William Robert Wellesley Peel, 1st Earl Peel (7 January 1867 – 28 September 1937), styled 2nd Viscount Peel from 1912 to 1929, was a British

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who was a local councillor, a Member of Parliament and a member of 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 ...

. After an early career as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, he entered first local and then national politics. He rose to hold a number of ministerial positions but is probably best remembered for chairing the Peel Commission in 1936–1937, which recommended for the first time the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. The grandson of a Conservative prime minister, he was unusual even for his period in the number of political parties for which he was elected. He began as a member of the Moderate Party on 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 later became the leader of the renamed Municipal Reform Party; he was then elected as an MP for the

Liberal Unionists The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

and then for the Conservative Party before he inherited his seat in the Lords in 1912. He also served as a minister in governments led by Liberal, Conservative and Labour prime ministers. His ministerial career began as Under-Secretary of State for War in 1919, and he entered the cabinet in 1922 as

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India secretary or the Indian secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of ...

and held a number of other ministerial positions.

Early life and career

The eldest son of

Arthur Peel, 1st Viscount Peel Arthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel, (3 August 182924 October 1912), was a British Liberal politician, who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1895. He was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1884 until 1895, when he was raised to ...

, and Adelaide Dugdale, William Peel was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1867. His father was the fifth and youngest son of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. Peel was educated at Harrow and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

,''Lord Peel, Family Tradition Of Statesmanship'', The Times, 30 September 1937, p. 14 where he was secretary of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...

. In 1893, he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

and practised as a

before taking the position of special correspondent for the ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' during the

Greco-Turkish War of 1897 The Greco-Turkish War of 1897 or the Ottoman-Greek War of 1897 ( or ), also called the Thirty Days' War and known in Greece as the Black '97 (, ''Mauro '97'') or the Unfortunate War (), was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and the O ...

Political career

In 1900, Peel was appointed a member of the

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

that was formed to inquire into the operation of the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Se ...

. In February the same year, he began his political career when he was elected in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to fill a vacant seat for

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

in the

to which he was re-elected in the ordinary election the following year. He was a member of the Moderate pro-Conservative grouping on the council that became the Municipal Reform Party. He was leader of the party from 1908 to 1910 and chairman of the county council from 1914 to 1916. Lord Peel arrives

He began his parliamentary career when he was elected as

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

MP for

Manchester South Manchester South was one of six Parliamentary constituency, parliamentary constituencies created in 1885 by the division of the Manchester (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary Borough of Manchester, England. It returned one Member of P ...

at the 1900 Manchester South by-election. At the next general election in 1906, he stood unsuccessfully at Harrow. He returned to the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

in 1909, when he was elected as

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 ...

MP for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

at a by-election. He inherited his father's viscountcy in 1912 and so moved to the

. Peel was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

and lieutenant-colonel of the Bedfordshire Yeomanry in 1912 and, at the outbreak of 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 ...

moved to France with his regiment, but ill health made him return to Britain in 1915. In 1918, he received his first government post as Joint Parliamentary Secretary at the Department of National Service in the coalition government of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

. In 1919, Peel became Under-Secretary of State for War and a member of the Privy Council. Two years later, he became

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

and Minister for Transport. He entered the cabinet in 1922 as

, and, after the downfall of Lloyd George's coalition, continued to hold the post during the premierships of Andrew Bonar Law and

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 latter's government fell in January 1924, but after a brief spell in opposition, it was returned to power at the 1924 general election. Peel was appointed First Commissioner of Works in the Conservative administration formed by Baldwin. In 1928, Peel briefly returned to the India Office, but the Conservatives lost power by the 1929 general election. In 1929, Peel was created Viscount Clanfield, of Clanfield in the County of Southampton, and Earl Peel in that year's Dissolution Honours. When a Conservative-dominated National Government was formed after the 1931 election, he became

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

but held that office for only two months and left government in November. In 1932, he was appointed chairman of the Wheat Commission, and in 1934, he chaired the Royal Commission on the

Common Law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

. In 1936–1937, he chaired the Peel Commission, which recommended for the first time the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.

Family

Peel married in 1899 the Honourable Eleanor Williamson (1871–1949), daughter of

James Williamson, 1st Baron Ashton James Williamson, 1st Baron Ashton, (31 December 1842 – 27 May 1930) was a British businessman, philanthropist and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. His family's business in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster produced oilcloth a ...

. They had two children: *Lady Doris Peel (1900–1983), who married in 1927 Colonel Stewart Blacker (1887–1964), and had four children. She was a Justice of the Peace for the County of London in 1939, and for Sussex in 1948. *

Arthur Peel, 2nd Earl Peel Arthur William Ashton Peel, 2nd Earl Peel (29 May 1901 – 22 September 1969), styled Viscount Clanfield from 1929 to 1937, was a British peer. Peel was the son of William Peel, 1st Earl Peel, by the Honourable Eleanor "Ella" Williamson, daugh ...

(1901–1969) In 1929, Ashton died, and Peel succeeded him as chairman of James Williamson and Company. He was a director of

Barclays Bank Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

and of the Great Northern Railway.

Death

Lord Peel died at 70 in his home in

East Meon East Meon is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is west of Petersfield. The village is located in the Meon Valley approximately north of Portsmouth and southwest o ...

, near

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, in 1937 after a long illness. He was succeeded in his titles by his son,

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peel, William Robert Wellesley Peel, William Wellesley, 1st Earl Peel, William Wellesley, 1st Earl People educated at Harrow School Military personnel from London British Army personnel of World War I Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Peel, William Peel, 1st Earl Peel, William Wellesley, 1st Earl Peel, William Wellesley, 1st Earl Peel, William Wellesley, 1st Earl Peel, William Wellesley, 1st Earl Wellesley, William Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs who were granted peerages UK MPs who inherited peerages Deputy lieutenants of Bedfordshire

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 ...

People of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Bedfordshire Yeomanry officers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Taunton Secretaries of state for transport (UK) People from East Meon Peers created by George V Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Viscounts Peel