945) * ''The Right Honourable'' The Lord De L'Isle and Dudley VC (18 June 1945 – 1951) *''The Right Honourable'' The Lord De L'Isle and Dudley VC PC (1951–13 January 1956) *''The Right Honourable'' The Viscount De L'Isle VC PC (13 January 1956 – 11 May 1961) *''The Right Honourable'' The Viscount De L'Isle VC GCMG PC (11 May 1961 – 14 March 1963) *''The Right Honourable'' The Viscount De L'Isle VC GCMG GCVO PC (14 March 1963 – 23 April 1968) *''The Right Honourable'' The Viscount De L'Isle VC KG GCMG GCVO PC (23 April 1968 – 5 April 1991) In 1965 De L'Isle succeeded his kinsman as ninth Baronet of Castle Goring. He was appointed a Knight Companion of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the Georg ...

(KG) on 23 April 1968, becoming one of only two men ever to have held both the highest orders of gallantry and chivalry – the Victoria Cross and the Order of the Garter (the other being Field Marshal the Lord Roberts).History.UK.com Articles

Notes

References

External links

*
Location of grave and VC medal
* {{DEFAULTSORT:De Lisle, William Sidney, 1st Viscount 1909 births 1991 deaths Governors-General of Australia British Secretaries of State Secretaries of State for Air (UK) British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Viscounts De L'Isle Eldest sons of British hereditary barons Sidney, William Sidney, William UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights of the Garter Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Grenadier Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge People from Chelsea, London British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Members of the Freedom Association Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Shelley baronets, of Castle Goring Barons De L'Isle and Dudley Viscounts created by Elizabeth II Military personnel from London Burials in Kent People educated at Eton College

Early life

Marriage and issue

War service

Political life

Governor-General

Retirement and death

Styles and honours

See also

Notes

References

External links