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 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 and

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

. He was a member of

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

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, 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 Melbo ...

. He was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

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 ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, 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 The Committee for Privileges and Conduct was a select committee of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom which considered issues relating to the privileges of the House of Lords and its members, as well as having oversight fo ...

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

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Lucas was private secretary to Richard Haldane, the

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called 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 Office and ...

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

Under-Secretary of State for War The position of Under-Secretary of State for War was a British government position, first applied to Evan Nepean (appointed in 1794). In 1801 the offices for War and the Colonies were merged and the post became that of Under-Secretary of State for ...

(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 British government, serving under the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. The title changed to Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry o ...

from 1911 to 1914. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

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. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

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

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in 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 ...

. On 3 November 1916, whilst flying over

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

lines in the vicinity of

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Bapalmois'' or ''Bapalmoises''. Geography Bapaume is a far ...

, 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 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. He was a member of H. H. Asquith's cabi ...

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