Louis Leisler Greig
Encyclopedia
Group Captain Sir Louis Leisler Greig, KBE
, CVO
(17 November 1880 – 1 March 1953) was a British
naval surgeon, courtier and intimate of King George VI
, and a rugby union
player.
when they took their 1903 British Lions tour to South Africa
. He took part in all three tests against as well as some of the provincial matches.
merchant, Greig was educated at Glasgow Academy and Merchiston Castle School
before studying medicine at Glasgow University. Academically gifted, Greig was also an excellent rugby union
and tennis
player. After a few years practicing as a junior doctor in the Gorbals
, he joined the navy in 1906 and won the gold medal during his training at Haslar
.
In 1909, Greig entered officer training at the Royal Naval College, Osborne
, where he met Prince Albert, later George VI. He lived at Thatched House Lodge
at the time. He served as a mentor for the gauche and diffident prince, and the two served together in HMS Cumberland
, where Greig was posted as a surgeon. He was transferred to the Royal Marines
in 1914, and was captured at the fall of Antwerp, spending eight months as a prisoner of war
.
Released by a prisoner exchange, Greig married Phyllis Scrimgeour on 16 February 1916, by whom he had three children:
Greig joined the company of HMS Malaya
in June 1917, rejoining Prince Albert, and helped cure the prince of the severe peptic ulcer
s from which he suffered. During the next seven years, he was extensively in attendance on the Prince, receiving an appointment as an equerry
to the Prince in 1918. Prince Albert and his Equerry both joined the Royal Air Force
in 1919 (Greig rising to the rank of Wing Commander
), and the two were partners at Wimbledon
, an event which brought Greig's influence with the Prince into public light.
Greig continued to act as a mentor and advisor to the Prince (created Duke of York
in 1920), acting as a surrogate father and encouraging his social life. He encouraged the Duke of York's courtship of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
, which was ultimately to have significant consequences for Greig's relations with the Duke. While he was made a CVO
(26 April 1923) for his services, Elizabeth, as Duchess of York, gradually displaced him as an intimate of the Duke. Ultimately, Greig was omitted from a royal tour of the Balkans and consequently resigned his equerryship. However, he was created a Gentleman Usher
in Ordinary on 1 March 1924.
Greig's subsequent life was uneventful. He successfully joined J&A Scrimgeour (a firm connected with his wife) as a stockbroker.
Greig went into a brief eclipse under King Edward VIII
, who disliked him, and resigned his ushership on 21 July 1936. However, upon the accession of his old friend George VI, he was appointed an Extra Gentleman Usher (1 March 1937), and was also elected chairman of Wimbledon. He rejoined the RAF in 1939, serving as a liaison with the Air Ministry
and reaching the rank of Group Captain
. He was operated on for cancer in 1952, but succumbed in early 1953 and was buried in Ham, Surrey.
Greig's grandson, Louis Stourton Greig (born 1956), served as Page of Honour
to Queen Elizabeth II.
Whilst a stockbroker, he formed a friendship with Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald
. Greig played a small role in the formation of the National Government, and was persuaded by MacDonald to accept a KBE
on 3 June 1932, in which year he was also created deputy Ranger of Richmond Park
.
However, in earlier times, he was a member of the January Club
, an establishment ginger group
for the British Union of Fascists
:
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...
, CVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(17 November 1880 – 1 March 1953) was a British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
naval surgeon, courtier and intimate of King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
, and a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player.
Rugby union
Greig was a successful rugby player, and was capped for and the British and Irish LionsBritish and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
when they took their 1903 British Lions tour to South Africa
1903 British Lions tour to South Africa
The 1903 British Isles tour to South Africa was the fifth tour by a British Isles team and the third to South Africa. It is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950....
. He took part in all three tests against as well as some of the provincial matches.
Biography
The son of a GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
merchant, Greig was educated at Glasgow Academy and Merchiston Castle School
Merchiston Castle School
Merchiston Castle School is an independent school for boys in the village of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has about 480 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 8 and 18 as either boarders or day pupils; day pupils make up 35% of the school....
before studying medicine at Glasgow University. Academically gifted, Greig was also an excellent rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. After a few years practicing as a junior doctor in the Gorbals
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived here because their jobs provided this home and they could not afford their own...
, he joined the navy in 1906 and won the gold medal during his training at Haslar
Royal Hospital Haslar
The Royal Hospital Haslar in Gosport, Hampshire, England was one of several hospitals serving the Portsmouth Urban Area. The Royal Hospital Haslar officially closed as the last military hospital in the UK in 2007...
.
In 1909, Greig entered officer training at the Royal Naval College, Osborne
Osborne House
Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....
, where he met Prince Albert, later George VI. He lived at Thatched House Lodge
Thatched House Lodge
Thatched House Lodge is a royal residence in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in London, England.The main house has six reception rooms and six bedrooms, and it stands in four acres of grounds. The gardens include an eighteenth-century two-room thatched summer house which gave the main...
at the time. He served as a mentor for the gauche and diffident prince, and the two served together in HMS Cumberland
HMS Cumberland (1902)
HMS Cumberland was a Monmouth-class armoured cruiser of the British Royal Navy. She was built by London & Glasgow Co. and launched on 16 December 1902. She served in the First World War with most of her sisters, seeing service in the Cameroons...
