Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough
Encyclopedia
Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough GBE
(14 March 1861 – 22 September 1949) was born into a noble family, but left school with only £5 to his name. He became a cowboy
, self-made industrialist, award-winning yachtsman, British
peer
and Conservative Party
politician, founder of the Military Massage Service and the Cambridgeshire Battalion of The Suffolk Regiment, and treasurer of the League of Nations Union
.
(the fifth son of the Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
) and Cecilia Wyndham. His grandfather had commanded the British cavalry
at the Battle of Waterloo
in 1815. Educated at Harrow
, he was later made a Fellow
of Corpus Christi College
, Cambridge
.
, Derbyshire
before emigrating to the United States in 1881. He established a cattle ranch at Le Mars, Iowa
, where he became acquainted with Theodore Roosevelt
. Later he relocated to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was a real estate agent. Paget finally moved to New York City
, where his brother Arthur introduced him to society. He lived in what is now Lubin House, Syracuse University
's alumni centre.
He joined Henry Melville Whitney
in establishing the Dominion Coal Company Ltd. in 1893 and the Dominion Iron and Steel Company Ltd. in 1901 at Sydney, Nova Scotia
. On 12 November 1895, he married Whitney's niece, the American
heiress Pauline Payne Whitney
. The marriage was solemnized at St. Thomas's Church in New York City, and among those attending was President Grover Cleveland
. The Pagets were the parents of two daughters:
in 1909. Paget was a highly successful yachtsman, winning the first prize in the open handicap race from Cannes
to Monte Carlo
in 1902, and winning the Tsar's prize at Cowes Week
in 1909. On his return to England from the US, he was appointed rear-commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club
; later he was named commodore. The Belvidere Cup was named by Paget in 1913, in honour of a boat owned by his father which had competed for the cup the first time it was contested in 1845.
In 1906
, Paget contested the Cambridge
constituency, losing with 3,924 votes to 4,232 for Stanley Buckmaster
. Paget was named president of the Eastern Provincial Division of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations
in 1909. In January 1910 he narrowly won the seat with 4,667 votes to 4,080 for Buckmaster, holding the seat until his resignation in 1917.
In August 1914 Paget founded the Almeric Paget Massage Corps (renamed the Almeric Paget Military Massage Corps in December 1916, and the Military Massage Service in 1919). Initially 50 masseuses were recruited, rapidly rising to over 100. The corps established clinics in every hospital in the United Kingdom, with central direction from Paget's London townhouse at 39 Berkeley Square
. After the war, clinics were continued in the poorer parts of London, with treatment provided for all who applied.
In November 1914 Paget founded the Massage and Electrical Outpatient Clinic, in premises at 55 Portland Place
, London, loaned by Lady Alexander Paget. For the duration of the First World War the clinic treated an average of 200 wounded officers and soldiers per day. In addition to the Massage Corps, following the outbreak of war Paget sponsored the formation of a Cambridgeshire Battalion formed of volunteers. Comprising approximately 1,350 volunteers, it became the 11th Battalion of The Suffolk Regiment, popularly known as the Cambs Suffolks. The Battalion was initially posted within the UK, transferring to France in 1916; 970 members died during World War I including 190 on 1 July 1916, first day on the Somme
.
It was in the middle of the war that Pauline Paget died at Esher, Surrey, after a three weeks' illness on 22 November 1916. She was buried at Hertingfordbury
, Hertfordshire
.
in the County of Kent
. On 19 July 1921, in New York City
, he married conspiracy theorist and anti-Mormon agitator Edith Starr Miller
, daughter of a wealthy American couple, William Starr Miller
and Edith Caroline (Warren) Miller. Edith Starr Miller was a granddaughter of George H. Warren, one of the founders of the Metropolitan Opera
. Edith Miller authored Common Sense in the Kitchen and Occult Theocrasy. After this marriage Paget moved to Camfield Place, near Hatfield, Hertfordshire
. The Pagets had three daughters:
In 1920 he was appointed treasurer of the League of Nations
Union, an office he held for sixteen years. He resigned in 1936 in protest at the League's recognition and admission of the Soviet Union
. Lord Queensborough was created Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (KGBE) in 1926.
Lord Queenborough served as president of the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico (Chihuahua and Pacific Railroad), chairman of Caxton Electrical Developments, chairman of Siemens Brothers & Company, and chairman of the Queenborough Port Development Company. He was also governor of Guy's Hospital
, Southwark
; president of Miller General Hospital, Greenwich
; president of Preston Hall Hospital, Maidstone
; member of the Council of the Zoological Society of London
; a Knight of Justice of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (K.J.St.J.); and president of the Royal Society of St George
.
The Pagets later separated, and Edith sued in New York City
for legal separation on 8 January 1932, citing cruelty. She died in Paris a year later, on 16 January 1933.
During the 1930s, Paget was a keen supporter of Francisco Franco
and Adolf Hitler
, extolling the Führer as late as 1939.
