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The 9th Earl Bessborough,
a soldier, politician and businessman,
because Canada's fourteenth Governor
General.
Born Vere Brabazon
Ponsonby, on October 27th 1880, he
received his education at Harrow and
Trinity College, Cambridge. Though
trained for the legal profession and a
member of the Bar, he chose politics as
a career at 26, but suffered a number of
defeats. He sat in the House of Commons
for a total of approximately seven years
then went to the House of Lords in 1920,
when he succeeded to the Earldom on the
death of his father. He fought at
Gallipoli and in France and after the
was became a wealthy and powerful figure
in the business world.
Appointed to the
vice-regal post in 1931, like many of
his predecessors, he was sworn in at
Halifax. For the first time, the
swearing in ceremony was broadcast over
a Canadian and United States radio
network.
Lady Bessborough, nee
Roberte de Neuflize, was a member of a
wealthy, titled French banking family. A
beautiful women, she was a welcome
chatelaine in a country with some
3,000,000 French speaking people.
The Bessborough hobby was
amateur theatrics and they had
frequently written and presented shows
in the theatre of their English home. In
Canada, they fostered the organization
of the Dominion Drama Festival which
continues to influence the Canadian
stage.
The Bessborough tenure
covered the worst part of the world
economic depression, and he insisted on
sharing in the general reduction of
salaries in the public service. The
Bessboroughs travelled widely throughout
Canada and talked intimately with all
classes and all ages.
Lord and Lady Bessborough
returned to England late in 1935, taking
with them a son, George St Lawrence
Neuflize, born a few months after their
arrival in Canada. Bessborough
re-entered the business world and had
interests in many countries, but still
carried out important public services.
He died in Hampshire,
England on March 10th, 1956 |
