Arthur Wellesley, 5th Duke Of Wellington
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Arthur Charles Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington, (9 June 1876 – 11 December 1941), known as Arthur Wellesley from 1876 to 1900, and styled as Marquess of Douro from 1900 to 1934, was a British nobleman and landowner.


Background and military career

Wellesley was born in 1876 to Arthur Charles Wellesley (youngest son of Lord Charles Wellesley) and his wife, Kathleen Bulkeley Williams. Wellesley's father inherited the ducal title and vast Wellington estates upon his elder brother's death in 1900, and became the 4th
Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
. Wellesley attended Eton between 1890 and 1895, and later attended Trinity College at
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. He was commissioned as a
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
in the 4th (
Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
) battalion of the
Lincolnshire Regiment The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regim ...
on 7 July 1897, and served as Aide-de-camp to the
Earl of Ranfurly Earl of Ranfurly, of Dungannon in the County of Tyrone, a title in the Peerage of Ireland, was created in 1831 for Thomas Knox, 2nd Viscount Northland. He had earlier represented County Tyrone in the House of Commons, and had already been cre ...
,
Governor of New Zealand A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
. After the outbreak of the
Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
in late 1899, he joined the regular army as a second lieutenant in the
Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...
on 17 January 1900, and was part of a detachment sent to South Africa in March 1900 to reinforce the 3rd battalion fighting in the war. He served with his regiment there until July 1902, when he returned home after the war ended the previous month. He resigned his commission in 1903. He returned to active service as a temporary reserve second lieutenant in 1915, during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and relinquished his commission in 1919, still a second lieutenant. In 1934, he succeeded to the dukedom. He was also a justice of the peace.


Political activism

The duke was a supporter of several far right-wing causes. He was a member of the
Anglo-German Fellowship The Anglo-German Fellowship was a membership organisation that existed from 1935 to 1939, and aimed to encourage friendly relations between the United Kingdom and Germany. Previous groups in Britain with the same aims had been wound up when Ado ...
from 1935 and served as President of the Liberty Restoration League, which was described by Inspector Pavey (an ex-Scotland Yard detective employed by the
Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established in 17 ...
to infiltrate the far right) as being
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. When Archibald Maule Ramsay formed the ' Right Club' in 1939, Wellington chaired its early meetings. Ramsay, describing the Right Club, boasted that "The main objective was to oppose and expose the activities of organised Jewry." On the day that World War II broke out, the Duke of Wellington was quoted as blaming the conflict on "anti-appeasers and the fucking Jews". He died of pneumonia in 1941.


Family

In 1909, he married Lilian Maud Glen Coats, elder daughter of George Coats (who became the 1st Baron Glentanar in 1916). They had two children: * Lady Anne Wellesley (1910–1998), married the Hon. David Rhys, younger son of the 7th Baron Dynevor. *
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Henry Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington Henry Valerian George Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington (14 July 1912 – 16 September 1943), styled as Earl of Mornington between 1912 and 1934 and Marquess of Douro between 1934 and 1941, was a British peer and politician. Life and career H ...
(1912–1943), unmarried. File:Maud Coats, 1906.jpg, Lilian Maud Glen Coats by
John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...
, 1906 File:Marchioness of Douro, née Lilian Maud Glen Coats, later 5th Duchess of Wellington, by Philip Alexius de László.jpg, Marchioness of Douro (''née'' Lilian Maud Glen Coats) by
Philip de László Philip Alexius László de Lombos (born Fülöp Laub; ; 30 April 1869 – 22 November 1937), known professionally as Philip de László, was an Anglo-Hungarian painter known particularly for his portraits of royal and aristocratic personages. ...
, 1922


Death

He died at 20 Devonshire Place, London. His probate was sworn the next year at £134,262.


References


Footnotes


Sources

*


External links

*
Duke of Wellington's Regiment – West Riding
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 5th Duke of 1876 births 1941 deaths Arthur Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington Dukes of Ciudad Rodrigo Dukes of Wellington Dukes da Vitória Grenadier Guards officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Princes of Waterloo Wellesley, Arthur 5 Earls of Mornington English members of the Right Club English justices of the peace Deaths from pneumonia in England