Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram
| The Right Honourable The Lord Wigram GCB, GCVO, CSI, PC | |
|---|---|
| Private Secretary to the Sovereign | |
|
In office 1931–1936 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Preceded by | The Lord Stamfordham |
| Succeeded by | Sir Alexander Hardinge |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 July 1873 |
| Died | 3 September 1960 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Nora Wigram (née Chamberlain) |
| Children | 2 (+ 1 deceased) |
| Alma mater | Royal Military Academy, Woolwich |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
British Army British Indian Army |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars |
Tirah Expedition Second Boer War |
Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram, GCB, GCVO, CSI, PC (5 July 1873 – 3 September 1960) was a British Army officer and court official. He was Private Secretary to the Sovereign from 1931 to 1936.
Background and education
Wigram was the son of Herbert Wigram. His grandfather, the Reverend William Pitt Wigram, was the ninth and youngest son of Sir Robert Wigram, 1st Baronet, a prominent merchant. He was educated at Winchester College (of which he later became a Fellow), and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
Military career
After passing out from the Royal Military Academy in 1893, Wigram was commissioned a second lieutenant on 4 October.[1] Wigram served in the Royal Artillery between 1893 and 1897 and in the British Indian Army from 1897. He was promoted to lieutenant on 22 September 1897 (with rank from 4 October 1896).[2] Wigram joined the 18th (King George's Own) Bengal Lancers, and served on the Tirah Expedition in the North West Frontier from 1897 to 1898. From 1899 to 1904 he was Aide-de-Camp to the Viceroy of India Lord Curzon, an office he had already filled in 1895 (under the Earl of Elgin) and also served in 1900 with Kitchener's Horse in the Second Boer War, where he was mentioned in despatches. He was promoted to captain on 4 October 1902.[3]
Court positions
Between 1905 and 1906 Wigram served as Assistant Chief of Staff to the Prince of Wales in India. On 19 March 1906, he was promoted to the brevet rank of major[4] and was appointed Equerry to the Prince of Wales, an office he held until the Prince became King in 1910. Promoted to the substantive rank of major on 4 October 1911,[5] while in India he played first-class cricket for the Europeans club. Wigram then served as Assistant Private Secretary and Equerry to the King from 1910 to 1931. He was promoted to the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel on 3 June 1915.[6] In 1915 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and later to brevet colonel. In 1919 he was promoted to colonel.
In 1931 Wigram was promoted to Private Secretary to the Sovereign and held office until he retired in 1936. He also served as Keeper of the Archives from 1931 to 1945, as an Extra Equerry from 1931 until his death, as a Permanent Lord in Waiting from 1936 to 1960 and was Keeper of the Privy Purse from 1935 to 1945 and Deputy Constable of Windsor Castle from 1936 to 1945. Apart from his careers in the Army and at court he was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and of the Zoological Society of London, President of Westminster Hospital and Governor of Wellington College and Haileybury. He was the first president of the Gloucestershire Boy Scouts[7]
Wigram was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath 1918,[8] a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1931[9] and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1933.[10] He also became a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1903,[11] a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1915,[12] a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order 1928[13] and a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 1932 and made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India in 1911.[14] He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1932 and in 1935 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wigram, of Clewer in the County of Berkshire.[15] He was further honoured in 1937 when he received the Royal Victorian Chain.[16]
Family
Lord Wigram married Nora Mary, daughter of Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain, in 1912. She died in 1956. Lord Wigram survived her by four years and died in September 1960, aged 87. They had three children:
- Anne Wigram (1913–1958); married with 3 sons
- (George) Neville Clive Wigram, 2nd Baron Wigram (b. 1915)
- Hon. Francis Clive Wigram (1920–1943 †); a Captain with the Grenadier Guards, killed during the Allied invasion of Salerno in Italy during the Second World War. Educated at Winchester College like his father and brother, his name is on the War Cloister located on the school grounds.[17]
Lord Wigram was succeeded in the barony by his surviving son Neville.
References
- ↑ London Gazette, 3 October 1893
- ↑ London Gazette, 15 February 1898
- ↑ London Gazette, 16 January 1903
- ↑ London Gazette, 20 March 1906
- ↑ London Gazette, 21 November 1911
- ↑ London Gazette, 3 June 1915
- ↑ www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30723. p. 6528. 3 June 1918.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 33722. p. 3626. 3 June 1931.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 33946. p. 3802. 3 June 1933.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 27539. p. 2140. 31 March 1903.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29024. p. 3. 1 January 1915.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 33343. p. 6. 2 January 1928.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28559. p. 9358. 12 December 1911.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 34175. p. 4160. 28 June 1935.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 34396. p. 3083. 11 May 1937.
- ↑ "WIGRAM, FRANCIS CLIVE". winchestercollegeatwar.com.
External links
| Court offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Lord Stamfordham |
Private Secretary to the Sovereign 1931–1936 |
Succeeded by Sir Alexander Hardinge |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Wigram 1935–1960 |
Succeeded by George Neville Clive Wigram |