Edward Russell, 26th Baron de Clifford
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Lieutenant Colonel Edward Southwell Russell, 26th Baron de Clifford, (31 January 1907 – 3 January 1982), was the only son of Jack Southwell Russell, 25th Baron de Clifford, and Eva Carrington. In 1935 he became the last peer to be tried 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 ...
for a felony, manslaughter, the result of a car accident. He was found not guilty. He lost his father to a road accident; in his
maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
in 1928 in the House of Lords he called for mandatory driving tests. Later he spoke in favor of
speed limits Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...
, both of which measures were introduced in 1934. He was one of four peers to have at times before 1945 supported
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 ...
and his British Union of Fascists.


Early life

Russell was born in
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, London, educated at
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, ...
and studied engineering at
Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
. In 1926 he was commissioned into the 21st ( Royal Gloucestershire Hussars) Armoured Car Company of the Territorial Army; he was promoted
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 ...
in 1929 and Captain in 1938. His hobby until 1935 was racing cars, and he was a young supporter of fascist
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 ...
and his British Union of Fascists. In 1926 in
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, he married Dorothy Evelyn Meyrick, daughter of
43 Club The 43 Club or "The 43" was a nightclub at 43 Gerrard Street in Soho, London that became notorious during the Jazz Age for outrageous parties frequented by the decadent rich and famous. Local myth provides many tales of provocative, licentious an ...
owner
Kate Meyrick Kate Meyrick (7 August 1875 – 19 January 1933) known as the 'Night Club Queen' was an Irish night-club owner in 1920s London. During her 13 year career she made, and spent, a fortune and served five prison sentences. She was the inspiration fo ...
. Since he was nineteen, the law at the time required him to have his mother's consent to the marriage, which he knew he could not obtain due to his fiancée's association with the West End. He therefore lied about his age claiming to be 21, for which he was fined £50 by the
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in the
magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...
. In 1928 he made his maiden speech in the House of Lords, on the subject of road safety, in which he proposed introducing mandatory driving tests for anyone applying for a driving licence. During his career in the House he also argued for speed limits to be imposed. (Both measures were introduced by the
Road Traffic Act 1934 The Road Traffic Act 1934 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced by the Minister of Transport, Leslie Hore-Belisha. The Act was made in a year in which there had been a record numbers of road casualties. Context The Locom ...
.)


Trial in the House of Lords

On 15 August 1935, Lord de Clifford was involved in a high speed head-on collision which caused him injury and killed a 26-year-old driver in Surrey, Douglas George Hopkins, while driving his sports car on the wrong side of the road. When a jury in the coroner's court found unanimously that an 'accident involving others' was the cause of death, and that he had been well beyond the speed limit, the police charged him with a
felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
. At first he was
indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...
and committed for trial at the Old Bailey, until it dawned on the courts that, as he was a
peer of the realm A peer of the realm is a member of the highest aristocratic social order outside the ruling dynasty of the kingdom. Notable examples are: * a member of the peerages in the United Kingdom, who is a hereditary peer or a life peer * a member of the ...
, only the House of Lords could try him for a felony. Since this had not occurred since 1901, when The 2nd Earl Russell was convicted of
bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
, the House set up a select committee to investigate the precedents and rules for such a proceeding. The trial commenced on 12 December, with the
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,
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, presiding, in the capacity of
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appointed by
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
for the occasion. The Attorney General prosecuted the case. Admission to the public was by ticket only. This was to be the last ever trial in the House of Lords, since the right of peers to be tried by their peers for felonies was abolished by the
Criminal Justice Act 1948 The Criminal Justice Act 1948 () is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Overview It is "one of the most important measures relating to the reform of the criminal law and its administration". It abolished: * penal servitude, har ...
. (The House still has the power to try impeachments.) Lord de Clifford's defence was that Hopkins's vehicle had been travelling at excessive speed on the wrong side and that de Clifford had been compelled to switch lanes at the last moment to avoid a collision, only for the other vehicle to do the same. This defence was successful and he was acquitted. Lord de Clifford still faced another charge of dangerous driving, which was not a felony and therefore could not be tried in the House. He was due to be tried in the Old Bailey in January. However, in view of his acquittal, the prosecution abandoned their case and a verdict of not guilty was entered. He made no more speeches in the House of Lords for nearly forty years.


Life after the trial

In 1936 he sued ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' for libel, settling out of court. He was named as a
co-respondent In English law, a co-respondent is, in general, a respondent to a petition, or other legal proceeding, along with another or others, or a person called upon to answer in some other way. 7.4.19 Divorce More particularly, since the Matrimonial Ca ...
in a divorce petition. Whether this was true or false, his own marriage survived. Following his trial in the House of Lords, de Clifford gave up racing cars. 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 ...
he transferred to the
Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...
in 1942 and the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 1943. In 1946, having reached the rank of lieutenant colonel, he joined the
regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...
. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1955 New Year Honours. Having separated from his wife after the war, he divorced her in 1973 and married Mina Margaret, daughter of Mr G. E. Sands, the same year. Lord de Clifford, whose last home was in Silvington, Shropshire, died in 1982 aged 74 and was survived by his second wife and two sons by his first wife. He was succeeded in the barony by his elder son,
John Edward John Edward McGee Jr. (born October 19, 1969) is an American television personality, author and a self-proclaimed psychic medium. After writing his first book on the subject in 1998, Edward became a well-known (and controversial) figure in the ...
.


See also

*
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Prime Minister William Pitt and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18t ...
, the last person to be tried in the House of Lords on impeachment. *
List of trials of peers in the House of Lords This is a list of trials of peers in the House of Lords. Until 1948, peers of the United Kingdom and its predecessor states had the right to trial by their equals. {, class="wikitable" , - ! scope="col" , Year ! scope="col" , Peer ! scope="c ...


References


Everything2 Biography of Edward Southwell Russell
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Clifford, Edward Southwell Russell, 26th Baron 1907 births 1982 deaths Military personnel from London People educated at Eton College Officers of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War II Royal Tank Regiment officers Royal Army Ordnance Corps officers Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers officers Royal Gloucestershire Hussars officers People from Belgravia English fascists British Union of Fascists politicians Barons de Clifford