Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was an heir to part of the

Guinness family The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout Guinnes ...

brewing fortune, and a lawyer, poet and novelist. He was briefly married to

Diana Mitford Diana, Lady Mosley (''née'' Freeman-Mitford; 17 June 191011 August 2003) was one of the Mitford sisters. In 1929 she married Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, with whom she was part of the Bright Young Things social group o ...

Early life

He was born to Walter Guinness (created 1st Baron Moyne in 1932), son of

Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, (10 November 1847 – 7 October 1927) was an Irish businessman and philanthropist. A member of the prominent Anglo-Irish Guinness family, he was the head of the family's eponymous brewing business, ...

, and Lady Evelyn Stuart Erskine, daughter of the 14th Earl of Buchan. He attended

Heatherdown School Heatherdown School, formally called Heatherdown Preparatory School, was an independent preparatory school for boys, near Ascot, in the English county of Berkshire. Set in of grounds, it typically taught between eighty and ninety boys between t ...

, near Ascot in Berkshire, followed by

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, ...

(also in Berkshire), and Christ Church, Oxford, and was called to the bar in 1931. At Oxford, Guinness was part of the Railway Club, which included: Henry Yorke,

Roy Harrod Sir Henry Roy Forbes Harrod (13 February 1900 – 8 March 1978) was an English economist. He is best known for writing '' The Life of John Maynard Keynes'' (1951) and for the development of the Harrod–Domar model, which he and Evsey Domar dev ...

Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath Henry Frederick Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath (26 January 1905 – 30 June 1992), styled Lord Henry Thynne until 1916 and Viscount Weymouth between 1916 and 1946, was a British aristocrat, landowner, and Conservative Party politician. Bac ...

David Plunket Greene David Plunket Greene (19 November 1904 – 24 February 1941), together with his brother Richard and sister Olivia, was part of the Bright Young Things who inspired the novel ''Vile Bodies'' to Evelyn Waugh, a family friend. Biography David Plun ...

Edward Henry Charles James Fox-Strangways, 7th Earl of Ilchester Edward Henry Charles James "Harry" Fox-Strangways, 7th Earl of Ilchester (1 October 1905 – 21 August 1964) was a British peer and philanthropist. He also held the subsidiary titles of Baron Strangways and Baron Ilchester and Stavordale ...

, Brian Howard, Michael Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse,

John Sutro John Sutro (23 April 1903 – 18 June 1985) was a British film producer. He produced seven films between 1941 and 1951. He was a member of the jury at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival. Education At Oxford Sutro conceived the Railw ...

Hugh Lygon Hugh Patrick Lygon (2 November 190419 August 1936) was the second son of William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, and is often believed to be the inspiration for Lord Sebastian Flyte in Evelyn Waugh's ''Brideshead Revisited''. He was a friend of Waugh's ...

Harold Acton Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and aesthete who was a prominent member of the Bright Young Things. He wrote fiction, biography, history and autobiography. During his stay in C ...

Patrick Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross John Patrick Douglas Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross (25 June 1904 – 4 June 1976) was a Scottish historian and writer noted for his biography of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other works on Islamic history. Early life Balfour was born on 25 June 1 ...

Mark Ogilvie-Grant Charles Randolph Mark Ogilvie-Grant (15 March 1905 – 13 February 1969) was a British diplomat and a botanist and one of the earliest members of the Bright Young Things. Despite his earliest frivolous past, he became a hero during the 1940–19 ...

John Drury-Lowe Major John Drury Boteler Packe-Drury-Lowe (16 October 1905 - 1 June 1960) was an English aristocrat, part of the Bright Young Things crowd of the 1920s. Biography John Drury Boteler Drury-Lowe was born on 16 October 1905, the son of John Alfred E ...

. As an heir to the Guinness brewing fortune and a handsome, charming young man, Bryan was an eligible bachelor. One of London's "

bright young things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

", he was an organiser of the 1929 "Bruno Hat" hoax art exhibition, held at his home in London.

Marriages and family

In 1929, Guinness married Hon.

, one of the

Mitford sisters The Mitford family is an aristocratic English family, whose principal line had its seats at Mitford, Northumberland. Several heads of the family served as High Sheriff of Northumberland. A junior line, with seats at Newton Park, Northumberlan ...

