Lewis Gielgud
Encyclopedia
Lewis Evelyn Gielgud, MBE (11 June 1894 – 25 February 1953, Paris
) was a British scholar, writer, intelligence officer and humanitarian worker.
and the actor John Gielgud
. He attended Eton College
as a King's Scholar
and then studied at Magdalen College, Oxford
as an exhibitioner
in 1912 and a classical demy
in 1913. On the outbreak of the First World War he became an officer in the 6th Battalion, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry, but left active service after being wounded in 1915. He spent the rest of the war with the War Office
(1916–17) and British Military Mission in Paris (1917–19).
After the war he joined the staff of the International League of Red Cross Societies, rising to Under-Secretary General in 1927 and marrying Zita Gordon in 1937 (they had only one child, a daughter). He travelled far and wide for the organisation, organising international Red Cross conferences and giving lectures and broadcasts for them, but resigned from the organisation on the outbreak of the Second World War. He was given another army commission in 1940, serving in the War Office again and then being transferred to the Intelligence Corps (being promoted to his final rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the latter in 1942). Released from the army in 1944, he returned to the Red Cross in 1945 as their sub-commissioner in Paris
.
He was Co-Ordinating Officer of the Inter Allied Reparation Agency in Brussels
from 1946 to 1949, a counsellor of OEEC
from 1949 to 1951, and a senior official with UNESCO
from 1951 until his death shortly after an operation in Paris in 1953. He and Zita divorced in 1951.
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...
) was a British scholar, writer, intelligence officer and humanitarian worker.
Life
Lewis was the eldest son of Kate Terry and Frank Gielgud, and an elder brother to the broadcaster Val GielgudVal Gielgud
Val Henry Gielgud was an English actor, writer, director and broadcaster. He was a pioneer of radio drama for the BBC, and also directed the first ever drama to be produced in the newer medium of television....
and the actor John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
. He attended Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
as a King's Scholar
King's Scholar
A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar of one of certain public schools...
and then studied at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
as an exhibitioner
Exhibition (scholarship)
-United Kingdom and Ireland:At the universities of Dublin, Oxford and Cambridge, and at Westminster School, Eton College and Winchester College, and various other UK educational establishments, an exhibition is a financial award or grant to an individual student, normally on grounds of merit. The...
in 1912 and a classical demy
Demyship
A demyship is a form of scholarship, specifically at Magdalen College, Oxford. Oscar Wilde, Lewis Gielgud, Lord Denning andT. E. Lawrence were famous recipients. It is derived from demi-socii or half-fellows. Magdalen's founder, William of Waynflete, originally provided them for the College...
in 1913. On the outbreak of the First World War he became an officer in the 6th Battalion, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry, but left active service after being wounded in 1915. He spent the rest of the war with the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
(1916–17) and British Military Mission in Paris (1917–19).
After the war he joined the staff of the International League of Red Cross Societies, rising to Under-Secretary General in 1927 and marrying Zita Gordon in 1937 (they had only one child, a daughter). He travelled far and wide for the organisation, organising international Red Cross conferences and giving lectures and broadcasts for them, but resigned from the organisation on the outbreak of the Second World War. He was given another army commission in 1940, serving in the War Office again and then being transferred to the Intelligence Corps (being promoted to his final rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the latter in 1942). Released from the army in 1944, he returned to the Red Cross in 1945 as their sub-commissioner in 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...
.
He was Co-Ordinating Officer of the Inter Allied Reparation Agency in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
from 1946 to 1949, a counsellor of OEEC
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
from 1949 to 1951, and a senior official with UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
from 1951 until his death shortly after an operation in Paris in 1953. He and Zita divorced in 1951.
Works
- Red Scroll, a novel
- The Wise Child, a novel
- A book on travel
- Several translations and radio plays
- Three plays written with Naomi MitchisonNaomi MitchisonNaomi May Margaret Mitchison, CBE was a Scottish novelist and poet. She was appointed CBE in 1981; she was also entitled to call herself Lady Mitchison, CBE since 5 October 1964 .- Childhood and family background :Naomi Margaret Haldane was...
(Lewis was close friends with her and her brother J. B. S. HaldaneJ. B. S. HaldaneJohn Burdon Sanderson Haldane FRS , known as Jack , was a British-born geneticist and evolutionary biologist. A staunch Marxist, he was critical of Britain's role in the Suez Crisis, and chose to leave Oxford and moved to India and became an Indian citizen...
) - The Vigil of Venus (1952) http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/stmary/018394.shtml
External links
- http://www.gnelson.demon.co.uk/oxpoetry/index/ig.html
- DNB entry on John Gielgud, with information on Lewis
- Obituary of Lewis Gielgud, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Thursday, February 26, 1953; page 10