He was also a fanatical anti-Bolshevik
campaigner, and in a 1935 article described a perceived plot between the Freemasons
and the Communists to take over Europe. His son-in-law, the third husband of Olive Cecilia
, Sir Adrian William Maxwell Baillie, Bt., was Member of Parliament for Tonbridge
from 1937 to 1945.
Despite these sympathies, he was appointed President of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations between 1928–29, and again in 1940–41. He died at Hatfield on 22 September 1949, aged 88. With no male heirs, his title became extinct.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(14 March 1861 – 22 September 1949) was born into a noble family, but left school with only £5 to his name. He became a cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
, self-made industrialist, award-winning yachtsman, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
peer
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
and Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician, founder of the Military Massage Service and the Cambridgeshire Battalion of The Suffolk Regiment, and treasurer of the League of Nations Union
League of Nations Union
The League of Nations Union was an organization formed in the United Kingdom to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League of Nations was established by the Great Powers as part of the Paris...
.
Background and education
Born in London on 14 March 1861, Paget was the sixth and youngest son of Lord Alfred PagetLord Alfred Paget
Lord Alfred Henry Paget was a British soldier, courtier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1837 and 1865.-Biography:...
(the fifth son of the Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against...
) and Cecilia Wyndham. His grandfather had commanded the British cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
in 1815. Educated at Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, he was later made a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of Corpus Christi College
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Early life
Paget briefly worked for the Midland RailwayMidland Railway
The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
before emigrating to the United States in 1881. He established a cattle ranch at Le Mars, Iowa
Le Mars, Iowa
Le Mars is a city in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,237 at the 2000 census. Le Mars is the home of Wells' Dairy, the world's largest producer of ice cream novelties in one location and is the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream Capital of the World". Wells...
, where he became acquainted with Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. Later he relocated to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he was a real estate agent. Paget finally moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where his brother Arthur introduced him to society. He lived in what is now Lubin House, Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
's alumni centre.
He joined Henry Melville Whitney
Henry Melville Whitney
Henry Melville Whitney was an American industrialist, the founder of the West End Street Railway Company of Boston, Massachusetts, and later the Dominion Coal Company Ltd. and the Dominion Iron and Steel Company Ltd. of Sydney, Nova Scotia...
in establishing the Dominion Coal Company Ltd. in 1893 and the Dominion Iron and Steel Company Ltd. in 1901 at Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
. On 12 November 1895, he married Whitney's niece, the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
heiress Pauline Payne Whitney
Pauline Payne Whitney
Pauline Payne Whitney , was an American heiress and a member of the prominent Whitney family.She was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of William C. Whitney and Flora Whitney...
. The marriage was solemnized at St. Thomas's Church in New York City, and among those attending was President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
. The Pagets were the parents of two daughters:
- Olive Cecilia (b. 1899 – d. 9 September 1974, married three times and later the owner of Leeds CastleLeeds CastleLeeds Castle, southeast of Maidstone, Kent, England, dates back to 1119, though a Saxon fort stood on the same site from the 9th century. The castle is built on islands in a lake formed by the River Len to the east of the village of Leeds....
) - Dorothy WyndhamDorothy PagetDorothy Wyndham Paget was a British racehorse owner.She was the daughter of Lord Queenborough and Pauline Payne Whitney of the United States Whitney family. She was a cousin of Jock Whitney, owner of the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Easter Hero and latterly American Ambassador in London. She...
(b. 1905 – d. 9 February 1960, never married)
Election to Parliament
In 1901 the Pagets moved to England, ostensibly due to Pauline's poor health. The family initially settled in Brandon Park House, Suffolk, and was appointed High Sheriff of SuffolkHigh Sheriff of Suffolk
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually by the Crown. He was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county and presided at the Assizes and other important county meetings...
in 1909. Paget was a highly successful yachtsman, winning the first prize in the open handicap race from Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
to Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
in 1902, and winning the Tsar's prize at Cowes Week
Cowes Week
Cowes Week is one of the longest-running regular regattas in the world. With 40 daily races, up to 1,000 boats, and 8,500 competitors ranging from Olympic and world class professionals to weekend sailors, it is the largest sailing regatta of its kind in the world...
in 1909. On his return to England from the US, he was appointed rear-commodore of the Royal Thames Yacht Club
Royal Thames Yacht Club
The Royal Thames Yacht Club is the oldest sailing club in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are located at 60 Knightsbridge, London, England, overlooking Hyde Park....
; later he was named commodore. The Belvidere Cup was named by Paget in 1913, in honour of a boat owned by his father which had competed for the cup the first time it was contested in 1845.
In 1906
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
, Paget contested the Cambridge
Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
constituency, losing with 3,924 votes to 4,232 for Stanley Buckmaster
Stanley Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster
Stanley Owen Buckmaster, 1st Viscount Buckmaster, GCVO, PC, KC was a British lawyer and Liberal politician. He was Lord Chancellor under H. H...
