Loel Guinness
Encyclopedia
Group Captain
Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness OBE
(9 June 1906 – 31 December 1988) was a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament
(MP) for Bath
(1931–1945), business magnate
and philanthropist
. Guinness also financed the purchase of the Calypso
for the famous oceanic explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau
and his movie The Silent World
(1956).
(d.1931). He was descended from Samuel Guinness, a Dublin goldsmith (1727–1795) and the younger brother of the Guinness brewery's founder Arthur Guinness
.
He also had two sisters:
He was educated at Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the service of the Irish Guards
. In 1929, after taking flying lessons, Mr. Guinness became one of the first private citizens in England to own an airplane and soon he was a member of the County of London's Auxiliary Air Force. He later served as president of Air Work Ltd., an aircraft-parts supplier, and of British United Airways.
, who left him for Prince Aly Khan
, the eldest son of the Aga Khan III
. (Aly later married the actress Rita Hayworth
; Princess Joan Aly Khan married thirdly the 2nd Viscount Camrose
and died as the Dowager Viscountess Camrose or Joan Berry, Viscountess Camrose). By Joan, he had a son:
Princess Ingrid of Sweden (1910–2000) was a godmother at christening of the infant son of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Loel Guinness at St Margaret's, Westminster on the 15 July 1931. The child was named Patrick Benjamin. The other godparents were Richard Francis Roger Yarde-Buller, 4th Baron Churston (1910–1991), Sir Philip Sassoon, 3rd Baronet (1888–1939), Mr. Walter Rosen (1875–1951), Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth
(1873–1957), and Mrs. Richard Guinness (née Beatrice Mackay; formerly Mrs. Nico Jungman
).
and was named parliamentary private secretary to Sir Philip Sassoon, the Under Secretary for Air between 1931 and 1935. He held his seat until 1945, when the Conservatives were turned out of office by the Labour Party.
. When World War II broke out Loel Guinness went on active duty with the Royal Air Force
. In 1940 Loel flew as a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain
, famously buying a petrol station near his aerodrome when his driving was restricted by rationing. In 1944 he became commander of a wing of the Second Tactical Air Force and by the war's end he had been mentioned in despatches five times. He was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
in 1942. The Netherlands made him a commander of the Order of Orange Nassau and France made him an officer of the Legion of Honor and awarded him a Croix de Guerre
.
, by whom had he two children:
Her daughter, Dolores Guinness
born as Dolores Maria Agatha Wilhelmine Luise, Freiin von Fürstenberg-Hedringen b.1936, married Patrick Benjamin Guinness (1931–1965) on 22 October 1955 in Paris, son of Loel and his first wife Joan Yarde-Buller (and thus a half-brother to the present Aga Khan IV
). They had issue:
Loel Guinness died of heart disease at The Methodist Hospital
in Houston, United States
.
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(9 June 1906 – 31 December 1988) was a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Bath
Bath (UK Parliament constituency)
Bath is a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously of the House of Commons of England. It is an ancient constituency which has been constantly represented in Parliament since boroughs were first summoned to send members in the 13th century...
(1931–1945), business magnate
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. Guinness also financed the purchase of the Calypso
Calypso (ship)
RV Calypso is a former British Royal Navy Minesweeper converted into a research vessel for the oceanographic researcher Jacques-Yves Cousteau, equipped with a mobile laboratory for underwater field research. She was severely damaged in 1996, and is undergoing a complete refurbishment in 2009-2011...
for the famous oceanic explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water...
and his movie The Silent World
The Silent World
The Silent World is a 1956 French documentary film co-directed by the famed French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and a young Louis Malle. The Silent World is noted as one of the first films to use underwater cinematography to show the ocean depths in color...
(1956).
Early life
Raised in the United States and England, Loel Guinness was a son of Benjamin Solomon Guinness (1868–1947), a lawyer from whom he inherited a fortune, and Bridget Henrietta Frances Williams-BulkeleyWilliams-Bulkeley Baronets
The Williams, later Williams-Bulkeley Baronetcy, of Penrhyn in the County of Caernarvon, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 17 June 1661 for Griffith Williams. He had already been granted a baronetcy by Oliver Cromwell in 1658. The second Baronet represented both ...
