Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford (12 August 1868 – 1 April 1933), styled the Lord Chelmsford until 1921, was a British statesman. He served as

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

from 1905 to 1909,

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

from 1909 to 1913, and

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

from 1916 to 1921, where he was responsible for the creation of the

Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms or more concisely the Mont–Ford Reforms, were introduced by the colonial government to introduce self-governing institutions gradually in British India. The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, the Sec ...

. After serving a short time as

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

in the government of

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

, he was appointed the Agent-General for New South Wales by the government of Jack Lang before his retirement.

Early life

Thesiger was born on 12 August 1868 in London, England, the son of the Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford and Adria Heath. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, graduating from the latter as Bachelor of Arts with first-class honours in law in 1891. Thesiger was elected as a fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

(1892–1899). In 1893 he was called to the Bar of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

to practise law. He joined the army volunteer force as an officer in the 1st volunteer battalion in the Dorsetshire Regiment, and was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 13 September 1902. A keen cricketer, he captained the

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

XI and also played for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. He was member of the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

between 1904 and 1905 and again as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

from 1913 and 1919.

Governor of Queensland

On 9 April 1905, he succeeded as 3rd Baron Chelmsford upon his father's death and in July 1905 accepted his appointment as the

in Australia. He arrived in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and was sworn in on 20 November. On 26 June 1906, Chelmsford was invested as a Knight Commander of Order of St Michael and St George. His term was dominated by conflict between the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and the Legislative Assembly and the emergence of three evenly divided parties in the lower house. Following the 1907 election, William Kidston, who had founded his own party, became

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

with Labor support. The legislative council, then being an appointed chamber, then refused Kidston's legislative programs on electoral reforms and wage-fixing. Kidston then made a request to Chelmsford to appoint enough members to the Council in order to get his legislation through. Chelmsford refused, on the grounds that he did not have a sufficient mandate from the people to make such demands. Kidston resigned in protest and Chelmsford commissioned the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

, Robert Philp, who formed a ministry, which was promptly defeated in the assembly. Chelmsford then granted Philp a dissolution, though the parliament was only six months old. Because Supply was denied by Kidston, Chelmsford stepped in and used the reserve powers to ensure that supply was passed until the election. Kidston was returned to office in the 1908 election. The new assembly passed a motion criticising Chelmsford's action and there was widespread speculation that he would be recalled. However, nothing came of this. Despite the admission that their representative had been mistaken in granting a dissolution, the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

and the British government remained in his favour. Chelmsford's term expired just after Kidston resigned from the Labor Government and formed a coalition with Philp's Conservatives.

Governor of New South Wales

In May 1909 Chelmsford accepted the appointment as

and was sworn in at Government House on 28 May 1909. Unlike in Queensland, his term was comparatively stable and was distinguished by good relations with the state government. At the start of his term, Charles Wade, of the Liberal Reform Party, was the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

. However, following the 1910 election, Wade's Liberals were defeated and the Labor Party under James McGowen was sworn in as the state's first Labor Government. Despite his conservative background, Chelmsford was able to get along well with the Labor Government. Chelmsford became friends with the Attorney General, William Holman, with whom they shared a love of music and as a competent Viola player, Chelmsford encouraged chamber concerts at Government House. He said of the government: "I have never had a body of Ministers with whom it has been a greater pleasure to work. They are quiet, unassuming and industrious, and have won the goodwill and loyalty of their departments." From 21 December 1909 to 27 January 1910 Chelmsford acted as Administrator of the Commonwealth when the Governor-General of Australia, The Earl of Dudley was on leave. From April to November 1911, Chelmsford was back in England on overseas leave, thereby avoiding a major political crisis in New South Wales. In July 1911, two Labor Members of the Legislative Assembly resigned in protest over land reforms, thereby leaving McGowen's government in a minority in the assembly. Holman, who had stepped in as acting-Premier following McGowen also taking leave (Both Chelmsford and McGowen were attending the coronation of

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 his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

), asked the Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales, Sir William Cullen, to prorogue the Parliament until the by-elections were held. Cullen declined on the basis that there was no need for him to act as the Government still had the confidence of the House and that the Governor had no discretion in the matter. Holman rejected this and, when Parliament resumed, resigned along with his Ministry and the Speaker. Holman further refused to advise Cullen to ask the

, Wade, to form a Government. Cullen did so nonetheless. Wade was wary, aware that if he accepted he too would be in a minority. Wade told Cullen that he would only accept if he was granted a dissolution. Cullen did not accept that condition and Wade refused to accept the commission. Cullen then had no choice but to recommission Holman and grant him a dissolution. Holman held onto Government tenuously as one seat was lost the by-elections. He therefore asked a member of the Opposition Liberals, Henry Willis, to take the Chair as Speaker. Governor and Lady Chelmsford

Despite the crisis having been averted, Chelmsford returned to face increasing problems over the balance of power in the appointed

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

. The council had only five Labor members in a total of 73 and as a result, 70% of house divisions were lost by the government in its first three years in office, despite a recognised need for cooperation. Chelmsford therefore approved 11 appointments in 1912, leaving Labor with only 13 members out of 59. McGowen was under pressure to ask for more appointments to move for the abolition of the council, but he had no such intention of doing so. In October 1912, Chelmsford announced his intention not to seek a further term as governor, which the Colonial Office reluctantly accepted, describing him as "careful, hardworking and popular". A Freemason, in 1910 he was elected the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of NSW and held the position until 1913. In 1909 Freemason Lodge Chelmsford 261 was established in New South Wales in his honour. In 1912 he was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, becoming Chancellor of the Order from 1914 to 1916. His term expired and Chelmsford returned to England in March 1913.

