Arthur Herbert Tennyson Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers, KCMG, DSO, MC (20 March 1887 – 14 July 1944), was a British Army officer who was the 16th Governor of Victoria, from 1926 to 1931 and Administrator of Australia in 1930-31. He had a long involvement with the Boy Scout Movement and became the Boy Scouts Association's Chief Scout of the British Empire from 1942 until his death.
The Right Honourable The Lord Somers KCMG, DSO, MC | |
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Administrator of Australia | |
In office 2 October 1930 – 21 January 1931 | |
Monarch | George V |
Preceded by | The Viscount Stonehaven (as Governor-General) |
Succeeded by | Sir Isaac Isaacs (as Governor-General) |
16th Governor of Victoria | |
In office 28 June 1926 – 23 June 1931 | |
Monarch | George V |
Premier | John Allan Edmond Hogan William McPherson |
Preceded by | Lord Stradbroke |
Succeeded by | Lord Huntingfield |
Personal details | |
Born | (1887-03-20)20 March 1887 Freshwater, Isle of Wight, England |
Died | 14 July 1944(1944-07-14) (aged 57) Ledbury, Herefordshire, England |
Spouse | Daisy Meeking (m. 1921) |
Alma mater | New College, Oxford |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch/service | British Army |
Years of service | 1906–1922 |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Commands | 6th Battalion Tank Corps |
Battles/wars | First World War |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Military Cross Mentioned in Despatches Legion of Honour (France) |
Somers was born in Freshwater, Isle of Wight, the eldest son of Herbert Haldane Somers-Cocks and the former Blanche Clogstoun. His godfather was Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Somers' father died when he was seven years old. He succeeded a distant relative as Baron Somers at the age of twelve. He attended Charterhouse School before going on to New College, Oxford.[1] He was an able cricketer, and played 17 first-class games. In 1904, whilst a schoolboy at Charterhouse, he made 115 against Westminster,[2] and two years later he made his first-class debut for Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Worcestershire, scoring 0 and 13.[3] He rarely had enough time to play cricket, but in the 1920s he made a further 16 first-class appearances for Worcestershire, his highest score being 52 against Essex in May 1925.[4] In later life he became both a vice-president of Worcestershire County Cricket Club and, in 1936, President of the MCC.[2]
In 1906, Somers joined the British Army 1st Regiment of Life Guards, later taking leave to farm in Canada before rejoining his regiment in 1914 at the start of the First World War. He commanded the 6th Battalion of the new Tank Corps in 1918. He was twice wounded, mentioned in despatches, awarded the Military Cross, the Distinguished Service Order, and appointed to the French Legion of Honour.[1]
Somers was appointed Governor of Victoria in 1926. He "had charm and natural gaiety which won him popularity ... warm and generous, he had a genuine interest in people, as well as a high sense of duty and leadership ... a shrewd and successful governor".[1] Following the expiry of Lord Stonehaven's term as Governor-General of Australia in October 1930, Somers – as the longest serving state governor – was called upon to act as Administrator of Australia until Sir Isaac Isaacs took office in January 1931.[5]
Somers was initiated as a Freemason into Household Brigade Lodge No.2614 under the United Grand Lodge of England some 18 years before he arrived in Victoria and served as the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria between 1927 and 1932.[6]
In 1929, at his own expense[citation needed], Somers brought together teenage boys from different backgrounds in Australia to what was named Lord Somers Camp which continues to this day[citation needed]. The idea of the camp was based upon the Duke of York camps in the England that operated until the start of the Second World War.[citation needed]
The Boy Scouts Association appointed Somers as its chief commissioner in 1932 and then its deputy Chief Scout from 1935 to 1941. Robert Baden-Powell, the founder and chairman and Chief Scout for life of the Boy Scouts Association, designated Somers as his successor as the association's Chief Scout. Following Baden-Powell's death, the Boy Scouts Association appointed Somers as its Chief Scout of the British Empire in March 1941 until his death in 1944.[1][7]
Somers married Daisy Finola Meeking in 1921 and had a daughter:
Honorary titles | ||
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Preceded by Sir John Cottrell, 4th Baronet |
Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire 1933–1944 |
Succeeded by Sir Richard Cottrell, 5th Baronet |
Political offices | ||
New title New government |
Lord-in-waiting 1924–1926 |
Succeeded by Earl of Airlie |
Government offices | ||
Preceded by Earl of Stradbroke |
Governor of Victoria 1926–1931 |
Succeeded by Lord Huntingfield |
Peerage of Great Britain | ||
Preceded by Philip Cocks |
Baron Somers 1899–1944 |
Succeeded by Arthur Somers-Cocks |
The Boy Scouts Association | ||
Preceded by Lord Baden-Powell |
The Boy Scouts Association's Chief Scout of the British Empire 1941–1944 |
Succeeded by Lord Rowallan |
Masonic offices | ||
Preceded by William Bice |
Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria 1927–1932 |
Succeeded by William Kerr |
Governors of Victoria | ||
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Before Federation |
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After Federation |
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General | |
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National libraries | |
Biographical dictionaries | |
Other |
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