Richard William Alan Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow (23 August 1876 – 9 June 1945), styled Viscount Cranley until 1911, was a British peer, diplomat, parliamentary secretary and government minister.

Background and education

Viscount Cranley was the eldest son of

William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow, (7 March 1853 – 23 October 1911), was a British Conservative politician. He held several governmental positions between 1880 and 1905 and was also Governor of New Zealand between 1889 and 1892. B ...

, and Florence Coulston Gardner. He was educated at Eton 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 ...

before joining the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1901.

Diplomatic career

He became an

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

a year later,

Third Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

in 1903 and to

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1904 and

Second Secretary Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1907. In 1909, he became assistant private secretary to

Sir Edward Grey Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the Fir ...

, the

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to: * Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain) *Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK) The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...

. He then held a number of positions in the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

as a clerk in 1910, private secretary to the

Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was a junior position in the British government, subordinate to both the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and since 1945 also to ...

from 1911 to 1913 and assistant clerk from 1913 to 1914.

Military career

Onslow joined the army on the outbreak of

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 ...

in 1914, being commissioned as a second lieutenant on 15 June 1915. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

three times, received an

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 ...

and the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. In later years he was honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd Battalion

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...

and honorary colonel of the

30th (Surrey) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery 30th (Surrey) Searchlight Regiment was an air defence unit of Britain's Territorial Army from 1924 until 1961. During World War II it served in The Blitz and later in the Tunisian and Italian Campaigns, while detachments from the regiment serve ...

Political career

Onslow had succeeded to his father's title and seat 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 ...

in 1911. After the war, he was a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

from 1919 to 1920, a Civil Lord of the Admiralty from 1920 to 1921,

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries was a junior ministerial office in the British government, serving under the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. The title changed to Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry o ...

in 1921,

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health was a junior ministerial office in the United Kingdom Government. The Ministry of Health was created in 1919 as a reconstruction of the Local Government Board. Local government functions were ev ...

from 1921 to 1923, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education from 1923 to 1924,

Under-Secretary of State for War Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

and vice-president of the Army Council from 1924 to 1928, and chairman of the Committees and Deputy Speaker of the

from 1931 to 1944. Onslow was also president of the Royal Statistical Society from 1905 to 1906 and president of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

from 1936 to 1942. Onslow was the donor of 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land at the top of Stag Hill, Guildford in 1933 on which

Guildford Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is the Anglican cathedral in Guildford, Surrey, England. Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow, Earl Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral ...

was built.

Writings

Onslow devoted much of his retirement to writing, producing ''The Empress Maud'' (1939); ''Sixty-three Years: Diplomacy, the Great War and Politics, with Notes on Travel, Sport and Other Things'' (1939), which went through several editions; and ''The Dukes of Normandy and Their Origin'' (1945), which was completed in the year of his death and published posthumously.

Family

Lord Onslow married Violet Marcia Catherine Warwick Bampfylde, the only daughter of Coplestone Bampfylde, 3rd Baron Poltimore, on 22 February 1906. They had two children: * Lady Mary Florence Violet Margaret Onslow * William Arthur Bampfylde Onslow, 6th Earl of Onslow (born 11 June 1913, died 3 June 1971) Lord Onslow died on 9 June 1945, aged 68, and was succeeded in the peerage by his only son. As Dowager Countess of Onslow, Violet gave the future

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

a diamond and ruby butterfly brooch as a wedding gift in 1947. She died on 23 October 1954.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Onslow, Richard Onslow, 5th Earl 1876 births 1945 deaths Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John British Army personnel of World War I Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Deputy lieutenants of Surrey 5 Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Presidents of the Royal Statistical Society Presidents of the Zoological Society of London United Kingdom Paymasters General People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Lords of the Admiralty