William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate, (10 May 1877 – 17 November 1960) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician who later joined the Labour Party. A decorated

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

officer, he was

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 th ...

between 1929 and 1931 and Secretary of State for Air between 1945 and 1946. He was the father of

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...

and the paternal grandfather of

Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since a by-election in 1999. He served in the Cabinet from 2003 to 2010, under both Tony Bl ...

Background and education

Born in Hackney, Benn was the second son of

Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet Sir John Williams Benn, 1st Baronet, DL (13 November 1850 – 10 April 1922) was a British politician, particularly associated with London politics. He was the father of the politician William Benn, and the grandfather of the politician Tony ...

. He was given the name Wedgwood because his mother, Elizabeth (Lily) Pickstone, was distantly linked to

Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indus ...

of the pottery family. Benn was educated at the

Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

and at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

Political career

Benn was elected 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 o ...

(MP) for the St George's division of Tower Hamlets in east London in 1906, holding the seat until 1918; his father had previously held the seat from 1892 to 1895. Between 1910 and 1915, he served in the Liberal government as a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...

(government whip). He was elected for

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

in Scotland in 1918. During the 1924–29 parliament, which was dominated by a

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 ...

majority, he worked closely with a group of radical Liberal MPs that included

Frank Briant Frank Briant (30 November 1865 – 1 September 1934) was a radical British Liberal Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Lambeth North. In addition, he represented Lambeth on the London County Council and was a leading mem ...

Percy Harris Percy Harris is the name of: *Percy Harris (lawyer), British barrister *Percy Harris (politician), British politician See also

*Percy Harris Bowers, Anglican priest *Percy Harrison (disambiguation) {{human name disambiguation, Harris, Percy ...

Joseph Kenworthy Joseph Montague Kenworthy, 10th Baron Strabolgi (7 March 1886 – 8 October 1953), was a Liberal and then a Labour Party Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Education and naval service Strabolgi was born at Leamington in Warwickshire an ...

and

Horace Crawfurd Horace Evelyn Crawfurd (13 January 1881 – 14 March 1958) was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom. Professional career Crawfurd was a lecturer at Liverpool University. In 1930, Elinor Glyn Ltd employed Crawfurd to undertake the pub ...

to provide opposition to the government. He sat until March 1927, when he resigned from the Liberal Party and from parliament. The following year he re-entered parliament as

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for Aberdeen North. Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald recognised his talent, and offered the possibility of promotion. Benn served as

between 1929 and 1931 in MacDonald's second government, and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1929. However, he refused to follow MacDonald into the National Government coalition with the Conservatives, and at the 1931 election lost his seat to

John George Burnett John George Burnett, OBE (30 March 1876 – 20 January 1962) was Unionist MP for Aberdeen North from 1931 to 1935, defeating William Wedgwood Benn at the 1931 general election. The son of Dr George Burnett, sometime Lord Lyon King of Arms ...

. He returned to parliament in 1937, when he was elected for

Manchester Gorton Manchester Gorton is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Labour's Afzal Khan, who was elected at the 2017 general election. It is the safest Labour seat in Greater Manchester by numerical majority and ...

. In 1940, following the internment of thousands of refugees under pressure from the military he spoke up for them in Parliament. In 1942, Benn was raised to the peerage as Viscount Stansgate, of Stansgate in the County of Essex. Two years later, he was appointed Vice President of the

Allied Control Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Easter ...

which was charged with reconstructing a democratic government in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In 1945, he became Secretary of State for Air in Clement Attlee's Labour government, a position he held until October 1946. He then sat as a backbench Labour peer until his death fourteen years later. From 1947 to 1957, Viscount Stansgate was President of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world organization of national parliaments. He first took up that office at the IPU's Conference in Cairo in April 1947, where he succeeded Count Henry Carton de Wiart of Belgium. A master in the art of human contacts, passionately interested in international politics, Viscount Stansgate played a major role in bringing the newly independent countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa into the ranks of the IPU. He was also instrumental in re-establishing the membership of parliaments of Eastern European countries, thus bringing the IPU nearer to its traditional objective – universality.

Military career

Although aged 37 at the time 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 ...

broke out, Benn was commissioned on 8 December 1914 as a second lieutenant in the

Middlesex Yeomanry The Middlesex Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry regiment of the British Army originally raised in 1797. It saw mounted and dismounted action in the Second Boer War and in World War I at Gallipoli, Salonika and in Palestine, where one of its offic ...

