Edward George William Tyrwhitt Knollys, 2nd Viscount Knollys,

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

, MBE, DFC (16 January 1895 – 3 December 1966) was a British peer, public servant, and businessman. He was

Governor of Bermuda The governor of Bermuda (officially Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Somers Isles (alias the Islands of Bermuda)) is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. For the purposes of this arti ...

from 1941 to 1943.

Early life

The eldest son of

Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys, (16 July 1837 – 15 August 1924) was a British courtier. He served as Private Secretary to the Sovereign from 1901 to 1913. Background and education Knollys was the son of Sir William Thomas Knollys ...

Private Secretary to the Sovereign The private secretary to the sovereign is the senior operational member of the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom (as distinct from the great officers of the Household, whose duties are largely ceremonial). The private secre ...

, and of Lady Knollys (formerly the Honourable Ardyn Mary Tyrwhitt, daughter of Sir Henry Tyrwhitt, 3rd Baronet and Harriet Tyrwhitt, 12th Baroness Berners). Knollys was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. He was a

page of honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

to King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

from 1904 to 1910 and to King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

from 1910 to 1911, carrying the King's train at the latter's coronation in 1911.

Career

He fought in the

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 ...

, gaining the rank of Captain in the

Queen's Westminsters The Queen's Westminsters were an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army, part of the British Army. Originally formed from Rifle Volunteer Corps, which were established after a French invasion scare of 1859. The unit became part of the newly ...

of the Territorial Army (part of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

). Upon the death of his father on 15 August 1924, he succeeded as the 2nd

Viscount Knollys Viscount Knollys (), of Caversham in the County of Oxford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for the court official Francis Knollys, 1st Baron Knollys, Private Secretary to the Sovereign from 1901 to 1913 ...

, of Caversham, and 2nd Baron Knollys, of Caversham. The Viscounts Knollys are members of the prominent

Knollys family The Knollys family, Knolles or Knowles (), is an English noble family descended from Sir Thomas Knollys (died 1435), Lord Mayor of London, possibly a kinsman of the celebrated general Sir Robert Knolles. The next distinguished member of the f ...

(pronounced "Nohlz") and are descended in the senior male line from

William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury (1544 – 25 May 1632) was an English nobleman at the court of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Biography He was the son of Sir Francis Knollys, of Greys Court in Oxfordshire, and of Reading, in Berk ...

.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, U.S.A.:

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 835. From 1941 to 1943, he served as the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda, after which he served as chairman of the

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II ...

between 1943 and 1947. He was a director of

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

and was chairman of

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

between 1956 and 1962, also serving as chairman of Employer's Liability Assurance Corporation in 1960.

Awards and honours

Lord Knollys was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

, the Distinguished Flying Cross, was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

and a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in 1941 and

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in 1952. He was awarded by the Netherlands with a Grand Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

by Royal Decree no. 34 of 13 January 1947 ("in recognition of services to Netherlands interests during the war").. For this he retained British permission to accept and wear on 19 January 1948.

Personal life

On 11 October 1928, he was married to Margaret Mary Josephine Coats, daughter of

Sir Stuart Coats, 2nd Baronet Sir Stuart Auchincloss Coats, 2nd Baronet (20 March 1868 – 15 July 1959) was a British politician and Member of Parliament for Wimbledon from 1916 to 1918 and then East Surrey from 1918 to 1922. Early life Stuart was born on 20 March 1868. H ...

and Jane Muir Greenlees. Her brother,

James Coats Lieutenant colonel Sir James Stuart Coats, 3rd Baronet MC (13 April 1894 – 26 October 1966) was a British skeleton racer who competed in the late 1940s. He finished seventh in the men's skeleton event at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. M ...

, married Lady Amy Gordon-Lennox (eldest daughter of

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 8th Duke of Richmond, 8th Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Gordon (30 December 1870 – 7 May 1935), known as Lord Settrington 1870–1903, and as Earl of March 1903–1928, was a British Peerage, peer and politician. B ...

). Together they were the parents of: * Hon. Ardyne Mary Knollys (b. 1929), who married Ronald James Owen, son of James Richard Owen, in 1958. * David Francis Dudley Knollys, 3rd Viscount Knollys (1931–2023), who married Hon. Sheelin Virginia Maxwell, daughter of Lt.-Col. Hon. Somerset Arthur Maxwell (heir apparent to Arthur Maxwell, 11th Baron Farnham) and Angela Susan Roberts, in 1959. Lord Knollys died at a nursing home in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 3 December 1966. He was succeeded in his titles by his only son,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knollys, 2nd Viscount Knollys, Edward 1895 births 1966 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Pages of Honour Governors of Bermuda People educated at Harrow School Alumni of New College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I