Bernard Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard
Encyclopedia
Bernard Arthur William Patrick Hastings Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard KP, GCVO
, PC
(17 September 1874 – 10 September 1948), known as Viscount Forbes from 1874 to 1889, was an Anglo-Irish
soldier and Liberal
politician.
, and the Honourable Mary Frances Petre, daughter of William Petre, 12th Baron Petre. He succeeded as eighth Earl of Granard on the death of his father in 1889, aged only 14.
in right of his junior title of Baron Granard, which was in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
(all his other titles were in the Peerage of Ireland
). When the Liberals came to power in 1905 under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
, Granard was appointed a Lord-in-Waiting
to King Edward VII (government whip in the House of Lords) and Assistant Postmaster-General
, posts he held until 1907 and 1909 respectively. In 1907 he was admitted to the Privy Council
and appointed Master of the Horse
, an office he retained until 1915.
Grandard was also involved in Irish politics. He was a member of the Irish Food Convention, Food Controller for Ireland in 1918, in which year he was also admitted to the Irish Privy Council
. He was a member of the short-lived Senate of Southern Ireland in 1921 and of the Senate of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1934. He was again Master of the Horse between February 1924 and 1936, but by this time this post had ceased being a political office. Granard also served as Vice-Admiral of Connaught
, Lord Lieutenant of Longford
. He was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1909.
) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders. In 1899 he transferred to the Scots Guards
. He was promoted Lieutenant
in 1901 and Captain
in 1905. He served in the Boer War
from 1900 to 1902. In 1908 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in the Post Office Rifles
. He resigned his commissions in the Post Office Rifles in 1910 and the Scots Guards in 1911. In 1916 he was recalled to command the 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
. He was later Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the Salonika Forces from 1917.
Apart from his political and military career, Granard was also on the board of Arsenal Football Club
, and was club chairman from 1936 to 1939.
from Staatsburg, New York
, in 1909. She was the twin sister of Gladys Mills Phipps
. Her brother, Ogden L. Mills
, was the 50th United States Secretary of the Treasury
. They had four children, including Eileen Beatrice, the wife of the 5th Marquess of Bute
. Lord Granard died in September 1948, aged 73, and was succeeded by his eldest son Arthur
. Apart from his seat at Castleforbes, Newtownforbes
, county Longford
, Ireland
, Lord Granard had a London residence at Forbes House, Halkin Street, and a residence at 73 Rue de Varenne, Paris
.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(17 September 1874 – 10 September 1948), known as Viscount Forbes from 1874 to 1889, was an Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
soldier and Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician.
Background
Granard was the son of George Forbes, 7th Earl of GranardGeorge Forbes, 7th Earl of Granard
George Arthur Hastings Forbes, 7th Earl of Granard KP was an Irish peer and soldier, styled Viscount Forbes from 1836 to 1837....
, and the Honourable Mary Frances Petre, daughter of William Petre, 12th Baron Petre. He succeeded as eighth Earl of Granard on the death of his father in 1889, aged only 14.
Political career
In 1895 Granard was able to take his seat in the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
in right of his junior title of Baron Granard, which was in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
(all his other titles were in the Peerage of Ireland
Peerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
). When the Liberals came to power in 1905 under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman GCB was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. He also served as Secretary of State for War twice, in the Cabinets of Gladstone and Rosebery...
, Granard was appointed a Lord-in-Waiting
Lord-in-Waiting
Most Lords in Waiting are Government whips in the House of Lords who are members of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. As members of the Royal Household their duties are nominal, though they are occasionally required to meet visiting political and state leaders on visits...
to King Edward VII (government whip in the House of Lords) and Assistant Postmaster-General
United Kingdom Postmaster General
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs...
, posts he held until 1907 and 1909 respectively. In 1907 he was admitted to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
and appointed Master of the Horse
Master of the Horse
The Master of the Horse was a position of varying importance in several European nations.-Magister Equitum :...
, an office he retained until 1915.
Grandard was also involved in Irish politics. He was a member of the Irish Food Convention, Food Controller for Ireland in 1918, in which year he was also admitted to the Irish Privy Council
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...
. He was a member of the short-lived Senate of Southern Ireland in 1921 and of the Senate of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1934. He was again Master of the Horse between February 1924 and 1936, but by this time this post had ceased being a political office. Granard also served as Vice-Admiral of Connaught
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
, Lord Lieutenant of Longford
Lord Lieutenant of Longford
This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Longford. The office was created on 23 August 1831.* George Forbes, Viscount Forbes 7 October 1831 – 13 November 1836* Luke White 22 November 1836 – 1841...
. He was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1909.
Military
In 1896, Granard was commissioned into the 3rd (MilitiaMilitia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders. In 1899 he transferred to the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
. He was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1901 and Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
in 1905. He served in the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
from 1900 to 1902. In 1908 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in the Post Office Rifles
Post Office Rifles
The Post Office Rifles was a unit of the British Army, first formed in 1868 from volunteers. The unit evolved several times until 1921, after which the name was lost during one of many reorganisations.-Beginnings:...
. He resigned his commissions in the Post Office Rifles in 1910 and the Scots Guards in 1911. In 1916 he was recalled to command the 5th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment
Royal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)
The Royal Irish Regiment, until 1881 the 18th Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1684. Also known as the 18th Regiment of Foot and the 18th Regiment of Foot, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in...
. He was later Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief of the Salonika Forces from 1917.
Apart from his political and military career, Granard was also on the board of Arsenal Football Club
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, and was club chairman from 1936 to 1939.
Family
Lord Granard married Beatrice Mills, daughter of the wealthy American businessman Ogden MillsOgden Mills
Ogden Mills was an American financier and Thoroughbred racehorse owner.-Life and career:Born in Millbrae, California, he was the son of Jane Templeton Cunningham and her husband Darius Ogden Mills, a highly successful banker and investor who in 1910 left Odgen Mills and his sister an estate valued...
from Staatsburg, New York
Staatsburg, New York
Staatsburg is a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 911 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined...
, in 1909. She was the twin sister of Gladys Mills Phipps
Gladys Mills Phipps
Gladys Livingston Mills Phipps was an United States socialite, sportsperson, and a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder who began the Phipps family dynasty in American horse racing...
. Her brother, Ogden L. Mills
Ogden L. Mills
Ogden Livingston Mills was an American businessman and politician.-Biography:The son of Ogden Mills and Ruth T. Livingston, he had twin sisters Beatrice Mills and Gladys Livingston Mills. Odgen L. Mills was the grandson of Darius O...
, was the 50th United States Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
. They had four children, including Eileen Beatrice, the wife of the 5th Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 5th Marquess of Bute
John Crichton-Stuart, 5th Marquess of Bute was the son of John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute and Augusta Bellingham....
. Lord Granard died in September 1948, aged 73, and was succeeded by his eldest son Arthur
Arthur Forbes, 9th Earl of Granard
Arthur Forbes, 9th Earl of Granard, AFC, He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He received a BA from Cambridge University in 1937....
. Apart from his seat at Castleforbes, Newtownforbes
Newtownforbes
Newtownforbes is a village in County Longford, Ireland. It was historically called Lisbrack, an anglicisation of the Irish name.The N4 National primary route passes through the Main Street of the village, which is situated 4 km northwest of Longford Town.Newtownforbes is a thriving village...
, county Longford
County Longford
County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Lord Granard had a London residence at Forbes House, Halkin Street, and a residence at 73 Rue de Varenne, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.