>Lettler: added Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War I using HotCat

2021-05-26T15:51:27Z

added Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War I using HotCat

New page

{{short description|British soldier and politician and Governor of Bombay and Bengal (1894-1939)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[His Excellency]] [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Lord Brabourne
| honorific-suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCSI|GCIE|MC}}
| image = 1929 Michael Knatchbull.jpg
| caption = Michael Knatchbull in 1929
| office1 = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Ashford (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashford]]
| term_start1 = [[1931 United Kingdom general election|27 October 1931]]
| term_end1 = [[1933 Ashford by-election|17 March 1933]]
| predecessor1 = [[Roderick Kedward (politician)|Roderick Kedward]]
| successor1 = [[Patrick Spens, 1st Baron Spens|Sir Patrick Spens]]
| office2 = Acting [[Viceroy and Governor-General of India]]
| term_start2 = 25 June
| term_end2 = 22 October 1938
| monarch2=[[George VI]]
| primeminister2=[[Neville Chamberlain]]
| office3 = [[Governor of Bombay]]
| term_start3 = 9 December 1933
| term_end3 = 30 May 1937
| predecessor3 = Sir [[Frederick Sykes]]
| successor3 = [[Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough|Sir Lawrence Lumley]]
| office4 = [[Governor of Bengal]]
| term_start4 = 1937
| term_end4 = 1939
| predecessor4 = [[John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley|Sir John Anderson]]
| successor4 = [[John Arthur Herbert]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|05|08|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1939|02|23|1895|05|08|df=y}}
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne|Lady Doreen Browne]]|1919}}
| children = {{Plainlist|
* [[Norton Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne]]
* [[John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne]]}}
| module = {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
|allegiance = United Kingdom
|branch = British Army<br />Royal Air Force
|serviceyears = 1914–1920
|rank = Major
|servicenumber =
|unit = [[Royal Artillery]]
|battles = [[World War I]]<br />{{*}} [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]]
|awards = [[Military Cross]]
}}
| birth_name = Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull-Hugessen
}}

'''Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|GCSI|GCIE|MC}} (8 May 1895 – 23 February 1939) was a [[British peerage|British peer]] and [[soldier]], the son of the [[Cecil Knatchbull-Hugessen, 4th Baron Brabourne|4th Baron Brabourne]].

==Early life==
Born on 8 May 1895 as '''Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull-Hugessen''', he dropped the Hugessen part of his surname by [[deed poll]] in June 1919.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=31495 |date=8 August 1919 |page=10145}}</ref> Knatchbull was educated at [[Wellington College (Berkshire)|Wellington College]] and the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]].

==Military career==
[[File:Knatchbull M (capt the Hon) Collection Q44341.jpg|thumb|left|Damage from enemy anti-aircraft fire sustained by a [[Farman Aviation Works|Farman]] of No. 3 Squadron RNAS, flown by [[Reginald Marix]] with Lt. Knatchbull as observer, June 1915.]]
Knatchbull was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the [[Royal Artillery]] on 17 November 1914.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=13 November 1914 |issue=28976 |page=9384 |nolink=yes}}</ref> He served in the [[Gallipoli Campaign]] from April 1915, attached to No. 3 Squadron, [[Royal Naval Air Service]], flying [[artillery spotting]] missions,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ww1aero.org.au/pdfs/Sample%20Journal%20Articles/Gallipoli1990.pdf |title=Wings Over Gallipoli |first=Keith |last=Isaacs |year=1990 |work=Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians |accessdate=8 April 2017}}</ref> receiving promotion to lieutenant on 23 July.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=23 November 1915 |supp=y |issue=29380 |page=11736 |nolink=yes}}</ref> On 22 September 1915 he received a [[mention in despatches]] from General [[Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton|Ian Hamilton]], Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=5 November 1915 |supp=y |issue=29354 |pages=10995–10996 |nolink=yes}}</ref> and on 8 November was awarded the [[Military Cross]] for his "distinguished service in the Field during the operations at the Dardanelles."<ref>{{London Gazette |date=5 November 1915 |supp=y |issue=29357 |page=11027 |nolink=yes}}</ref>

Knatchbull was seconded to the [[Staff (military)|staff]] to serve as an [[aide-de-camp]] on 8 June 1916,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=8 August 1916 |issue=29698 |page=7787 |nolink=yes}}</ref> serving until 20 April 1918,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=28 May 1918 |supp=y |issue=30712 |page=6345 |nolink=yes}}</ref> when he was seconded to the [[Royal Air Force]] as a Staff Officer, 3rd Class.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=2 July 1918 |issue=30776 |page=7770 |nolink=yes}}</ref> He was later promoted to the [[acting rank]] of captain, and then to acting major on 11 October 1918 when appointed Staff Officer, 2nd Class (Air).<ref>{{London Gazette |date=1 November 1918 |issue=30987 |page=12900 |nolink=yes}}</ref> On 8 November 1918 he received a mention in despatches from Field Marshal Sir [[Douglas Haig]].<ref>{{London Gazette |date=27 December 1918 |supp=y |issue=31089 |page=15232 |nolink=yes}}</ref>

After the end of the war, on 1 August 1919, he was granted a permanent commission in the RAF with the rank of lieutenant.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=1 August 1919 |issue=31486 |page=9870 |nolink=yes}}</ref> However, he was placed on [[half-pay]] on 1 April 1920,<ref>{{London Gazette |date=6 April 1920 |issue=31851 |page=4143 |nolink=yes}}</ref> and on 1 October was placed on the retired list on account of ill-health contracted on active service, with the rank of [[flight lieutenant]].<ref>{{London Gazette |date=8 October 1920 |issue=32078 |page=9815 |nolink=yes}}</ref>

==House of Commons==
Knatchbull was elected [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Ashford (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashford]] in 1931 and served as [[Parliamentary Private Secretary]] to [[Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood|Samuel Hoare]], [[Secretary of State for India]], from 1932 to 1933.