(d.1931). He was descended from Samuel Guinness, a Dublin goldsmith (1727–1795) and the younger brother of the Guinness brewery's founder Arthur Guinness
Arthur Guinness
Arthur Guinness was an Irish brewer and the founder of the Guinness brewery business and family.He was also an entrepreneur, visionary and philanthropist....
.
He also had two sisters:
- Meraud Michel Wemyss Guinness (1904–1993) who married Alvaro GuevaraAlvaro GuevaraÁlvaro Guevara was a painter, based in London and loosely associated with the Bloomsbury set.He was born 13 July 1894 in Valparaíso, Chile.Guevara left Chile in 1909 and arrived in London on 1 January 1910. He attended Bradford Technical College, studying the cloth trade, but also spent two years...
(1894–1951) in 1929. - Tanis Eva Bulkeley Guinness (1908–1993) who married:
- The HonourableThe HonourableThe prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
William Drogo Sturges Montagu (m.1931-1937), son of George Charles Montagu, 9th Earl of Sandwich. - Howard DietzHoward DietzHoward Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist.-Biography:Dietz was born in New York City and studied journalism at Columbia University...
(m.1937-1951). - Lieutenant CommanderLieutenant CommanderLieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Charles Edward Harold John Philips, whom she married in 1951.
- The Honourable
He was educated at Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the service of the Irish Guards
Irish Guards
The Irish Guards , part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards regiment of the British Army.Along with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish regiments remaining in the British Army. The Irish Guards recruit in Northern Ireland and the Irish neighbourhoods of major British cities...
. In 1929, after taking flying lessons, Mr. Guinness became one of the first private citizens in England to own an airplane and soon he was a member of the County of London's Auxiliary Air Force. He later served as president of Air Work Ltd., an aircraft-parts supplier, and of British United Airways.
First marriage
Usually known as Loel Guinness, was most well known for his first marriage to the Honourable Joan Barbara Yarde-Buller (1908–1997), a daughter of the 3rd Lord ChurstonJohn Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston
John Reginald Lopes Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston, MVO, OBE was a British peer and soldier.Yarde-Buller was the only son of the 2nd Baron Churston and his wife, Barbara, the only child of Sir Hastings Yelverton and the 20th Baroness Grey de Ruthyn...
, who left him for Prince Aly Khan
Prince Aly Khan
Prince Ali Solomone Aga Khan , known as Aly Khan was a son of Aga Khan III, the head of the Ismaili Muslims, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, he was the third husband of actress Rita Hayworth...
, the eldest son of the Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
. (Aly later married the actress Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
; Princess Joan Aly Khan married thirdly the 2nd Viscount Camrose
Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose
John Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose was a British nobleman, politician, and newspaper proprietor.John Berry was born in Surrey on 12 July 1909, the eldest son of William Berry, later first Viscount Camrose and first Baronet Berry of Hackwood Park, and Mary Agnes Berry, née Corns...
and died as the Dowager Viscountess Camrose or Joan Berry, Viscountess Camrose). By Joan, he had a son:
- Patrick Benjamin Guinness (1931–1965) who would later marry his stepsister in 1955.
Princess Ingrid of Sweden (1910–2000) was a godmother at christening of the infant son of Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Loel Guinness at St Margaret's, Westminster on the 15 July 1931. The child was named Patrick Benjamin. The other godparents were Richard Francis Roger Yarde-Buller, 4th Baron Churston (1910–1991), Sir Philip Sassoon, 3rd Baronet (1888–1939), Mr. Walter Rosen (1875–1951), Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth
Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth
Judith Anne Dorothea Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth also known as Lady Wentworth was a British peeress, Arabian horse breeder and tennis player...
(1873–1957), and Mrs. Richard Guinness (née Beatrice Mackay; formerly Mrs. Nico Jungman
Nico Wilhelm Jungmann
Nico Wilhelm Jungmann , also known as Nico Jungman, was a Dutch painter of landscapes and figural subjects. He was also a book-illustrator and decorator. Jungmann studied with a church painter and also at the Royal Academy, Amsterdam...
).