, where Greig was posted as a surgeon. He was transferred to the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
in 1914, and was captured at the fall of Antwerp, spending eight months as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
Released by a prisoner exchange, Greig married Phyllis Scrimgeour on 16 February 1916, by whom he had three children:
- Bridget Greig (b. 1917), married Sir Ninian Buchan-Hepburn, 6th Baronet in 1958
- Jean Greig (1920–1973), married Joseph CooperJoseph CooperJoseph Elliott Needham Cooper, OBE , pianist and broadcaster, best known as the chairman of the BBC's long-running television panel game Face the Music.- Early career :...
in 1947 - Captain Sir (Henry Louis) Carron Greig, KCVO, CBE, DL (b. 1925), a ship broker, Gentleman UsherGentleman UsherGentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders.-Historical:...
in Ordinary to Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
1961–1995, married Monica Stourton and has issue
Greig joined the company of HMS Malaya
HMS Malaya (1915)
HMS Malaya was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship of the British Royal Navy, built by Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth and Company at High Walker and launched in March 1915...
in June 1917, rejoining Prince Albert, and helped cure the prince of the severe peptic ulcer
Peptic ulcer
A peptic ulcer, also known as PUD or peptic ulcer disease, is the most common ulcer of an area of the gastrointestinal tract that is usually acidic and thus extremely painful. It is defined as mucosal erosions equal to or greater than 0.5 cm...
s from which he suffered. During the next seven years, he was extensively in attendance on the Prince, receiving an appointment as an equerry
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...
to the Prince in 1918. Prince Albert and his Equerry both joined 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 1919 (Greig rising to the rank of Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
), and the two were partners at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, an event which brought Greig's influence with the Prince into public light.
Greig continued to act as a mentor and advisor to the Prince (created Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
in 1920), acting as a surrogate father and encouraging his social life. He encouraged the Duke of York's courtship of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, which was ultimately to have significant consequences for Greig's relations with the Duke. While he was made a CVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(26 April 1923) for his services, Elizabeth, as Duchess of York, gradually displaced him as an intimate of the Duke. Ultimately, Greig was omitted from a royal tour of the Balkans and consequently resigned his equerryship. However, he was created a Gentleman Usher
Gentleman Usher
Gentleman Usher is a title for some officers of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. See List of Gentlemen Ushers for a list of office-holders.-Historical:...
in Ordinary on 1 March 1924.
Greig's subsequent life was uneventful. He successfully joined J&A Scrimgeour (a firm connected with his wife) as a stockbroker.
Greig went into a brief eclipse under King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, who disliked him, and resigned his ushership on 21 July 1936. However, upon the accession of his old friend George VI, he was appointed an Extra Gentleman Usher (1 March 1937), and was also elected chairman of Wimbledon. He rejoined the RAF in 1939, serving as a liaison with the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
and reaching the rank of Group Captain
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...
. He was operated on for cancer in 1952, but succumbed in early 1953 and was buried in Ham, Surrey.
Greig's grandson, Louis Stourton Greig (born 1956), served as Page of Honour
Page of Honour
While a page is a comparatively low-ranking servant, a Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page...
to Queen Elizabeth II.
Hard right political sympathies
Greig was a staunch monarchist and a supporter of the British regime.Whilst a stockbroker, he formed a friendship with Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
. Greig played a small role in the formation of the National Government, and was persuaded by MacDonald to accept a KBE
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...
on 3 June 1932, in which year he was also created deputy Ranger of Richmond Park
Richmond Park
Richmond Park is a 2,360 acre park within London. It is the largest of the Royal Parks in London and Britain's second largest urban walled park after Sutton Park, Birmingham. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton and East Sheen...
.
However, in earlier times, he was a member of the January Club
January Club
The January Club was a discussion group founded in 1934 by Oswald Mosley to attract Establishment support for the movement known as the British Union of Fascists....
, an establishment ginger group
Ginger group
A ginger group is a formal or informal group within, for example, a political party seeking to inspire the rest with its own enthusiasm and activity....
for the British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
:
- "It was in the 1930s that British fascism had its first and so far only flowering in the form of Sir Oswald MosleyOswald MosleySir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
's British Union of Fascists (BUF), formed on 1October 1932. Mosley had moved from the Tory Party to the Labour left to fascism, and formed the 'January Club' as a sort of discussion group / front organisation to attract establishment types to his blackshirt movement. Devotees of the January Club included Wing-Commander Sir Louis Greig, Lord Erskine (a Conservative-Unionist MP), Lord William Scott (brother of the 8th Duke of Buccleuch and Conservative-Unionist MP) and Lord and Lady Russell of Liverpool. The BUF. began to receive support from the influential Conservative press in the form of media baron Lord Rothermere, who's paper the Daily Mail backed Mosley enthusiastically, beginning with the infamous Hurrah for the Blackshirts headline of 8 January 1934."
External links
- Louis Greig, the Man Who Made George VI - Website The Royal Universe