Jump to content

Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromLord Stamfordham)

Lieutenant-ColonelThe Right Honourable
The Lord Stamfordham
GCB,GCIE,GCVO,KCSI,KCMG,ISO,PC
Private Secretary to the Sovereign
In office
1910–1931
MonarchGeorge V
Preceded byThe Lord Knollys
Succeeded bySir Clive Wigram
In office
1895–1901
MonarchVictoria
Preceded bySir Henry Ponsonby
Succeeded bySir Francis Knollys
Personal details
Born
Arthur John Bigge

(1849-06-18)18 June 1849
Died31 March 1931(1931-03-31)(aged 81)
NationalityUnited KingdomBritish
Spouse
Constance Neville
​
​
(m.1881; died 1922)​
Children3
Alma materRoyal Military Academy

Lieutenant-ColonelArthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham,GCB,GCIE,GCVO,KCSI,KCMG,ISO,PC(18 June 1849 – 31 March 1931) was aBritish Armyofficer and courtier. He wasPrivate SecretarytoQueen Victoriaduring the last few years of her reign, and toGeorge Vduring most of his reign. He was the maternal grandfather ofLord Adeane,Private Secretary toElizabeth IIfrom 1953 to 1972.

Early life

[edit]

Bigge was the son of John Frederick Bigge (1814–1885), Vicar ofStamfordham, Northumberland,and the grandson ofCharles William Bigge(1773–1849) of Benton House (Little Benton,Newcastle upon Tyne,Northumberland) andLinden Hall(Longhorsley, Northumberland),High Sheriff of Northumberlandand a prominent merchant and banker in Newcastle upon Tyne. He was educated atRossall Schooland theRoyal Military Academyand was commissioned into theRoyal Artilleryin 1869.[1]

Career

[edit]

In 1879, Bigge fought in theAnglo-Zulu Warand was mentioned in despatches. In 1880, he was summoned toBalmoral Castleby Queen Victoria to give her more information about thePrince Imperial's death in the Zulu War, and he escorted the Empress Eugenie on her tour of Zululand to visit the site of her son's death.[2]In 1881, he was appointed equerry-in-ordinary and then served as a groom-in-waiting and assistant private secretary to Queen Victoria.[3]

King George Vabout to disembark from theRoyal Navyflotilla leader HMS Whirlwind atCalais,5 August 1918. With him are Lieutenant-GeneralGeorge Henry Fowke,the Adjutant-General of the Expeditionary Force; Lord Stamfordham; Lieutenant-GeneralJoseph Asser;Major Edward Gerald Thompson, the ADC to Field Marshal Haig; Lieutenant Gush RN; and Rowland Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer.

Bigge was appointedPrivate SecretarytoQueen Victoriain 1895 in succession toSir Henry Ponsonbyand served until her death in January 1901. A couple of months later, he was appointed Private Secretary to her grandson,the Duke of Cornwall and York,who was made Prince of Wales later that year.[4]He continued to serve as such on the Prince's accession to the throne as King George V in 1910 and serving until his own death in 1931.[1]As Private Secretary to the sovereign he was sworn of thePrivy Councilin 1910[5]and elevated to the peerage asBaron Stamfordham,of Stamfordham in the County of Northumberland, in 1911.[6]

Lord Stamfordham one of those who supported the King's decision to adoptWindsoras the family name because of the keen anti-German feelings during theFirst World War.On 17 July 1917, King George V "issued a proclamation declaring," The Name of Windsor is to be borne by His Royal House and Family and Relinquishing the Use of All German Titles and Dignities ".[7]He persuaded the King to deny asylum toTsar Nicholas IIand his family, who were thus forced to remain inRussiaand who were murdered by theBolsheviks.He interpreted the King's response "Bugger Bognor" as assent to the renaming ofBognoras Bognor Regis.[8] He introduced theDuke of York(laterKing George VI) toLionel Logue,who became the Duke's speech therapist.[9]

Family

[edit]

Bigge married in 1881 Constance Neville (d. 1922), daughter of Rev. William Frederick Neville, Vicar ofButleigh,Somerset:they had a son and two daughters.[1]Their son, Captain The Hon. John Neville Bigge (b. 1887), was killed in action nearFestuberton 15 May 1915 whilst serving with the 1st Bn.King's Royal Rifle Corps.He is commemorated onLe Touret Memorial.[10]A daughter, the Honourable Victoria Eugenie, married Captain Henry Robert Augustus Adeane. She was the mother ofMichael Adeane, Baron Adeane,Private Secretary to Elizabeth II from 1953 to 1972.[11]

Lord Stamfordham died, still in office, atSt James's Palaceon 31 March 1931, aged 81, when the barony became extinct.[1]

Honours

[edit]

British

Foreign

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdWilliam M. Kuhn."Bigge, Arthur John, Baron Stamfordham (1849–1931)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/31883.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  2. ^Knight, Ian, With His Face to the Foe, Spellmount, 2001, passim
  3. ^abc/ Arthur John Bigge, 1st and last Baron StamfordhamRetrieved on 29 January 2018
  4. ^"No. 27290".The London Gazette.1 March 1901. p. 1499.
  5. ^ab"No. 28384".The London Gazette.14 June 1910. pp. 4164–4165.
  6. ^"No. 28512".The London Gazette.11 July 1911. p. 5168.
  7. ^/ British royal family change their name to Windsor – archive 1917Retrieved on 29 Jan 2018
  8. ^Antonia Fraser, ed. (2000).The House of Windsor.A royal history of England.University of California Press.p. 36.ISBN0-520-22803-0.
  9. ^BBC,Note reveals story behind King's speech film,1 March 2011.
  10. ^"The Hon. JOHN NEVILLE BIGGE | CWGC".www.cwgc.org.Retrieved17 July2021.
  11. ^thepeerage.com Arthur John Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham
  12. ^"No. 27285".The London Gazette.15 February 1901. p. 1145.
  13. ^"No. 27380".The London Gazette.26 November 1901. p. 8087.
Court offices
Preceded by Private Secretary to the Sovereign
1895–1901 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Private Secretary to the Sovereign
1910–1931 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Stamfordham
1911–1931 		Extinct
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Bigge,_1st_Baron_Stamfordham&oldid=1234753710"