Member of Parliament
In 1931, on his third try, Mr. Guinness was elected to Parliament for BathBath (UK Parliament constituency)
Bath is a constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, previously of the House of Commons of England. It is an ancient constituency which has been constantly represented in Parliament since boroughs were first summoned to send members in the 13th century...
and was named parliamentary private secretary to Sir Philip Sassoon, the Under Secretary for Air between 1931 and 1935. He held his seat until 1945, when the Conservatives were turned out of office by the Labour Party.
World War II
He gained the rank of Group Captain in the service of the Royal Auxiliary Air ForceRoyal Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force , originally the Auxiliary Air Force , is the voluntary active duty reserve element of the Royal Air Force, providing a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service...
. When World War II broke out Loel Guinness went on active duty with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. In 1940 Loel flew as a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, famously buying a petrol station near his aerodrome when his driving was restricted by rationing. In 1944 he became commander of a wing of the Second Tactical Air Force and by the war's end he had been mentioned in despatches five times. He was invested as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1942. The Netherlands made him a commander of the Order of Orange Nassau and France made him an officer of the Legion of Honor and awarded him a Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
.
Second marriage
Loel's second wife was Lady Isabel Violet Kathleen Manners (1918–2008), second daughter of the 9th Duke of RutlandJohn Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland
John Henry Montagu Manners, 9th Duke of Rutland was the son of Henry Manners, 8th Duke of Rutland and his wife Violet....
, by whom had he two children:
- William Loel Seymour Guinness (born 1939) married Agnes Elizabeth Lynn Day in 1971. Have issue:
- Sheridan William Guinness (born 1972).
- Thomas Seymour Guinness (born 1973).
- Chloë Belinda Vane-Tempest-Stewart (born 1976) married Lord Reginald Alexander Vane-Tempest-Stewart (born 1977).
- Serena Belinda Rosemary ("Lindy") (born 1941), who married the 5th and last Marquess of Dufferin and AvaSheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Marquess of Dufferin and AvaSheridan Frederick Terence Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Marquess of Dufferin and Ava was a British patron of the arts...
in 1964, the grandson of Rupert GuinnessRupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of IveaghRupert Edward Cecil Lee Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh KG CB CMG VD ADC FRS, , was an Anglo-Irish businessman, politician, oarsman and philanthropist. Born in London, he was the eldest son of Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh...
.
Third marriage
Loel's third wife was the socialite Gloria Rubio y Alatorre (1912–1980) who he married on 7 April 1951.Her daughter, Dolores Guinness
Dolores Guinness
Dolores Guinness born 31 July 1936 in Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany, is a German born Freiin , socialite, fashion icon and jet set member of the 1950s and 1960s. She is also a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1970...
born as Dolores Maria Agatha Wilhelmine Luise, Freiin von Fürstenberg-Hedringen b.1936, married Patrick Benjamin Guinness (1931–1965) on 22 October 1955 in Paris, son of Loel and his first wife Joan Yarde-Buller (and thus a half-brother to the present Aga Khan IV
Aga Khan IV
Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
). They had issue:
- Maria Alexandra (born 1956) married Foulques, Count de Quatrebarbes (born 1948) in 1979.
- Loel Patrick (born 1957).
- Victoria ChristinaVictoria NiarchosVictoria Christina Niarchos is a member of the non-aristocratic branch of the Guinness beer clan.She is a daughter of the late Patrick Benjamin Guinness and his wife , the former Dolores Guinness, Dolores Maria Agatha Wilhelmine Luise, Freiin von Fürstenberg-Hedringen Victoria Christina Niarchos...
(born 1960) (who married Philip NiarchosPhilippe NiarchosPhilip Niarchos was born in 1954, the eldest son of the Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos and Eugenia Livanos , herself the elder daughter of Stavros Niarchos' rival Stavros G...
in 1984, son of late Greek billionaire Stavros NiarchosStavros NiarchosStavros Spyros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon, sometimes known as "The Golden Greek." In 1952, Stavros Niarchos built the first supertankers capable of transporting large quantities of oil, and subsequently earned millions of dollars as global demand for his ships increased.- Early life :He...
).
Loel Guinness died of heart disease at The Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital
The Methodist Hospital is a hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Established in 1919 as an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church, Methodist is one of the most comprehensive teaching hospitals in the United States, with leading specialists in every field of...
in Houston, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
External links
- Obituary: Loel Guinness, 82, R.A.F. Flier And a Socialite on 2 Continents From The New York Times