. They had two sons: * Jonathan Bryan Guinness, 3rd Baron Moyne (born 16 March 1930) * Hon. Desmond Walter Guinness (8 September 1931 – 20 August 2020) The couple became leaders of the London artistic and social scene and were dedicatees of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

's second novel ''

Vile Bodies Vile may refer to: Characters * Vile (Mega Man X), a character from the Mega Man X game series * Doctor Vile (Dr. Weil), a character from the Mega Man Zero game series * V.I.L.E., a fictional villain group in the ''Carmen Sandiego'' franchise ...

''. However, they divorced in 1933, after Diana deserted Guinness for British fascist leader Sir

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

. Guinness remarried in 1936 to Elisabeth Nelson (1912–1999), daughter of

Thomas Arthur Nelson Thomas Arthur Nelson Mentioned in Dispatches, MID (22 September 1876 – 9 April 1917) was a Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland international rugby union player. He later became a book publisher in his family's firm of Thomas Nelson (pu ...

of the

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

publishing family, with whom he had nine children: * Hon. Rosaleen Elisabeth Guinness (born 7 September 1937), married Sudhir Mulji * Hon. Diarmid Edward Guinness (23 September 1938 – 15 August 1977), married Felicity, daughter of Sir Andrew Carnwath * Hon. Fiona Evelyn Guinness (born 26 June 1940) * Hon. Dr Finn Benjamin Guinness (born 26 August 1945), married Mary Price * Hon. Thomasin Margaret Guinness (born 16 January 1947) * Hon. Kieran Arthur Guinness (born 11 February 1949), married Vivienne Halban * Hon. Catriona Rose Guinness (born 13 December 1950) * Hon. Erskine Stuart Richard Guinness (born 16 January 1953), married Louise Dillon-Malone * Hon. Mirabel Jane Guinness (born 8 September 1956), married Patrick Helme

Public life

During

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 opposing ...

, Guinness served for three years in the Middle East with the Spears Mission to the

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

, being a fluent French speaker, with the rank of Major. Then, in November 1944, Guinness succeeded to the barony when his father, posted abroad as

Resident Minister A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

in the Middle East by his friend

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 ...

, was assassinated in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

. After the war, Lord Moyne served on the board of the Guinness corporation as vice-chairman from 1947 to 1979, as well as the

Guinness Trust The Guinness Partnership is one of the largest providers of affordable housing and care in England. Founded as a charitable trust in 1890, it is now a Community Benefit Society with eight members. Bloomberg classify it as a real estate owner a ...

and the Iveagh Trust, sitting as a crossbencher in 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 Westminste ...

. He served for 35 years as a trustee of the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...

and donated several works to the gallery. He wrote a number of critically applauded novels, memoirs, books of poetry, and plays. With Frank Pakenham he sought the return of the " Lane Bequest" to Dublin, resulting in the 1959 compromise agreement. He was invested as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He served as pro-chancellor of

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

from 1965-1977, and was made an honorary fellow in 1977. Lord Moyne died in 1992 at Biddesden, his Wiltshire home (near

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basi ...

), and was succeeded by his eldest son Jonathan.

Bibliography

*Plays: The Fragrant Concubine, A Tragedy (1938); A Riverside Charade (1954) *Children's books: The Story of Johnny and Jemima (1936); The Children of the Desert (1947); The Animal's Breakfast (1950); Catriona and the Grasshopper (1957); Priscilla and the Prawn (1960); The Girl with the Flower (1966). *Poetry: Twenty-three Poems (1931); Under the Eyelid (1935); Reflexions (1947); Collected Poems (1956); The Rose in the Tree (1964); The Clock (1973); On a Ledge (1992). *Novels: Singing Out of Tune (1933); Landscape with Figures (1934); A Week by the Sea (1936); Lady Crushwell's Companion (1938); A Fugue of Cinderellas (1956); Leo and Rosabelle (1961); The Giant's Eye (1964); The Engagement (1969); Hellenic Flirtation (1978) *Memoirs: Potpourri (1982); Personal Patchwork 1939–45 (1986); Diary Not Kept (1988). *Songs: Ed.

WB Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

: ''Broadsides; a Collection of Old and New Songs'' (1935);

Cuala Press The Cuala Press was an Irish private press set up in 1908 by Elizabeth Yeats with support from her brother William Butler Yeats that played an important role in the Celtic Revival of the early 20th century. Originally Dun Emer Press, from 1908 u ...

, Dublin.Lithograph reprint in 1971 by Irish University Press,

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moyne, Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron 1905 births 1992 deaths Barons Moyne People educated at Eton College People educated at Heatherdown School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford

Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was an heir to part of the Guinness family brewing fortune, and a lawyer, poet and novelist. He was briefly married to Diana Mitford. Early life He was born to ...