Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos
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Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos KG PC DSO MC (15 March 1893-21 January 1972) was a British businessman who was brought into government during the Second World War, holding a number of ministerial posts.
Lyttelton was the son of Alfred Lyttelton, a Conservative politician, and related to William Gladstone.1 He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge and served in the Grenadier Guards in World War I. He married Moira Godolphin Osborne in 1920. They had four children: Anthony Alfred, Rosemary, Julian and Nicholas Adrian Oliver. He was managing director of British Metal Corporation Ltd and later became Chairman of Associated Electrical Industries.
Lyttelton entered Parliament as Conservative MP for Aldershot in a wartime by-election in 1940. He entered Churchill's war cabinet as President of the Board of Trade, Minister of State in the Middle East and Minister of Production. After the Conservatives' 1951 election victory, he became Secretary of State for the Colonies. He continued in the House of Commons until 1954, when he was elevated to the House of Lords as 1st Viscount Chandos, returning to AEI and steering it to become a major British company.
The Lyttelton Theatre at the Royal National Theatre, London is named after Oliver Lyttelton; he was the first chairman of the NT (1962-71) and his parents had been active campaigners for its development.
[edit] Notes
1Oliver Lyttleton came from a very influential family:
- He was a descendant of the Grenville family, including such people as:
- Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham (1675-1749), landscape designer and soldier
- George Grenville (1712-1770), Prime Minister (1763-1770), grandson of the above by his daughter Hester Grenville, 1st Countess Temple
- William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (1757-1834), Home Secretary (1789-1791), Foreign Secretary (1791-1801)
- George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753-1813), Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary (1783, for three days, simultaneously)
- He was also related to the Spencer family:
- His great-great-grandather, George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834), was Home Secretary from 1806-1807.
- His great-grandmother, Lady Sarah Spencer, was the sister of John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer (1782-1845) who as Viscount Althorp (his title before succeeding to the peerage) and an MP, was Chancellor of the Exchequer and Leader of the House of Commons (1830-1834), responsible for the passage of the Great Reform Bill.
- To the Gladstone family:
- His paternal grandmother, Mary Glynne, later Lady Lyttelton, was the sister of Catherine (1812-1900), wife of William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), four-times Prime Minister (1868-1874; 1880-1885; 1886; 1892-1894) and prolific Chancellor (1853-1855; 1859-1866; 1873-1874; 1880-1882)
- Gladstone's son was Herbert Gladstone, 1st Viscount Gladstone, Home Secretary (1905-1910)
- He was a member of the Lyttelton family:
- His paternal grandfather, George Lyttelton, 4th Baron Lyttelton was a junior minister under Sir Robert Peel.
- His cousin, Charles Lyttelton, 8th Viscount Cobham, 6th Baron Lyttelton was a junior minister under Neville Chamberlain
- His father, Alfred Lyttelton (1857-1913), played both world-class cricket and football, and was Colonial Secretary (1902-1905)
- His first cousin once removed is Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008), a jazz trumpeter and radio presenter.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Roundell Palmer |
Member of Parliament for Aldershot 1940–1954 |
Succeeded by Sir Eric Errington |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Andrew Duncan |
President of the Board of Trade 1940–1941 |
Succeeded by Andrew Duncan |
| Preceded by New Office |
Minister of State in the Middle East 1941–1942 |
Succeeded by Richard Casey |
| Preceded by The Lord Beaverbrook |
Minister of Production 1942–1945 |
Succeeded by Office abolished |
| Preceded by Hugh Dalton |
President of the Board of Trade 1945 |
Succeeded by Sir Stafford Cripps |
| Preceded by James Griffiths |
Secretary of State for the Colonies 1951–1954 |
Succeeded by Alan Lennox-Boyd |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Viscount Chandos | Succeeded by Anthony Lyttelton |
