Edward William Macleay Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham, (8 September 1879 – 1 December 1955) was a British colonial administrator and politician.

Biography

Early years

Grigg was the son of Henry Bridewell Grigg, CIE, a member of the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

, sometime

Political Resident In the British Empire a Political Resident or Political Agent was the incumbent of an official diplomatic position involving both consular duties and liaison function. A Consul or Consul-General has largely consular functions, such as looking afte ...

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

, and Elizabeth Louisa, ''née'' Thomson, whose parents were Australian politician and administrator Sir

Edward Deas Thomson Sir Edward Deas Thomson (1 June 1800 – 16 July 1879) was a Scotsman who became an administrator and politician in Australia, and was chancellor of the University of Sydney. Background and early career Thomson was born at Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

and his wife Anna Maria, daughter of General Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837. Born in Madras, he was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

and New College, Oxford, where he won the

Gaisford Prize The Gaisford Prize is a prize in the University of Oxford, founded in 1855 in memory of Thomas Gaisford, Dr Thomas Gaisford (1779–1855). For most of its history, the prize was awarded for Ancient Greek, Classical Greek Verse and Prose. The priz ...

for Greek verse in 1902. Upon graduation, he embarked on a career in journalism. He joined ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' in 1903 as secretary to the editor,

George Earle Buckle George Earle Buckle (10 June 185413 March 1935) was an English editor and biographer. Early life Buckle was the son of George Buckle, canon of Wells Cathedral, and Mary Hamlyn Earle, the sister of the philologist John Earle. He attended Honito ...

, then moved to '' The Outlook'' in 1905, where he worked as assistant editor under

J. L. Garvin James Louis Garvin CH (12 April 1868 – 23 January 1947) was a British journalist, editor, and author. In 1908, Garvin agreed to take over the editorship of the Sunday newspaper ''The Observer'', revolutionising Sunday journalism and restori ...

. Grigg returned to ''The Times'' in 1906, where he was the head of the colonial department until he resigned in 1913 in order to become the co-editor of ''

The Round Table Journal ''The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs'' is an international relations journal established in 1910 relating to the Commonwealth of Nations. History The journal was established in 1910 as an off-shoot of the Round Tab ...

''.Kenneth Rose, "Grigg, Edward William Macleay, first Baron Altrincham" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison, eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), vol. 24, p. 1.

Military service

At the start of 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 ...

, Grigg enlisted in the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, and was commissioned as a special-reserve second lieutenant (on probation) on 13 March 1915. He was confirmed in his rank on 11 August, with a promotion to temporary lieutenant. He was subsequently promoted to lieutenant (effective 15 July 1915), and to temporary captain on 8 November. Serving in France, he distinguished himself in combat before his transfer to the staff as a GSO 3 on 4 February 1916, briefly relinquishing his temporary rank of captain with effect from 27 January, and resuming it from 15 April. He received the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

in 1917 and the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

the following year, and was a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

by the end of the war, becoming the only civilian (non-regular officer) to become GSO 1 of a division during the war. Grigg was created Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1919 and served as military secretary to Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) from 1919 until 1920, accompanying the prince on tours of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Australia, and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. For his services, Grigg was appointed Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in 1919 and Knight Commander of the

in 1920.

Entry into politics

Upon his return in 1920, Grigg became a private secretary to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

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 ...

. Grigg became devoted to Lloyd George, developing a deep respect for the "Welsh Wizard" that subsequently limited his political career. After Lloyd George's departure in 1922, Grigg passed up a number of appointments within the civil service to enter the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. He was elected to Parliament as a

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 ...

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 o ...

(MP) in 1922 from the constituency of

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

. During this period he also served as secretary to the

Rhodes Trust Rhodes House is a building part of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on South Parks Road in central Oxford, and was built in memory of Cecil Rhodes, an alumnus of the university and a major benefactor. It is listed Grade II* ...

, a position he held from 1923 until 1925. In 1923, Grigg married Joan Dickson-Poynder, daughter of his fellow politician

Lord Islington John Poynder Dickson-Poynder, 1st Baron Islington, (31 October 1866 – 6 December 1936), born John Poynder Dickson and known as Sir John Poynder Dickson-Poynder from 1884 to 1910, was a British politician. He was Governor of New Zealand between ...

. They had three children: * John Edward Poynder Grigg, 2nd Baron Altrincham (15 April 1924 – 31 December 2001), a journalist and author * Annabel Desirée Grigg, (b. 19 November 1931), * Anthony Ulrick David Dundas Grigg, 3rd Baron Altrincham (12 January 1934 — 1 August 2020).

