Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford

Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford (25 February 1902 – 30 November 1993) was the only member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) ever to sit in the House of Lords.[1]

The Lord Milford
Wogan Philipps, 1926
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office
7 December 1962  30 November 1993
Hereditary peerage
Preceded byThe 1st Baron Milford
Succeeded byThe 3rd Baron Milford
Personal details
Born(1902-02-25)25 February 1902
Brentwood, Essex, England
Died30 November 1993(1993-11-30) (aged 91)
London, England
Political partyCommunist Party of Great Britain (CPGB)
Spouses
  • (m. 1928; div. 1944)
  • Cristina, Countess of Huntingdon
    (m. 1944; died 1953)
  • Tamara Rust
    (m. 1954)
Children2
Parent
EducationEton College,
Oxford University, Magdalen College
OccupationAmbulance driver, lord, artist

Early life

Philipps was the eldest son of Laurence Philipps, 1st Baron Milford. Philipps aimed to become an artist and after studying at Oxford,[2] set up a studio in Paris, but found little success.

Spanish civil-war

He abandoned his artistic endeavours to join Medical Aid to Spain, acting as an ambulance driver for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War.[3] During the conflict, he was wounded and had to return to Britain. On his return, he encouraged Nan Green to take his place and, in her absence, paid for the education of her children.[4][5]

At the end of the Spanish Civil War, Phillips chartered a ship, paid for by donations, to transport 5000 Spanish Republicans from France to Mexico.[6]

Following his experiences, in 1937 he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), which led his father to disinherit him.[7][2]

Post-war life and career

Having worked as an agricultural labourer in Gloucestershire during the war, Wogan became involved in the National Union of Agricultural Workers.[2]

In 1946, Philipps was elected as a Communist councillor on Cirencester Urban District Council, but soon lost the seat.[3] In the 1950 general election, he stood for the House of Commons in the Cirencester and Tewkesbury constituency, but took only 432 votes.[8] During the campaign, opponents - described by Hymie Fagan as fascists - threw rotten food, and an attempt was made to force his car off the road.[3] In 1959, he narrowly lost a rural council by-election. Following this, he and his third wife went to study in the Soviet Union.[3]

In 1962, Philipps inherited his father's title and agreed to sit in the House of Lords as the second Baron Milford.[3] Ironically, this meant that the CPGB's last parliamentary representative was in the House of Lords. He intended to disclaim the peerage but the CPGB leader Harry Pollitt persuaded him to stay on; in his maiden speech he called for the abolition of the institution.[9][2]

Personal life and death

In 1928, he married the novelist Rosamond Lehmann. The couple had two children: Hugo, who became 3rd Baron Milford on his father's death, and Sarah. By the end of the 1930s, Lehmann had left Philipps for poet Cecil Day-Lewis, but she and Philipps did not divorce until 1944.[10]

Philipps' second marriage was to Cristina Casati, Viscountess Hastings, in 1944.[11] She was previously married to Francis Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon and was the only child of the eccentric Italian arts patron Luisa Casati. The couple ran a progressive farm in Gloucestershire.[11]

His wife Christina died in 1953. A year later, Philipps married Tamara Kravetz, the widow of William Rust, editor of the Daily Worker. The couple moved to Hampstead, where they lived until Philipps' death.[11]

Philipps died in London on 30 November 1993, aged 91.[11]

Arms

Coat of arms of Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford
Crest
A lion as in the arms.
Escutcheon
Argent a lion rampant Sable ducally gorged and chained Or.
Supporters
On either side a horse Argent charged on the shoulder with three bars wavy Azure.
Motto
Ducit Amor Patriæ (Patriotism My Motive)[12]

References

  1. J. Wells, The House of Lords (London, Hodder & Stoughton 1997) ISBN 0-340-64928-3
  2. "West Country Communists | Tolpuddle Martyrs". Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. Michael Walker, Wogan Philipps Archived 2006-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Compendium of Communist Biography
  4. Michael Walker, George and Nan Green Archived 2006-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Compendium of Communist Biography
  5. Tremlett, Giles (2020). The International Brigades. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 481. ISBN 978-1-4088-5398-6.
  6. Baxell, Richard (2014). Unlikely Warriors. London: Aurum Press. p. 401. ISBN 978-1-78131-233-9.
  7. "Rosamond Lehmann". Arlindo-correia.org. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  8. "UK General Election results: February 1950". Psr.keele.ac.uk. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  9. TIME Magazine Archive Jul. 12, 1963
  10. Who's Who 1970, p. 2163; ISBN 0-7136-1140-5
  11. Sally Belfrage (3 December 1993). "Obituary: Lord Milford - People - News". The Independent. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  12. Debrett's Peerage. 2019. p. 3636.
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