BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS

Major General The Right Honourable John Edward Bernard Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, of Mottistone in Southampton (UK) CB, CMG, DSO, PC, TD. The barony was created on 21st June 1933. JEB Seely was born on the 31st May 1868. He was educated at Harrow where he met an older Stanley Baldwin and a younger Winston Churchill and Trinity College Cambridge. He was "...completely captivated..." by the great Liberal leader William Ewart Gladstone when he visited Harrow ( Galloper Jack). He was a barrister Inner Temple and also served in the Boer War 1900 (despatches, medal with four clasps). He became a Member of Parliament (Liberal) for the Isle of Wight from 1900–06 and 1923–24, and for Liverpool Abercromby 1906–10 and Ilkeston between 1910–22. JEB Seely rapidly advanced in politics and became Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies between 1908–11 and War 1911–12. He was then appointed Secretary of State for War from 1912–14 in the Cabinet of Herbert Henry Asquith. In World War I he was the Special Services Officer and Major General Canadian Cavalry Brigade (he merited mention in despatches five times. he was wounded/gassed). After being the only member of the cabinet to see active service in World War I he returned and became the Parliamentary Under-Secretary Minister of Munitions and the Deputy Minister of Munitions 1918, then the Under-Secretary of State for Air in 1919. Given his strong reputation to sell ideas he was made the Chairman of the National Savings Committee from 1926–43 (Vice-President 1943). JEB Seely was also a Honourable Major-General, Colonel Territorial Army, an Honourable Colonel of 72nd (Hampshire), an Honourable Air Commander Auxiliary Air Force, Vice-President of the RNLI; He was the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (1918-1947). He was a member of the PC Privy Council (1909), and a Justice of the Peace in Hampshire and in the Isle of Wight. The Right Honourable (abbreviated The Rt Hon. ... Baron Mottistone is a peerage title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ... Alternative meanings: Harrow, London, a place in the London Borough of Harrow; Harrow School, a famous public school in the United Kingdom; The Harrow, a fantasy and horror magazine. ... Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (August 3, 1867 - December 14, 1947) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on three separate occasions. ... The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG , OM , CH , FRS , PC (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) was a British statesman, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ... The Right Honourable William Ewart Gladstone (29 December 1809–19 May 1898) was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister (1868–1874, 1880–1885, 1886 and 1892–1894). ... Boer guerrillas during the Second Boer War There were two Boer wars, one from December 16, 1880-March 23, 1881 and the second from October 11, 1899-May 31, 1902 both between the British and the settlers of Dutch, French and German origin (called Boers, Afrikaners or Voortrekkers) in South... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, a British cabinet-level position, first applied to Henry Dundas (appointed in 1794). ... The Right Honourable Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC (12 September 1852–15 February 1928) served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. ... Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... The Secretary of State for Air was a cabinet level British position, in charge of the Air Ministry. ... RNLI Lifeboat at Calshot Spit The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity dedicated to saving lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. ... Ensign of the Lord-Lieutenant The title Lord-Lieutenant is given to the British monarchs personal representatives around the United Kingdom. ... A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, especially in a monarchy. ... Hampshire (abbr. ... The Isle of Wight is an island county off the south coast of England, opposite Southampton. ...

FAMILY OF POLITICIANS

JEB Seely came from a family of politicians and industrialists. His Father (Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet, 1833-1915), brother (Sir Charles Seely, 2nd Baronet) and Grandfather were all Members of Parliament. Charles Seely MP, DL (1803-1887, Father of the House of Commons), the Grandfather, was a noted philanthropist and famous for hosting Guiseppe Garibaldi, the Italian revolutionary hero, in London and the Isle of Wight in 1864. JEB Seely's nephew Sir Hugh Seely 3rd Baronet, and 1st Baron Sherwood, (1898-1970) was Under-Secretary of State for Air in World War 2. Information on the Seely family estates can be found at the UK National Registry of Archives by clicking here: [[1]]. Sir Charles Seely, 1st Bt (UK), so created 19 Feb 1896, of Sherwood Lodge, Arnold, Notts, and Brooke House, Isle of Wight, JP Derbys, Hants and Notts, DL Notts; b 11 Aug 1833; MP (Lib) Nottingham 1869–74 and 1880–85 and W Nottingham 1885–86 and 1892–95, High... Sir Charles Hilton Seely, 2nd Baronet of the Seely family, was a Member of Parliament for Lincoln from 1895-1906 and for Mansfield from 1916-1918. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... CHARLES SEELY, of Brooke House, Brooke, IoW, and S Kensington, JP Hants, Lincs and Surrey, Deputy Lieutenant Lincs; b 3 Oct 1803; Member of Parliament for Lincoln 1847–48 and 1861–85, High Sheriff Hants 1860; m 28 June 1831 Mary (d 20 Aug 1884), yst dau of Jonathan Hilton... Garibaldi in 1866 Giuseppe Garibaldi (July 4, 1807 – June 2, 1882) was an Italian patriot and soldier of the Risorgimento. ... Sir Hugh Michael Seely, 3rd Baronet, and 1st and last BARON SHERWOOD, of Calverton, Co Nottingham (UK), so created 14 Aug 1941, JP (Notts 1926); b 2 Oct 1898; educated Eton College; Lieutenant Grenadier Guards and S Notts Hus, S/Ldr cmdg 504 (Co of Nottingham) (F) Sqdn RAuxAF (Hon... The Secretary of State for Air was a cabinet level British position, in charge of the Air Ministry. ...

MEDALS AND AWARDS

He received the following awards/medals: CB [[2]] (1918), CMG Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (1918), DSO Distinguished Service Order(1900) and TD. He was also awarded the Order of the Crown of Belgium, Croix de guerre, Légion d'honneur , 1914 star, two medals). Freedom of the City of Portsmouth in 1927 (UK) [[3]]. CB may be: Cambridge: CB is the British post code for the region in eastern England which is served by the Cambridge postal sorting office. ... http://en. ... Source: Veterans Affairs Canada The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and other formerly Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. ... The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of both Belgium and France which was first created in 1915. ... French Legion of Honour The Légion dhonneur (Legion of Honor (AmE) or Legion of Honour (ComE)) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of France. ...

MARRIAGE

In 1895 he married Emily Florence daughter of Colonel Honourable Sir Henry George Louis Crichton, KCB. When she died he then married 2nd on 31st July 1917 Honourable Evelyn Izme Murray, JP (d 11 Aug 1976), widow of George Crosfield Norris Nicholson and daughter of the 10th Lord Elibank. Lord Elibank is a title in the Peerage of Scotland; it dates to 1643. ...

OTHER FAMILY HISTORY

JEB Seely was the seventh of nine children of a family of wealthy coal mine owners. The extended family had homes in Nottinghamshire and the Isle of Wight as well as extensive property in London. It is with the Isle of Wight that Jack Seely will always be associated. His favourite uncle, Col. Harry Gore Browne, won the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny. This made a huge impact on young Jack. Gore Browne was manager the extensive Seely estates on the Isle of Wight. Queen Victoria lived nearby at her favourite residence, Osbourne House. Jack was a great admirer and was always a Victorian at heart. Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. ... The Isle of Wight is an island county off the south coast of England, opposite Southampton. ... Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (official post-nominal letters VC) is the highest award for valour that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces of any rank in any service and civilians under military command. ... An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from the British perspective. ...

OTHER

JEB Seely's papers can be found at the UK National Registry of Archives. Please click here: [[4]]

He lived at Mottistone Manor [[5]].

His biography, Galloper Jack by Brough Scott, was published by Macmillan in 2004 (ISBN:0333989384). See National Portrait Gallery, [[6]].