Lieutenant-Colonel William Legge, 7th Earl of Dartmouth (22 February 1881 – 28 February 1958), styled Viscount Lewisham between 1891 and 1936, was a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

and

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, who was Acting

Lord Great Chamberlain The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal but above the Lord High Constable of England, Lord High Constable. The office of Lo ...

1928–1936.

Background

Legge was the eldest son of the 6th Earl of Dartmouth, and his wife, Lady Mary (née Coke), daughter of the 2nd Earl of Leicester. He was educated at Eton and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He was commissioned as a Second lieutenant in the

Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a mounted auxiliary unit of the British Army raised in 1794 to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion. It continued in service after the Napoleonic Wars, frequently being called out ...

on 11 June 1902.

Political and military career

In 1907, he joined 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 ...

and entered Parliament in 1910 as Member of Parliament for

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

, a seat he held until 1918. While a lieutenant in the

Staffordshire Yeomanry The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a mounted auxiliary unit of the British Army raised in 1794 to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion. It continued in service after the Napoleonic Wars, frequently being called out ...

, he was appointed honorary colonel of the 7th Battalion,

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

, on 27 April 1910. On 23 April 1912, he was promoted to captain in the Staffordshire Yeomanry, and received a temporary promotion to major on 1 November 1914. He served with the Staffordshire Yeomanry in the

Sinai and Palestine Campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revol ...

in the

First World War 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 ...

, for which he was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

, and made an officer of the

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sulta ...

. On 13 December 1917, he was promoted acting lieutenant-colonel while commanding a Yeomanry regiment. He ceased command on 24 June 1918 and reverted to the rank of major. On 22 November 1922, he resigned his honorary colonelcy. Lewisham was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Staffordshire on 18 November 1920. He was

High Bailiff of Westminster A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

from 1930 to 1942 and was made a

GCVO The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

for his services on 1 January 1934. Legge inherited his father's titles in 1936.

Family

Viscount Lewisham, as he was then styled, married Lady Ruperta Wynn-Carington, third daughter of

Charles Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire Charles Robert Wynn-Carington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire (16 May 1843 – 13 June 1928), known as the Lord Carrington from 1868 to 1895, and as the Earl Carrington from 1895 to 1912, was a British Liberal politician and aristocrat. He was Gov ...

, on 7 December 1905. They had six children: *Lady Mary Cecilia Legge (1906–2003), married Noel Findlay. * Lady Elizabeth Legge (1908–2000), married Ronald Lambert Basset. *Lady Diana Legge (1910–1970), married (1) Hon. John Hamilton-Russell, son of 9th

Viscount Boyne Viscount Boyne, in the province of Leinster, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1717 for the Scottish military commander Gustavus Hamilton, 1st Viscount Boyne, Gustavus Hamilton, 1st Baron Hamilton of Stackallan. He had alr ...

(killed 1943); (2) Adrian Matthews. *William Legge, Viscount Lewisham (1913–1942), killed at the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. *Lady Barbara Legge (1916–2013), married Adam Kwiatkowski. *Lady Josceline Gabrielle Legge (1918–1995), married Hon. Dermot Chichester, who would later accede to the titles Baron Templemore and

Marquess of Donegall Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Si ...

. Following the death of his father-in-law in 1928, Lord Dartmouth acted as Deputy

until the death of

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 Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

in 1936. Lord Dartmouth died in February 1958, aged 77. As he had no surviving male issue, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Humphry Legge.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dartmouth, William Legge, 7th Earl of 1881 births 1958 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 7 Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Legge, William Legge, William Legge, William UK MPs who inherited peerages British Army personnel of World War I Staffordshire Yeomanry officers

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club Deputy lieutenants of Staffordshire