Secretary of State for Air
Which position did William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle hold in Feb 1953?
William Sidney , 1st Viscount De LIsle William Philip Sidney , 1st Viscount De LIsle , ( 23 May 1909 – 5 April 1991 ) , known as The Lord De LIsle and Dudley between 1945 and 1956 , was a British Army officer , politician and Victoria Cross recipient who served as the 15th Governor-General of Australia , in office from 1961 to 1965 . He was the last non-Australian to hold the position . Sidney was born into a minor aristocratic family , and attended Eton College before going on to Magdalene College , Cambridge . He became a chartered accountant , but also joined the Territorial Army . During the Second World War , Sidney served with the Grenadier Guards in France and Italy ; he was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944 for his actions in the Battle of Anzio . He was elected to the House of Commons later that year , as a member of the Conservative Party . In 1945 , Sidney succeeded his father as Baron De LIsle and Dudley , consequently being elevated to the House of Lords . He served as Secretary of State for Air from 1951 to 1955 , under Winston Churchill , and was raised to the viscountcy in 1956 . Lord De LIsle became governor-general in 1961 on the recommendation of Robert Menzies , the Prime Minister of Australia . He served for just under four years with little controversy ; as well as being the last foreign governor-general , he was also the last to wear the traditional vice-regal uniform . Early life . Sidney was the younger of two children , and the only son , of William Sidney , 5th Baron De LIsle and Dudley ( 19 August 1859 – 18 June 1945 ) and his wife , Winifred Agneta Yorke Bevan ( d . 11 February 1959 ) . He was a descendant of King William IV by his mistress Dorothea Jordan . He was educated at Eton College and Magdalene College , Cambridge and became a chartered accountant . In 1929 he joined the Grenadier Guards Reserve of Officers . Marriage and issue . Lord De LIsle married Hon Jacqueline Corrine Yvonne Vereker ( 20 October 1914 – 15 November 1962 ) , daughter of Field Marshal John Vereker , 6th Viscount Gort , on 8 June 1940 . The couple had five children : - Hon . Elizabeth Sophia ( born 12 March 1941 , died 3 February 2016 ) , married 5 times , to George Silver Oliver Annesley Colthurst , to Sir Edward Humphry Tyrrell Wakefield , 2nd Bt. , to Captain James Silvester Rattray of Craighall-Rattray , 28th of Rattray , to Andrew H . Lane Paneyko , and to Robert Samuel Clive Abel Smith . - Hon . Catherine Mary ( born 20 October 1942 ) , married to Martin John Wilbraham , and then to Nicholas Hyde Villiers . - Philip John Algernon , 2nd Viscount De LIsle ( born 21 April 1945 ) - Hon . Anne Marjorie ( born 15 August 1947 ) , married to Lt.-Cdr . David Alexander Harries . - Hon . Lucy Corinna Agneta ( born 21 February 1953 ) , married to Michael Willoughby , 13th Baron Middleton After his wifes death , he married the widowed Lady Glanusk ( née Margaret Shoubridge ) on 24 March 1966 in Paris . They had no children . War service . During the Second World War , Sidney fought in the Battle of France and the Italian Campaign . While serving as a company commander in the 5th Battalion , Grenadier Guards ( itself part of 24th Guards Brigade of the British 1st Infantry Division ) , he led a handful of men in the defence of the Anzio beachhead in February 1944 , for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross . Sidney led a successful attack which drove German troops of the 147th Grenadier Regiment out of a gully . Later he led another counter-attack and dashed forward , engaging the Germans with his tommy gun at point-blank range , forcing a withdrawal . When the attack was renewed , Sidney and one guardsman were wounded and another killed , but he would not consent to have his wounds dressed until the Germans had been beaten off and the battalions position had been consolidated . During this time , although extremely weak from loss of blood , he continued to encourage and inspire his men . In later life , when asked where he had been shot , he would jocularly respond that he was shot in Italy . This was to conceal that he had been shot in the buttocks . The ribbon for the medal was made from one of his father-in-law Lord Gorts uniforms and was awarded by General Sir Harold Alexander , commanding the Allied Armies in Italy , on 3 March 1944 in Italy . Political life . At a by-election in October 1944 , he was elected unopposed to the House of Commons as Conservative Member of Parliament ( MP ) for Chelsea . His father died in June 1945 and he succeeded as 6th Baron De LIsle and Dudley , requiring translation to the House of Lords . He thus retired from the House of Commons prior to the July 1945 general election . In 1951 he was appointed Secretary of State for Air under Winston Churchill and held that office until 1955 . During this time he visited Australia , travelling to Woomera to examine weapons research and meeting the Prime Minister , Robert Menzies . In 1956 he was created Viscount De LIsle , of Penshurst in the County of Kent . Governor-General . Following the death in office of Lord Dunrossil in February 1961 , Prime Minister Robert Menzies recommended De LIsle as his military honours , aristocratic background , and political experience apparently made him , according to one author , Menzies vision of ideal governor-general material . De LIsle was sworn in on 3 August 1961 . He continued Dunrossils revival of the full ceremonial vice-regal uniform , but would be the last governor-general to do so . De LIsle faced no constitutional issues during his time in office ; the Official Secretary throughout his term was Murray Tyrrell . De LIsle was the first governor-general since William McKell ( 1947–1953 ) to have children living at Yarralumla , and this made him popular with the general public . However , his wife fell ill in his first year of office , and died on 16 November 1962 , aged 48 . Despite this , he chose to continue in office until the expiry of Dunrossils original five-year term in 1965 . Two of his daughters , Catherine and Anne , acted as official hostess in place of their mother . Retirement . By the time of his retirement in 1965 , public opinion was strongly in favour of an Australian Governor-General , although this was not a reflection on his performance in the role . His continuing interest in Australia was shown by several visits after his retirement , the last for Australias bicentenary in 1988 when he presented a bronze statue , which now stands in the grounds of Government House in Canberra . In 1975 he co-founded what is now called The Freedom Association , a free-market campaign group opposed to the post-war consensus that played a prominent role in the Grunwick Dispute . Viscount De LIsle died in Kent on 5 April 1991 and was buried in the Sidney family vault at St John the Baptist , Penshurst . He was the last surviving Victoria Cross recipient who had been a member of both Houses of Parliament . He was succeeded in his titles by his only son , Philip . Styles and honours . - The Honourable William Sidney ( 1909–30 March 1944 ) - The Honourable William Sidney VC ( 30 March 1944 – 11 October 1944 ) - The Honourable William Sidney VC MP 11 October 1944 – 18 June 1945 ) - The Right Honourable The Lord De LIsle and Dudley VC ( 18 June 1945 – 1951 ) - The Right Honourable The Lord De LIsle and Dudley VC PC ( 1951–13 January 1956 ) - The Right Honourable The Viscount De LIsle VC PC ( 13 January 1956 – 11 May 1961 ) - The Right Honourable The Viscount De LIsle VC GCMG PC ( 11 May 1961 – 14 March 1963 ) - The Right Honourable The Viscount De LIsle VC GCMG GCVO PC ( 14 March 1963 – 23 April 1968 ) - The Right Honourable The Viscount De LIsle VC KG GCMG GCVO PC ( 23 April 1968 – 5 April 1991 ) In 1965 De LIsle succeeded his kinsman as ninth Baronet of Castle Goring . He was appointed Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter ( KG ) on 23 April 1968 , becoming one of only two men ever to have held both of the highest orders of gallantry and chivalry – Victoria Cross and Knight of the Garter ( the other being Field Marshal the Lord Roberts ) .