Auberon Mark Yvo Henry Molyneux Herbert (1922–1974) was a British landowner and advocate of Eastern European causes after

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 opposin ...

. Herbert was the son of

Aubrey Herbert Colonel The Honourable Aubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert (3 April 1880 – 26 September 1923), of Pixton Park in Somerset and of Teversal, in Nottinghamshire, was a British soldier, diplomat, traveller, and intelligence officer associat ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP), who died the year after his birth, and brother-in-law of the famous novelist,

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 ...

. He was named after his great-uncle, the Voluntarist philosopher, and in a gesture of familial reconciliation, the Waughs named

their son ''Their Son'' (also known as ''Sensation im Wintergarten'') is a 1929 silent film directed by Gennaro Righelli. Synopsis The son of the Countess Mensdorf runs away when he can no longer stand her relationship with the Baron Von Mallock. The son ...

after him. Herbert attended

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition located in the village of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England. It opened in 1802 as a boys' school, it is situated in the groun ...

from 1934 to 1940 and

Balliol College 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 ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

from 1940 to 1942. After the Second World War broke out he made repeated attempts to serve, but was rejected by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, 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 ...

and the Dutch forces in Britain. He was finally accepted by the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

in Britain. He fought throughout the

Normandy Campaign Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

. In 1944, while he was on a personal mission from

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 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, he was arrested by Canadian military police in a bar in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, on suspicion of being a spy. His eccentric appearance and manner, and his proficiency at languages, had aroused their suspicion. He was badly beaten and received lasting facial scars. After the war Herbert was unsuccessful in his attempts to enter

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. He supported various Eastern European anti-Communist groups, helped to resettle Polish refugees and financed a textile mill to employ Polish exiles. His assistance extended to

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

and Belarusian groups. He was a founder and chairman of the

Anglo-Belarusian Society The Anglo-Belarusian Society () is one of the oldest Belarus-related organisations in the UK with an object of “diffusion, interchange and publication of knowledge relating to the Belarusian people, their land, history and culture”. History ...

and a parishioner of the Belarusian Eastern Rite Catholic Church in Finchley. He authored several reports on the Anglo-Belarusian Society activities between 1965 and 1971. A recently released CIA document names a "Mr. Herbert AUBERON of 11 Neville Terrace, London, SW 7" as one of two representatives of the British Conservative Party who met the Ukrainian nationalist leader Yaroslav Stetsko in early 1951. Herbert opposed Evelyn Waugh's marriage to his sister Laura Herbert, and Waugh never forgave him. An unflattering portrayal of a brother-in-law, "Boy" Mulcaster, featuring some of Herbert's characteristics appears in Waugh's novel ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

''. Despite high intelligence and a circle of distinguished friends (including

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

and

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romfo ...

), Herbert seemed unable to accomplish as much in his life as he hoped. Being the only son, he inherited the family's country home of

Pixton Park Pixton Park is a country house in the parish of Dulverton, Somerset, England. It is associated with at least three historically significant families, successively by descent: Acland, amongst the largest landowners in the Westcountry; Herbert, ...

, near

Dulverton Dulverton is a small town and civil parish in west Somerset, England, near the border with Devon. The town had a population of 1,408 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the hamlets of Battleton and Ashwick which is located approximately ...

in Somerset and the ''Villa Alta Chiara'' (an Italian rendering of "Highclere", the English seat of the Earls of Carnarvon) at

Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th century ...

in Italy, built by his grandfather the 4th Earl, which features in Waugh's ''

Sword of Honour The ''Sword of Honour'' is a trilogy of novels by Evelyn Waugh which loosely parallel Waugh's experiences during the Second World War. Published by Chapman & Hall from 1952 to 1961, the novels are: ''Men at Arms'' (1952); ''Officers and Gentl ...

'' trilogy. Herbert died a bachelor at the age of 52. His estate was

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

d at (GB)£895,722.

References

* John Jolliffe, ed., ''Auberon Herbert: A Composite Portrait'', Compton Russell, Tisbury, Wilts., 1976. * ''Evelyn Waugh, Volume I: The Early Years: 1903-1939'', Martin Stannard, Dent/Norton, London, 1986 * ''Evelyn Waugh, Volume II: No Abiding City 1939-1966'', Martin Stannard, Flamingo, London, 1992 * ''Evelyn Waugh, A Biography'', Christopher Sykes, Penguin, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 1977 *

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Auberon 1922 births 1974 deaths Auberon Herbert Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People from Dulverton People educated at Ampleforth College Place of birth missing Polish military personnel of World War II