. Paget was named president of the Eastern Provincial Division of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations
National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations
The National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations was a federation of the voluntary wing of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom....
in 1909. In January 1910 he narrowly won the seat with 4,667 votes to 4,080 for Buckmaster, holding the seat until his resignation in 1917.
First World War
Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square is a town square in the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It was originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent...
. After the war, clinics were continued in the poorer parts of London, with treatment provided for all who applied.
In November 1914 Paget founded the Massage and Electrical Outpatient Clinic, in premises at 55 Portland Place
Portland Place
Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London, England.-History and topography:The street was laid out by the brothers Robert and James Adam for the Duke of Portland in the late 18th century and originally ran north from the gardens of a detached mansion called Foley House...
, London, loaned by Lady Alexander Paget. For the duration of the First World War the clinic treated an average of 200 wounded officers and soldiers per day. In addition to the Massage Corps, following the outbreak of war Paget sponsored the formation of a Cambridgeshire Battalion formed of volunteers. Comprising approximately 1,350 volunteers, it became the 11th Battalion of The Suffolk Regiment, popularly known as the Cambs Suffolks. The Battalion was initially posted within the UK, transferring to France in 1916; 970 members died during World War I including 190 on 1 July 1916, first day on the Somme
First day on the Somme
The first day on the Somme, 1 July 1916, was the opening day of the Battle of Albert, which was the first phase of the British and French offensive that became known as the Battle of the Somme...
.
It was in the middle of the war that Pauline Paget died at Esher, Surrey, after a three weeks' illness on 22 November 1916. She was buried at Hertingfordbury
Hertingfordbury
Hertingfordbury is a small village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the county town of Hertford. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book.-Location:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
Ennoblement and later career
Paget resigned his parliamentary seat in July 1917. On 18 January 1918 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Queenborough, of QueenboroughQueenborough
Queenborough is a small town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England.Queenborough is two miles south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to The Swale where it joins the River Medway...
in the County of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. On 19 July 1921, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he married conspiracy theorist and anti-Mormon agitator Edith Starr Miller
Edith Starr Miller
Edith Starr Miller, Lady Queenborough was a New York socialite, conspiracy theorist and anti-Mormon agitator who in 1921 became the second wife of Almeric Hugh Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough, the British Fascist.-Biography:...
, daughter of a wealthy American couple, William Starr Miller
William Starr Miller
William Starr Miller II was a prominent New York industrialist and real estate operator.- Biography:Born in New York City, William was a son of George Norton Miller I and Caroline Tucker Chase...
and Edith Caroline (Warren) Miller. Edith Starr Miller was a granddaughter of George H. Warren, one of the founders of the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
. Edith Miller authored Common Sense in the Kitchen and Occult Theocrasy. After this marriage Paget moved to Camfield Place, near Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
. The Pagets had three daughters:
- Hon. Audrey Elizabeth (b. 4 May 1922 – d. 1991, aviatrix)
- Hon. Enid Louise (b. 14 July 1923)
- Hon. Cicilie Carol (b. 18 April 1928)
In 1920 he was appointed treasurer of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
Union, an office he held for sixteen years. He resigned in 1936 in protest at the League's recognition and admission of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Lord Queensborough was created Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (KGBE) in 1926.
Lord Queenborough served as president of the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico (Chihuahua and Pacific Railroad), chairman of Caxton Electrical Developments, chairman of Siemens Brothers & Company, and chairman of the Queenborough Port Development Company. He was also governor of Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
, Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
; president of Miller General Hospital, Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
; president of Preston Hall Hospital, Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
; member of the Council of the Zoological Society of London
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats...
; a Knight of Justice of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (K.J.St.J.); and president of the Royal Society of St George
Royal Society of St George
The Royal Society of St George is an English patriotic society established in 1894 to encourage interest in the English way of life, and English customs and traditions. It operates from offices in Folkestone, Kent.-History:In 1415 St...
.
The Pagets later separated, and Edith sued in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for legal separation on 8 January 1932, citing cruelty. She died in Paris a year later, on 16 January 1933.
During the 1930s, Paget was a keen supporter of Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
and Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, extolling the Führer as late as 1939.
He was also a fanatical anti-Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
campaigner, and in a 1935 article described a perceived plot between the Freemasons
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and the Communists to take over Europe. His son-in-law, the third husband of Olive Cecilia
Olive, Lady Baillie
Olive, Lady Baillie was an Anglo-American heiress, landowner and hostess. She is best known as the owner of Leeds Castle, near Maidstone, Kent, England...
, Sir Adrian William Maxwell Baillie, Bt., was Member of Parliament for Tonbridge
Tonbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Tonbridge was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, centred on the town of Tonbridge. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
from 1937 to 1945.
Despite these sympathies, he was appointed President of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations between 1928–29, and again in 1940–41. He died at Hatfield on 22 September 1949, aged 88. With no male heirs, his title became extinct.