Viceroy of India

Upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 he rejoined his regiment and was posted to India. On 29 February 1916 he was appointed to the Privy Council (PC). Rising quickly, he was appointed Viceroy in March 1916, succeeding Lord Hardinge. As Viceroy he was invested as Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire and a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India in 1916 and was also Grand Master of the orders. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire on 4 December 1917. His time as Viceroy was marked by consistent calls for self-government from educated Indians, a demand which Chelmsford broadly agreed with. He convinced a preoccupied Foreign Office to send the

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...

, Edwin Samuel Montagu, to discuss the potential for reform. Together, they oversaw the implementation of the

, which gave greater authority to local Indian representative bodies. Trying to tread a fine line between reform and maintaining the British hold over India, Chelmsford passed repressive anti-terrorism laws to widespread opposition from Indian reformists. The laws sparked unrest in the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, culminating in the implementation of martial law in the region and the Amritsar Massacre by General Reginald Dyer on 13 April 1919. Initially supportive of Dyer and slow to respond to the massacre, following a ruling condemning Dyer's actions, Chelmsford eventually disciplined Dyer. This was however, seen by Indian Nationalists as too little, too late and the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

boycotted the first regional elections in 1920. In addition to this, the

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...

broke out and

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

started his first campaign. On his return to Britain on 15 June 1921, he was elevated to Viscount as 1st Viscount Chelmsford of Chelmsford, County of Essex. He was often styled as Lord Chelmsford.

Later life and legacy

In 1924, despite being a lifelong

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

, Chelmsford was persuaded to join the Labour government of

in 1924 as

, due to the fact that Labour had so few peers 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 ...

. He never joined the party and only agreed on the condition that the Navy's size be maintained and that he not be expected to attend any cabinet meetings of a political nature. He was duly sworn in by

on 23 January 1924 at Buckingham Palace. He was appointed as a Commissioner exercising the office of Lord High Admiral three times on 1 April, 15 August and 9 October 1924. Chelmsford was chairman of the Miners' Welfare Committee under the Mining Industry Act of 1920 and of the royal commission on mining subsidence in 1923–24. After the fall of the government in November 1924, he retired from political life. In 1926 Chelmsford was appointed as Agent-General for New South Wales in London. The reasoning for this was that during state Attorney-General Edward McTiernan's visit to London to put the Government's case over its disputes with Governor Dudley de Chair's opposition over the abolition of the Legislative Council the Government needed an influential representative in London and Labor Premier, Jack Lang, explained that "it was absolutely necessary that the State should be represented by a gentleman who would be in close touch with the London financial market". He served until 1928. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Law by

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in 1927, an honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law by Magdalen College, Oxford University in 1929 and as a Knight of Justice of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. As a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of All Souls, Chelmsford became

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

of the College in 1932. He was a long-standing

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Queensland and the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Family

Lord Chelmsford married Frances Charlotte Guest (22 March 1869 – 24 September 1957), daughter of Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, and Lady Cornelia Henrietta Maria Spencer-Churchill, on 27 July 1894 at St. George's Church, Hanover Square. They had six children: * Hon. Joan Frances Vere Thesiger (1 August 1895 – 15 May 1971), married Sir Alan Lascelles in 1920. * Lt. Hon. Frederic Ivor Thesiger (17 October 1896 – 1 May 1917) of the 87th Brigade

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

, * Hon. Anne Molyneux Thesiger (17 December 1898 – 10 August 1973), married Donough O'Brien, 16th Baron Inchiquin in 1921. * Hon. Bridget Mary Thesiger (7 August 1900 – 18 June 1983) * Andrew Charles Gerald Thesiger, 2nd Viscount Chelmsford (25 July 1903 – 27 September 1970) * Hon. Margaret St. Clair Sidney Thesiger (7 May 1911 – 1 July 1991) Lady Chelmsford was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 1917 and was also invested with the

Imperial Order of the Crown of India The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria when she became Empress of India in 1878. The Order was open only to women, and no appointments have been made since ...

. Lord Chelmsford died of coronary vascular disease on 1 April 1933, aged 64. He was succeeded by his younger son (his eldest son having been killed in action in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

in 1917) and survived by his four daughters. On his death the ''

Brisbane Courier ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

'' noted that ''"the whole Empire suffers the loss of a man who, above all things, desired to be a true servant of the people."'' He was the first cousin of the actor Ernest Thesiger. He was the uncle of the explorer

Wilfred Thesiger Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (3 June 1910 – 24 August 2003), also known as Mubarak bin Landan (, ''the blessed one of London'') was a British military officer, explorer, and writer. Thesiger's travel books include '' Arabian Sands'' (1959), ...

(1910–2003). In the 1982 film ''

'', the role of Chelmsford was played by Sir John Mills. In their honour, the New South Wales government launched a new ferry, to be known as the ''Lady Chelmsford'' in 1910 as a Sydney Harbour Ferry. The ''Lady Chelmsford'' continued working the harbour until 1971 when she was sold. In Melbourne she operated as a cruising restaurant before being taken out of service and sold in 2005. Again becoming a restaurant, she sank at her moorings in February 2008 and after a protracted battle over insurance, the ship was deemed unsalvageable and broken up underwater in mid-2011.

Honours and arms

Honours

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chelmsford, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Viceroys of India 1910s in British India 1920s in British India Governors of Queensland Governors of New South Wales 1868 births 1933 deaths Cricketers from London People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Middlesex cricketers Oxford University cricketers Members of London County Council Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Wardens of All Souls College, Oxford Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights of Justice of the Order of St John First Lords of the Admiralty 3 Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Agents-General for New South Wales Members of the London School Board Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Gentlemen of England cricketers Australian Freemasons Masonic grand masters Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom English cricketers Frederic Viscounts created by George V Dorset Regiment officers 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from London Volunteer Force officers