==House of Lords==
In 1933, upon his father's death, he succeeded as [[Baron Brabourne]] following which he was made [[Governor of Bombay]] and was invested as a [[Order of the Indian Empire|Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=33993 |date=7 November 1933 |page=7187 |nolink=yes}}</ref>

===Governor of Bombay===
While Governor of Bombay he laid the foundation stone at the historic [[Brabourne Stadium]] cricket ground in 1936 after conducting negotiations for the land with [[Anthony de Mello (cricket administrator)|Anthony de Mello]] of the [[Cricket Club of India]] (CCI).

===Governor of Bengal===
[[File:Michael Herbert Rudolph Knatchbull Grave - St John's Churchyard - Kolkata 2011-12-18 0271.JPG|right|thumb|250px|The grave of The 5th Baron Brabourne at St. John's Churchyard, Kolkata, India.]]
In 1937 he also became a [[Order of the Star of India|Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=34451 |date=5 November 1937 |page=6889 |nolink=yes}}</ref> and served as [[Governor of Bengal]] until 1939, the year he died.

===Acting Viceroy of India===
In June 1938, he was appointed as a [[Viceroy and Governor-General of India|Viceroy]] of India. He served as the Viceroy for four months, as [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Lord Linlithgow]] (the then current Viceroy) had gone to [[England]] for a short vacation. [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], a prominent member of Indian religion-based political party [[All India Muslim League]], had a meeting with Brabourne on 16 August 1938. In the meeting he requested Brabourne to accept him as the representative of all India's Muslims and in return he promised to support the British at the centre in Britain, but the Viceroy refused to do so. The Viceroy knew that if Jinnah is made the representative of Muslims, it would be a caution for the image of the British in the vision of other leaders. This angered Jinnah and he later declared [[Direct Action Day]] in 1946 to demand for [[Pakistan]]. Brabourne served as the Viceroy till 22 October 1938.

==Family==
On 22 January 1919, he married [[Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne|Lady Doreen Browne]], youngest daughter of the [[Marquess of Sligo|6th Marquess of Sligo]], in [[St Peter's Church, Eaton Square]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1919/1919%20-%200183.html |title=Personal: Married |issue=538 |volume=XI |page=183 |journal=[[Flight International|Flight]] |date=6 February 1919 |accessdate=8 April 2017}}</ref> They had two children:

*[[Norton Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne|Norton Cecil Michael Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne]] (1922–1943)
*[[John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne|John Ulick Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne]] (1924–2005). In 1946 he married [[Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma|The Hon. Patricia Mountbatten]] (later [[Earl Mountbatten of Burma|2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma]]) and had issue.

His widow, [[Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne|The Dowager Lady Brabourne]], was murdered in the 1979 bombing by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] of [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|The 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]]'s boat. One of their grandsons also died in the bombing.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
* {{cite web |last=Lundy |first=Darryl |url=http://www.thepeerage.com/p10423.htm |title=ThePeerage.com His details & photo |publisher=The Peerage]}}{{Unreliable source?|failed=y |date=February 2013}}
* {{Rayment|date=February 2012}}
*{{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs | captain-hon-michael-knatchbull | Lord Brabourne }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search?query=&f[0]=makerString%3AKnatchbull%20M%20%28Capt%20the%20Hon%29&items_per_page=50 |title=The Service of Captain Michael Knatchbull during the Gallipoli Campaign, April– June 1915 (Photograph Collection) |work=[[Imperial War Museum]]}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Ashford (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashford]]
| years = [[1931 United Kingdom general election|1931]]–[[1933 Ashford by-election|1933]]
| before = [[Roderick Kedward (politician)|Roderick Kedward]]
| after = Sir [[Patrick Spens, 1st Baron Spens|Patrick Spens]]
}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box | title=[[Governor of Bombay]] | before=[[Frederick Sykes|Sir Frederick Sykes]] | after=[[Lawrence Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough|Sir Lawrence Lumley]] | years=1933–1937}}
{{succession box | title=[[Governor of Bengal]] | before=[[John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley|Sir John Anderson]] | after=[[John Arthur Herbert]] | years=1937–1939}}
{{s-reg|uk}}
{{succession box | title=[[Baron Brabourne]] | before=[[Cecil Knatchbull-Hugessen, 4th Baron Brabourne|Cecil Knatchbull-Hugessen]] | after=[[Norton Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne|Norton Knatchbull]] | years=1933–1939}}
{{S-end}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2012}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brabourne, Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron}}
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1939 deaths]]
[[Category:Royal Artillery officers]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force officers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Military Cross]]
[[Category:Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies|Knatchbull, Michael]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1931–1935|Knatchbull, Michael]]
[[Category:UK MPs who inherited peerages]]
[[Category:Governors of Bombay]]
[[Category:Governors of Bengal]]
[[Category:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]]
[[Category:Eldest sons of barons]]
[[Category:Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Royal Naval Air Service aviators]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War I]]

Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne - Revision history

>Lettler: added Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War I using HotCat