Walter Leslie Runciman, 2nd Viscount Runciman of Doxford, (26 August 1900 – 1 September 1989), was a prominent member of the Runcimans, a well-known Newcastle ship-owning and political family.

Background

Runciman was the eldest son of the politician Walter Runciman (later 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford) and

Hilda Stevenson Dame Hilda Mabel Stevenson (, formerly Kidd; 1893–1987) was an Australian philanthropist and community worker. She was the daughter of Hugh Victor McKay, a combine harvester inventor. She was the trustee and founder of the Sunshine Foundatio ...

. He was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

and grew up at Doxford Hall. He was educated at

Summer Fields School Summer Fields is a fee-paying boys' independent day and boarding preparatory school in Summertown, Oxford. It was originally called Summerfield and used to have a subsidiary school, Summerfields, St Leonards-on-Sea (known as "Summers mi"). ...

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. In 1937 he was awarded the Air Force Cross. He was awarded the

OBE 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 ...

in 1946 for war service. On his father's death in 1949 he succeeded to the title

Viscount Runciman of Doxford Viscount Runciman of Doxford, of Doxford in the County of Northumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1937 for the Hon. Walter Runciman, a politician whose career included service as a Member of Parliament ...

(created in 1937). The distinguished historian the Hon. Sir

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...

was his younger brother.

Career

After graduating from Cambridge, Runciman joined the family shipping business, later becoming chairman of the company. He trained as a pilot and was Commanding Officer of No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron of the

Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rei ...

from 1930 to 1939. He also partnered with

Constance Leathart Constance Ruth Leathart (7 December 1903 – 4 November 1993) was a British female pilot who flew Royal Air Force aircraft on transit flights in World War Two in the Air Transport Auxiliary. Early life Constance Ruth Leathart was born on 7 D ...

in forming Cramlington Aircraft Ltd, which ran

Cramlington Aerodrome Cramlington Aerodrome was a military airfield established in Northumberland during the World War I, First World War. It became a civil airfield serving the Tyneside area of north-east England and operated until 1935, when it was replaced by Wools ...

as well as producing a

primary glider Primary glider aircraft, gliders are a category of aircraft that enjoyed worldwide popularity during the 1920s and 1930s as people strove for simple and inexpensive ways to learn to fly.Schweizer, Paul A: ''Wings Like Eagles, The Story of Soaring ...

in the early 1930s. From 1940 to 1943, he was the first Director-General 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 ...

(BOAC). From then until 1946, he was Air Attaché in Tehran. Post-war, Runciman served on many business and public organisations mainly related to shipping and air transport. He was a Trustee of the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

at Greenwich from 1955, acting as chairman from 1962 to 1972. A lifelong yachtsman, he was Commodore of the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

from 1968 to 1974 and of

Royal Northumberland Yacht Club {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2020 The Royal Northumberland Yacht Club is based in the Port of Blyth, Northumberland, England. History The club was formed at Alnmouth in 1890 when a group of owners sought permission from the Duke of Northumberla ...

from 1946 to 1976 when he was promoted Admiral for life.

Family

Runciman married novelist Rosamond Nina Lehmann in 1923. They were divorced in 1928 and he remarried Katherine Schuyler Garrison in 1932. Their only child, the Hon. Walter Garrison Runciman, later 3rd Viscount Runciman of Doxford, was born in 1934.

Honours

* 1937: Air Force Cross * 1946:

Officer 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 ...

* 1949:

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, 3rd baronet, of Doxford (''cr. 1906'')

Honorary military appointments

* 1939–1957:

Honorary Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British influ ...

, 607 (County of Durham) Squadron, RAuxAF

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Runciman Of Doxford, Leslie Runciman, 2nd Viscount

Leslie Runciman, 2nd Viscount Runciman of Doxford Walter Leslie Runciman, 2nd Viscount Runciman of Doxford, (26 August 1900 – 1 September 1989), was a prominent member of the Runcimans, a well-known Newcastle ship-owning and political family. Background Runciman was the eldest son of the p ...

1900 births 1989 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Summer Fields School