William Spencer Leveson-Gower, 4th Earl Granville (11 July 1880 – 25 June 1953), styled The Honourable William Leveson-Gower until 1939, was a British naval commander and governor from the

Leveson-Gower family Leveson-Gower ( ), also Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, is the name of a historically prominent British noble family. Over time, several members of the Leveson-Gower family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the family incl ...

Background

Leveson-Gower was the younger son of

Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (11 May 1815 – 31 March 1891), styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family. He is best remembered for his service as Secret ...

, by his second wife Castilia Rosalind Campbell (daughter of Walter Frederick Campbell).

Career

After

Wixenford School Wixenford School, also known as Wixenford Preparatory School and Wixenford-Eversley, was a private preparatory school for boys near Wokingham, founded in 1869. A feeder school for Eton, after it closed in 1934 its former buildings were taken ...

, William Leveson-Gower joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1894. He was promoted to Sub Lieutenant in 1900, and

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 26 June 1902, when he was re-appointed to the

torpedo cruiser A torpedo cruiser is a type of warship that is armed primarily with torpedoes. The major navies began building torpedo cruisers shortly after the invention of the locomotive Whitehead torpedo in the 1860s. The development of the torpedo gave ri ...

HMS ''Scout''. In August 1902 he was posted to HMS ''Hood'', serving with the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

. Promotion to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

followed in 1913. Leveson-Gower served 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 ...

and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

in 1919. Leveson-Gower was appointed

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

to the

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. Nore, The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of t ...

in 1924, aide-de-camp to the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

in 1929 and Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Scotland in 1931. He was made a

Companion of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

in 1930 and retired in 1935. Leveson-Gower became

Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man The lieutenant governor of the Isle of Man ( or ''lhiass-chiannoort vannin'') is the Lord of Mann's official personal representative in the Isle of Man. He has the power to grant royal assent and is styled "His Excellency". No Manx-born perso ...

in 1937. He set up the War Consultative Committee in November 1939 to act as a 'war cabinet' during

World War II 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 ...

. The committee consisted of members of the

House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in Lat ...

and 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 ...

of the Isle of Man. In 1939 Leveson-Gower succeeded his elder brother in the earldom. Granville was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order 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 ...

(KCVO) in 1945 and became

Governor of Northern Ireland The governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973. Overview The office of Governor of Northern I ...

in 1945, serving until 1952. He was made a Knight Companion of the Garter that same year.

Family

In 1916, Lord Granville married Lady Rose Bowes-Lyon, the second surviving daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and elder sister of

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

. They had two children, five grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren: *Lady Mary Cecilia Leveson-Gower (12 December 1917 – 13 February 2014), who married Sir Samuel Clayton (8 January 1918 – February 2004) on 7 July 1956. They had two children and one grandson: **Gilbert Falkingham Clayton (4 September 1958), who married Rosalind Mullen in 1994. They have one son: ***Samuel Wittewronge Kit Clayton (February 2002) ** Rose Cecilia Clayton (25 January 1960), who married William Wordie Stancer on 9 July 1993. They have one son: ***Jamie Wordie "Jock" Stancer (4 June 2001) * Granville James Leveson-Gower, 5th Earl Granville (6 December 1918 – 31 October 1996), who married Doon Aileen Plunket (1931–2003) on 9 October 1958. They had three children and nine grandchildren: ** Granville George Fergus Leveson-Gower, 6th Earl Granville (10 September 1959), who married Anne Topping on 23 May 1997. They have three children: ***Lady Rose Alice Leveson-Gower (16 April 1998) ***George James Leveson-Gower, Lord Leveson (22 July 1999) ***Lady Violet May Leveson-Gower (5 August 2002) **Lady Marcia Rose Aileen Leveson-Gower (10 February 1961 – 3 August 2005), who married Jonathan Charles Bulmer in 1986. They had four children: ***Hesper Rose Constance Bulmer (1990) ***James Alexander Howard Bulmer (1992) ***Hector Charles Marcus Bulmer (1993) ***Lara Bulmer (29 August 1995) **The Hon. Niall James Leveson-Gower (24 August 1963), who married Amanda Blaxell in 1996. They have one set of twins: ***Charlie Leveson-Gower (14 February 2000) ***Honor Leveson-Gower (14 February 2000) Lord Granville died in June 1953, aged 72. He was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...

. The Countess Granville died in 1967.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granville, William Leveson-Gower, 4th Earl 1880 births 1953 deaths Earls Granville Knights of the Garter Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Navy vice admirals William Leveson-Gower, 4th Earl Granville Royal Navy officers of World War I Lieutenant governors of the Isle of Man People educated at Wixenford School 19th-century Royal Navy personnel