Governor of Kenya

In 1925, Grigg resigned his seat to accept an appointment as

governor of Kenya This article contains a list of chairmen, administrators, commissioners and governors of British Kenya Colony. The office of Governor of Kenya was replaced by the office of Governor General in 1963 and then later replaced by a President of Kenya ...

. While frustrated in his assigned task to merge

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

with the bordering British colonies of

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

and

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

, he provided energetic administration to the colony, improving agriculture, education, and infrastructure during his governorship. Yet Grigg opposed consideration of the colony's development into a multi-racial state, believing that the native African population was ill-prepared for managing the government. During this period he was named

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

in 1928.Kenneth Rose, "Grigg, Edward William Macleay, first Baron Altrincham" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison, eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), vol. 24, p. 2. Grigg declared

female circumcision Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

to be illegal in the colony, and he used the armed forces of the colony to enforce the ban. Men who were caught circumcising women were arrested by British authorities. This led to some backlash amongst Kenya's indigenous African majority.

Resuming politics

Grigg returned to Britain in 1930. Though offered his choice of Indian governorships, his poor health, along with that of his wife, forestalled accepting an appointment. Instead, Grigg decided to reenter politics. Though initially nominated as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidate for the

Leeds Central Leeds Central is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency recreated in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 1999 b ...

constituency in the 1931 general election, Grigg loyally stood aside for the National Labour candidate,

Richard Denman Sir Richard Douglas Denman, 1st Baronet (24 August 1876 – 22 December 1957), was a radical British Liberal Party politician and Labour Party then National Labour MP. Background Denman was the son of Richard Denman, a court clerk and Helen M ...

. Two years later, he returned to Parliament in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for the constituency of

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...

. He would serve as MP for Altrincham until the constituency was abolished in 1945. Grigg's return to politics coincided with the rise to power of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

German chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

. Grigg feared the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

movement and in two books he pressed the case for a strong defence against the threat it posed. Yet Grigg never openly challenged the policy of appeasement advanced by the governments of Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain, keeping his criticisms private. When war did break out, Grigg joined the government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information. In April 1940 he became first the financial secretary, then joint parliamentary

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 fo ...

, a post he held until March 1942. He declined

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 during the Second World War, and again from ...

's invitation to become

First Commissioner of Works The First Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings was a position within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and subsequent to 1922, within the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ir ...

, as it was dependent upon acceptance of a peerage, and did not return to government until 21 November 1944 when he was selected as

Minister-Resident for the Middle East The Minister-Resident for the Middle East was a British Government cabinet position for most of the duration of World War II. The position was created in 1941 and the holder was made a member of the war cabinet. The minister served as the overall e ...

as successor to

Lord Moyne Walter Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne, DSO & Bar, PC (29 March 1880 – 6 November 1944), was an Anglo-Irish politician and businessman. He served as the British minister of state in the Middle East until November 1944, when he was assass ...

who was assassinated two weeks earlier. Grigg was also appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

in 1944.

Final years

In the aftermath of the Conservative caretaker government's defeat in the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

, Grigg was raised to the peerage as Baron Altrincham, of Tormarton in the

County of Gloucester Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Glouce ...

, ending his political career. Three years later, he assumed the editorship of the ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'', a post he held until failing health forced his retirement in 1954. Grigg died a year later in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

aged 76. His son,

John Grigg John Edward Poynder Grigg (15 April 1924 – 31 December 2001) was a British writer, historian and politician. He was the 2nd Baron Altrincham from 1955 until he disclaimed that title under the Peerage Act on the day it received Royal Assen ...

, who became the second Baron Altrincham upon his father's death, disclaimed the peerage in 1963 under the terms of the Peerage Act of that year.

Works

*''The Greatest Experiment in World History'' (1924) *''Unity'' (1935) *''The Faith of an Englishman'' (1936) *''Britain Looks at Germany'' (1938) *''The British Commonwealth: Its Place in the Service of the World'' (1944) *''Kenya's Opportunity: Memories, Hopes and Ideas'' (1955)

Arms

References

ThePeerage.com: Sir Edward William MacLeay Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham
* * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grigg, Edward Altrincham, Edward Grigg, 1st Baron Altrincham, Edward Grigg, 1st Baron Alumni of New College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British Kenya people Colonial governors and administrators of Kenya Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Grenadier Guards officers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians People educated at Summer Fields School People educated at Winchester College People from Chipping Sodbury People from Tormarton Politicians from Chennai Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Principal Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Recipients of the Military Cross The Times people UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs who were granted peerages War Office personnel in World War II 1 Barons created by George VI Military personnel of British India