Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquis Willingdon ( Eng. Freeman Freeman-Thomas ; September 12, 1866 , Willingdon, Sussex - August 12, 1941 , London ) - British statesman. Member of the House of Commons from the Liberal Party (1900-1910), Governor of Bombay in 1913-1918 and Madras in 1919-1924, Governor General of Canada from 1926 to 1931 and Viceroy of India from 1931 to 1936.
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| Monarch | George V Edward VIII | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Edward wood | ||||||||
| Successor | Victor Hope | ||||||||
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| Monarch | George V | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Julian Bing | ||||||||
| Successor | Vir Ponsonby | ||||||||
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| Predecessor | George Sydenham Clark | ||||||||
| Successor | George Lloyd | ||||||||
| Birth | Willingdon, Sussex | ||||||||
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Content
Biography
Young years and the beginning of a political career
Freeman Thomas was born in 1866 in Sussex in the family of Frederick Thomas and Mabel Brand, becoming their only son (at the age of 25, he received the additional surname Freeman). After graduating from Eton College and Cambridge University , he joined the Royal Artillery Regiment [2] .
In 1892, Freeman Thomas met his future wife, Lady Mary Adelaide Brassi, who later gave birth to two sons. From 1895 to 1898 he served as adjutant to the Governor of Victoria (Australia). In 1900, Freeman-Thomas was elected to the House of Commons from Hastings [2] , representing the Liberal Party there [3] . He was included in the cabinet as Junior Lord of the Treasury . Failing to be re-elected to parliament from Hastings in 1906, Freeman-Thomas put forward his candidacy in another constituency - Bodmin - and won again, returning to the House of Commons until 1910 [2] .
Chamberlain and Colonial Official
After serving as secretary to Prime Minister Asquith [2] Freeman Thomas was promoted by King George V to the peers of the United Kingdom as Baron Willingdon of Rutton. He also received the court rank of chamberlain ( English Lord in Waiting ) and as such often became a partner of the king on a lawn tennis court [3] .
In 1913, Willingdon was sent to India as a colonial official, having been appointed Governor of Bombay . In this position, after the outbreak of World War II, he led the organization of care for the wounded in the Mesopotamian campaign . At this time, he also first encountered Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , who impressed him as an honest man, but a “dangerous Bolshevik” in his views. Despite the friction with Gandhi, Willingdon's achievements in overcoming racial barriers between the British and Indians were noted [2] .
After leaving the post of governor of Bombay in 1918, the following year, Willingdon was appointed governor of Madras . He held this post until 1924 [3] , initiating at that time a radical reconstruction of the seaport in Cochin , entrusted to engineer Robert Bristow. In the process of reconstructing the port, the soil raised by drags from the bottom was used to build the artificial island of , which housed new port services [4] . As governor of Madras, Willingdon also held the first provincial legislative council election in the province’s history, but was forced to impose martial law in the Malabar district in response to a rebellion that erupted there. [2] In June 1924 he was granted the title of Viscount [3] . His service in India was already in 1913 awarded the title of the great commander of the Order of the Indian Empire , in 1917 - the knight of the Great Cross of the Order of the British Empire , and in 1918 - the great commander of the Order of the Star of India . In 1926, he became a knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Michael and George [5] .
Governor General of Canada and Viceroy of India
In August 1926, Willingdon, who was on a diplomatic mission in China, was notified of his appointment to the post of Governor General of Canada [3] . Baldwin’s conservative government reluctantly agreed to this appointment, hinting to the king that there were better candidates for the post, but George V insisted and was supported by Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King . Willingdon became the last Governor General of Canada, appointed directly by the British monarch. [2] In the same month that he was appointed, the Imperial Conference changed the status of the dominions , recognizing them as completely autonomous from Britain; thus, Lord Willingdon became the first Governor General to act in accordance with the recommendations of the Canadian government, and not by order from London [3] .
In Canada, the new governor general quickly became popular thanks to an informal manner of communication and a good sense of humor. Together with his wife, they showed themselves as patrons of arts, expanding the art competition organized by Lord Gray , and adding to the competitions in the field of music and stage art also rewards for paintings and sculptures. As a patron of sports, he donated to the Royal Canadian Golf Association a prize bearing his name and awarded as a result of inter-provincial amateur competitions [2] . Willingdon became the first Governor General of Canada to fly (from Ottawa to Montreal and vice versa) and the first holder of this title to officially visit Washington . Toward the end of his term in office, the Great Depression began, forcing the Governor General to look for ways to combat unemployment in Canada [3] .
In 1931, Lord Willingdon was replaced by the Governor-General of Canada, Earl of Bessborough [2] . Willingdon, returning to England, also received the count's title [5] , was introduced to the Privy Council of Great Britain and immediately sent to India in the rank of Viceroy . There, he faced a massive campaign of civil disobedience led by Gandhi. In this situation, the Viceroy was required to simultaneously enforce the laws and take steps to realize the right of the dominion entrusted to him for political autonomy. He refused concessions to local leaders made by his predecessor, Lord Irwin , and imposed severe sanctions against the Indian National Congress . Thousands of Indians were arrested, including Gandhi, who was charged with incitement and who went on a hunger strike in protest. [2]
Along with the struggle against the Indian National Congress, Willingdon continued consultations in London on constitutional reform in India. When he was not admitted to the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, appearing there accompanied by his Indian friends, the Viceroy founded the open Bombay Sports Club. He contributed to the development of the scout movement in India, and his wife fought for basic human rights in that country. Willingdon organized large-scale public works on the construction of dams on the Indus , at the same time solving the problem of unemployment and providing irrigation of large agricultural land. Under him, an was also built in Delhi , bearing his name [2] (and the former main airport of the Indian capital before the opening of the Indira Gandhi International Airport ).
The last years of life
Lord Willingdon returned from India to his homeland in 1936 and was granted the title of Marquis, becoming one of the first representatives of the English common people to receive this title. He continued to carry out diplomatic missions, having visited with missions of goodwill in South America and representing the crown in New Zealand during the celebration of its centenary [2] . In 1937 he became chancellor of the Order of Saints Michael and George, and from 1936 to 1941 he was the guardian lord of the Five Ports in Sussex [5] .
The Marquis Wildingdon died in London in 1941; Lady Wildingdon survived him by 19 years [2] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 The Peerage
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Sean Chase. The man who imprisoned Gandhi visits Petawawa . The Daily Observer (August 14, 2014). Date of appeal May 25, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The Marquess of Willingdon . Office of the Governor General of Canada. Date of appeal May 25, 2018.
- ↑ Kenneth J. Panton. Cochin // Historical Dictionary of the British Empire. - Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015 .-- P. 130-131. - ISBN 978-0-8108-7801-3 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Thomas (post Freeman-Thomas), Freeman (English) . A Cambridge Alumni Database . Date of appeal May 25, 2018.
Links
- The Marquess of Willingdon . Office of the Governor General of Canada. Date of appeal May 25, 2018.
- Norman Hillmer. Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon . The Canadian Encyclopedia (January 15, 2008). Date of appeal May 25, 2018.