James Purdon Lewes Thomas, 1st Viscount Cilcennin,

KStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

PC (pronounced "Kilkennin"; 13 October 1903 – 13 July 1960), sometimes known as Jim Thomas, was a British

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 ...

politician. He served 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 ...

between 1951 and 1956.

Background and education

James Purdon Lewes Thomas was the son of John Lewes Thomas, JP, of Cae-glas,

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and Community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated where the River Towy is crossed by the A483 road, A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

, and Anne Louisa, daughter of Commander George Purdon RN of Tinerana House,

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

and Anne Caulfield. He was educated at Rugby and

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

, where he was awarded an ''aegrotat'' degree in French in 1926 (indicating that he was unable to sit the final examinations due to ill-health).

Political career

Thomas was private secretary to

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

, the leader of the Conservative Party, between 1929 and 1931. In the 1929 general election he stood for election as Member of Parliament for

Llanelly Llanelly () is a village, Community (Wales), community, and parish in the county of Monmouthshire, South East Wales. It formerly existed in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The population of the community and ward at the 2011 United Kin ...

(now Llanelli), but was unsuccessful. In the 1931 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament for

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

, which he held until 1955. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Dominions Secretary,

James Henry Thomas James Henry Thomas (3 October 1874 – 21 January 1949) was a Welsh trade unionist and politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks. Early career and trade union activities Thomas was born in Newport, Monmouth ...

, between 1932 and 1935, to the Colonial Secretary, Thomas and from 1936 William Ormsby-Gore, between 1935 and 1937, and to the Foreign Secretary,

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

, between 1937 and Eden's resignation in 1938. Thomas volunteered for military service at the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939, but was rejected due to a permanent knee injury. From 1940 to 1943 he was a

government whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

. In 1943 Churchill appointed Thomas Financial Secretary to the Admiralty, which he remained until 1945. After the 1945 general election Thomas was the opposition spokesman on naval affairs and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, where he was responsible for recommending parliamentary candidates. When Churchill returned as Prime Minister following the 1951 general election, Thomas was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. He left the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

in 1955 and was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

as Viscount Cilcennin, of Hereford in the County of Hereford, in early 1956 (the title was pronounced "Kilkennin"). He continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until September 1956, when he resigned. After resigning as First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Cilcennin accompanied the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

on a world tour in 1956 and 1957, during which the duke opened the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

in Melbourne. In 1957 he was appointed

Lord-Lieutenant of Herefordshire A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

, a post he held until his death three years later. In 1958 he was appointed a knight of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was founded in the Crusader states, crusader K ...

(KStJ). In retirement, he served on the boards of several companies and as chairman of Television Wales and the West (TWW), the commercial television contractor for South Wales and the West of England.

Personal life

Lord Cilcennin never married. He died in July 1960, aged 56, when the title became extinct. He suffered from

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

of the hip in later life. Three months after his death his book ''Admiralty House, Whitehall'' was published, about Admiralty House which had been his official residence as First Lord of the Admiralty. According to

Chris Bryant Sir Christopher John Bryant (born 11 January 1962) is a British politician and former Anglican priest who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Rhondda and Ogmore (UK Parliament constituency), Rhondda ...

he was gay and was a member of the Glamour Boys.

Arms

References

External links

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives: THOMAS, James Purdon Lewes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, James Purdon Lewes 1903 births 1960 deaths Admiralty personnel of World War II Cilcennin, James Purdon Lewes, 1st Viscount Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies First Lords of the Admiralty Cilcennin, James Purdon Lewes, 1st Viscount Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Cilcennin, James Purdon Lewes, 1st Viscount UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs who were granted peerages Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Viscounts created by Elizabeth II Lords of the Admiralty LGBTQ members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom LGBTQ peers English LGBTQ politicians