(Duke of Cambridge's Hussars). On 12 May 1916, he was appointed an observer flying officer in the Royal Flying Corps. On 8 July 1916, he was appointed as the commanding officer of a seaplane observer squadron, with the temporary rank of captain. Seeing service at Gallipoli, he was seconded to the Royal Naval Air Service on 17 May 1917. He was awarded the DSO on 4 June 1917 He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 10 July 1917 (seniority from 1 June 1916, and with full pay and allowances from 1 July 1917). On 12 July 1918, Benn transferred to the

, and was appointed a temporary staff officer 3rd class, retaining his temporary captaincy. In September 1918, he was awarded the DFC. The citation read:

A gallant observer of exceptional ability. After setting out on a bombing raid, the Scout machines assigned to act as an escort became separated, and it then became necessary for the bombing planes to proceed on their task without support. Captain Benn's machine took the lead, followed by three other bombers, and succeeded in dropping his bombs (direct hits) on an enemy aerodrome. On the return journey the bombing machines were attacked by several enemy scouts, which were eventually driven away. Recently, this officer organised and carried out a special flight by night over the enemy's lines, under most difficult circumstances, with conspicuous success. He has at all times set a splendid example of courage (21 September 1918).

Also in September 1918 (night of 8–9 September) he and

William George Barker William George Barker, (3 November 1894 – 12 March 1930) was a Canadian First World War fighter ace and Victoria Cross recipient. He is the most decorated serviceman in the history of Canada. Early life Born on a family farm in Dauphin, Ma ...

flying an

Savoia-Pomilio SP.4 __NOTOC__ The Savoia-Pomilio SP.4 was a reconnaissance and bomber aircraft built in Italy during the First World War.Taylor 1989, p.793 It was a further development of the family of designs that had started with the SP.1. Ultimately all of these ...

aeroplane, specially equipped for a parachute drop. This was the first military parachute/spy mission. The parachutist was Alessandro Tandura (1893–1937), who parachuted behind enemy lines in the vicinity of the Piave river. In November, he was awarded the

Bronze Medal of Military Valour The Bronze Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on 26 March 1833, along with the higher ranking Gold and Silver Medals for Military ...

by the Italian Government. After his return to politics, Benn resigned his commission in the RAF on 28 December 1918, retaining the rank of captain. Though in his early 60s at start 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 opposi ...

, Benn returned to military flying, joining the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a war-substantive pilot officer (on probation) on 27 May 1940, with the service number 79452. He was promoted to flying officer (war substantive) on 7 December, and was confirmed in his rank on 27 May 1941. Promoted in 1942 to the substantive rank of flight lieutenant, he was promoted to group captain (war substantive) on 29 December 1942, skipping two ranks. Following his promotion to acting air commodore in 1944, he served as Director of Public Relations at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

. At the age of 67 he flew several flights operationally as an RAF Bomber Aircrew gunner, and is possibly the oldest man to have done so. He resigned his commission on 3 August 1945, retaining the rank of air commodore.

Family

Lord Stansgate married

Margaret Holmes Margaret Joan Holmes (née Read; 24 January 1909 – 10 September 2009) was an Australian peace activist, particularly during the Vietnam War and as part of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship. She founded the New South Wales branch of the Women' ...

, daughter of

Daniel Holmes Daniel Turner Holmes (23 February 1863 – 7 April 1955) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1911 to 1918 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Govan. Holmes was educated at the University of London, the ...

, in 1920. His eldest son Michael Wedgwood Benn was killed in the Second World War in 1944. Stansgate died at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, in November 1960, aged 83, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his second son, then known as Anthony Wedgwood Benn (1925–2014), who was successful in 1963 in changing the law to allow him to disclaim the peerage for life. His youngest son, David Wedgwood Benn (1928–2017), a specialist in Russia and Eastern Europe, worked for the BBC's External Services for many years. A fourth son, Jeremy, was

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...

References

Spartacus Educational – William Wedgwood Benn

External links

*
Parliamentary Archives, Papers of William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount StansgateParliamentary Archives, Stansgate Collection of Newspaper Cuttings
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stansgate, William Wedgwood, 1st Viscount 1877 births 1960 deaths Alumni of University College London

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 ...