Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne

Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne, GCSI, GCIE, MC (8 May 1895 – 23 February 1939) was a British peer and soldier, the son of the 4th Baron Brabourne.

His Excellency The Right Honourable The Lord Brabourne GCSI GCIE MC
Michael Knatchbull in 1929
Member of Parliament for Ashford
In office 27 October 1931 – 17 March 1933
Preceded by	Roderick Kedward
Succeeded by	Sir Patrick Spens
Acting Viceroy and Governor-General of India
In office 25 June – 22 October 1938
Monarch	George VI
Prime Minister	Neville Chamberlain
Governor of Bombay
In office 9 December 1933 – 30 May 1937
Preceded by	Sir Frederick Sykes
Succeeded by	Sir Lawrence Lumley
Governor of Bengal
In office 1937–1939
Preceded by	Sir John Anderson
Succeeded by	John Arthur Herbert
Personal details
Born	Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull-Hugessen 8 May 1895
Died	23 February 1939 (aged 43)
Spouse(s)	Lady Doreen Browne ​ (m. 1919)​
Children	Norton Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army Royal Air Force
Years of service	1914–1920
Rank	Major
Unit	Royal Artillery
Battles/wars	World War I  • Gallipoli
Awards	Military Cross

Early life

Born Michael Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull-Hugessen, he dropped the Hugessen part of his surname by deed poll in June 1919.[1] Knatchbull was educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.

Military career

Damage from enemy anti-aircraft fire sustained by a 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.[2] He served in the Gallipoli Campaign from April 1915, attached to No. 3 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service, flying artillery spotting missions,[3] receiving promotion to lieutenant on 23 July.[4] On 22 September 1915 he received a mention in despatches from General Ian Hamilton, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force,[5] and on 8 November was awarded the Military Cross for his "distinguished service in the Field during the operations at the Dardanelles."[6]

Knatchbull was seconded to the staff to serve as an aide-de-camp on 8 June 1916,[7] serving until 20 April 1918,[8] when he was seconded to the Royal Air Force as a Staff Officer, 3rd Class.[9] 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).[10] On 8 November 1918 he received a mention in despatches from Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig.[11]

After the end of the war, on 1 August 1919, he was granted a permanent commission in the RAF with the rank of lieutenant.[12] However, he was placed on half-pay on 1 April 1920,[13] 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.[14]

House of Commons

Knatchbull was elected Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashford in 1931 and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to 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 Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.[15]

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 of the Cricket Club of India (CCI).

Governor of Bengal

The grave of The 5th Baron Brabourne at St. John's Churchyard, Kolkata, India.

In 1937 he also became a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India[16] 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 of India. He served as the Viceroy for four months, as Lord Linlithgow had gone to England for a short vacation. Muhammad Ali Jinnah had a meeting with Brabourne on 16 August, 1938. In the meeting he asked Brabourne to represent the All-India Muslim League in the executive council for forming the first government, but the Viceroy refused to do so. The Viceroy knew that if Jinnah is allowed to form the first government, 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.

Family

On 22 January 1919, he married Lady Doreen Browne, youngest daughter of the 6th Marquess of Sligo, in St Peter's Church, Eaton Square.[17] They had two children:

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

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

References

1. "No. 31495". The London Gazette. 8 August 1919. p. 10145.
2. "No. 28976". The London Gazette. 13 November 1914. p. 9384.
3. Isaacs, Keith (1990). "Wings Over Gallipoli" (PDF). Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
4. "No. 29380". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 November 1915. p. 11736.
5. "No. 29354". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1915. pp. 10995–10996.
6. "No. 29357". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1915. p. 11027.
7. "No. 29698". The London Gazette. 8 August 1916. p. 7787.
8. "No. 30712". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 May 1918. p. 6345.
9. "No. 30776". The London Gazette. 2 July 1918. p. 7770.
10. "No. 30987". The London Gazette. 1 November 1918. p. 12900.
11. "No. 31089". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1918. p. 15232.
12. "No. 31486". The London Gazette. 1 August 1919. p. 9870.
13. "No. 31851". The London Gazette. 6 April 1920. p. 4143.
14. "No. 32078". The London Gazette. 8 October 1920. p. 9815.
15. "No. 33993". The London Gazette. 7 November 1933. p. 7187.
16. "No. 34451". The London Gazette. 5 November 1937. p. 6889.
17. "Personal: Married". Flight. XI (538): 183. 6 February 1919. Retrieved 8 April 2017.

• Lundy, Darryl. "ThePeerage.com His details & photo". The Peerage].
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Lord Brabourne
• "The Service of Captain Michael Knatchbull during the Gallipoli Campaign, April– June 1915 (Photograph Collection)". Imperial War Museum.