George Haig, 2nd Earl Haig

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Alexander Eugene Douglas Haig, 2nd Earl Haig KStJ OBE DL (born 15 March 1918), styled Viscount Dawick before 1928, succeeded to the Earldom of Haig on the death of his father, Field Marshal the 1st Earl Haig, on 28 January 1928. In 1937 he was a Page of Honour to King George VI at his coronation. He was educated at Stowe and at Oxford University, receiving a BA in 1939 and a MA in 1950. Haig served in the Second World War and was for some time a prisoner of war. In 1977 he was dubbed a Knight of the Order of St John.

In 2000 he wrote the autobiography, My Father’s Son. Haig is also a distinguished artist and an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.

Lord Haig has three children:

The Lady Adrienne Haig
The Lady Vivienne Haig
Alexander Haig, Viscount Dawick

The family motto is "Tyde what may", which refers to a 13th century poem predicting that there would always be a Haig in Bemersyde. His heir is Alexander Douglas Derrick Haig, Viscount Dawick.

[edit] Controversy

In September 2006 Earl Haig courted controversy by criticising the Ministry of Defence's decision to posthumously pardon 306 British soldiers executed during World War I for cowardice, desertion or other offences. In reference to the soldiers pardoned, he claimed that "many were rogues, persistent deserters and criminals, or they were guilty of cowardice. They had to be made an example of."[1] This remark has drawn criticism from Andrew MacKinlay MP, who had campaigned for the pardon and was reported as "astonished" by Earl Haig's remarks.