Auberon Thomas Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas and 5th Lord Dingwall, PC (25 May 1876 – 3 November 1916), who preferred to be known as Bron Herbert, was a radical British Liberal politician and

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

. He was a member of

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

's cabinet as President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries between 1914 and 1915.

Background and education

Herbert was the second but eldest surviving son of the Hon.

Auberon Herbert Hon. Auberon Edward William Molyneux Herbert (18 June 1838 – 5 November 1906) was an English writer, theorist, philosopher, and 19th century Individualism, individualist. He was a son of the Henry John George Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon, ...

, younger son of

Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon Henry John George Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon, FRS (8 June 1800 – 10 December 1849), styled Lord Porchester from 1811 to 1833, was a British writer, traveller, nobleman, and politician. Background and education Herbert was born in London ...

. His mother was Lady Florence, daughter of

George Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper George Augustus Frederick Cowper, 6th Earl Cowper (26 June 1806 – 15 April 1856), styled Viscount Fordwich until 1837, was a British Whig politician. He served briefly as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under his uncle Lord Me ...

. He was educated at

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

Military and political career

Herbert was a captain in the

Hampshire Yeomanry The Hampshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry cavalry regiment formed by amalgamating older units raised between 1794 and 1803 during the French Revolutionary Wars. It served in a mounted role in the Second Boer War and World War I, and in the air defenc ...

(Carabiniers) and worked as a war correspondent during the

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 an ...

, where he was wounded and lost a leg. His elder brother, Rolf, had died in 1882 and his mother in 1886 and so in 1905 (as the nearest heir) he inherited the barony of Lucas and the lordship of Dingwall (which are able to pass through female lines) from his maternal uncle, the 7th Earl Cowper. However, it was not until 1907 that he was confirmed in the titles by the

Committee for Privileges A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

of the House of Lords and allowed to take his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Lucas was private secretary to Richard Haldane, the

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...

, from 1907 to 1908. In April 1908 he was appointed to his first ministerial post as

Under-Secretary of State for War Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

(with a seat on the Army Council) by

, a post he held until 1911. He was

Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Col ...

between March and October 1911 and then served as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries was a junior ministerial office in the United Kingdom, British government, serving under the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. The title changed to Parliamentary Secretary to ...

from 1911 to 1914. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1912 and in August 1914 he entered the cabinet as President of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. However, he did not hold office in the coalition government formed by Asquith in May 1915. Lucas also played a prominent part in

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

's Land Campaign. Lucas served as a captain in the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

in the

First World War 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 ...

. On 3 November 1916, whilst flying over

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

lines in the vicinity of

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

, his aircraft was attacked and brought down by a German fighter-aeroplane, and Lucas died of wounds whilst a prisoner of war the same day at the age of 40 years. His body was buried in a war grave at the village of Ecoust-Saint-Mein.Entry in the War Graves Commission website for the grave of Capt. Herbert (2019). https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/304085/herbert,-auberon-thomas/

Personal life

Lord Lucas never married. His titles passed to his sister, Nan Herbert.

Notes

*Jones, H.A.
"The War in the Air: Being the Story of the Part Played by the Royal Air Force in the Great War: Vol. II"
'. History of the Great War. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1928.

References

CWGC entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Auberon Herbert, 9th Baron 1876 births 1916 deaths Auberon Herbert, 9th Baron Lucas Dingwall, Auberon Herbert, 5th Lord Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom British war correspondents Lucas of Crudwell, Auberon Herbert, 9th Baron British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Hampshire Yeomanry officers People educated at Bedford School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Agriculture ministers of the United Kingdom Barons Lucas

Background and education

Military and political career

Personal life

See also

Notes

References