Edward Grigg , 1st Baron Altrincham Edward William Macleay Grigg , 1st Baron Altrincham , KCMG , KCVO , DSO , MC , PC ( 8 September 1879 – 1 December 1955 ) was a British colonial administrator and politician . Biography . Early years . Grigg was the son of Henry Bridewell Grigg , a member of the Indian Civil Service , and Elizabeth Louisa , " née " Thomson , the daughter of Edward Deas Thomson . Born in Madras , he was educated at Winchester College and New College , Oxford , where he won the Gaisford Prize for Greek verse in 1902 . Upon graduation , he embarked on a career in journalism . He joined " The Times " in 1903 as secretary to the editor , George Earle Buckle , then moved to " The Outlook " in 1905 , where he worked as assistant editor under J . L . Garvin . Grigg returned to " The Times " in 1906 , where he was the head of the colonial department until he resigned in 1913 in order to become the co - editor of " The Round Table Journal " . Military service . At the start of the First World War , Grigg enlisted in the Grenadier Guards . Serving in France , he distinguished himself in combat before his transfer to the staff in 1916 . He received the Military Cross in 1917 and the Distinguished Service Order the following year , and was a lieutenant - colonel by the end of the war . Grigg was created Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1919 and served as military secretary to the Prince of Wales from 1919 until 1920 , accompanying the prince on tours of Canada , Australia , and New Zealand . For his services , Grigg was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1919 and Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1920 . Entry into politics . Upon his return in 1920 , Grigg became a private secretary to Prime Minister David Lloyd George . Grigg became devoted to Lloyd George , developing a deep respect for the " Welsh Wizard " that subsequently limited his political career . After Lloyd George ' s departure in 1922 , Grigg passed up a number of appointments within the civil service to enter the House of Commons . He was elected to Parliament as a Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP ) in 1922 from the constituency of Oldham . During this period he also served as secretary to the Rhodes Trust , a position he held from 1923 until 1925 . Governor of Kenya . In 1925 , Grigg resigned his seat to accept an appointment as governor of Kenya . While frustrated in his assigned task to merge Kenya with the bordering British colonies of Uganda and Tanganyika , he provided energetic administration to the colony , improving agriculture , education , and infrastructure during his governorship . Yet Grigg opposed consideration of the colony ' s development into a multi - racial state , believing that the native African population was ill - prepared for managing the government . During this period he was named KCMG in 1928 . Resuming politics . Grigg returned to Britain in 1930 . Though offered his choice of Indian governorships , his poor health , along with that of his wife , forestalled accepting an appointment . Instead , Grigg decided to reenter politics . Though initially nominated as the Conservative candidate for the Leeds Central constituency in the 1931 general election , Grigg loyally stood aside for the National Labour candidate , Richard Denman . Two years later , he returned to Parliament in a by - election for the constituency of Altrincham . He would serve as MP for Altrincham until the constituency was abolished in 1945 . Grigg ' s return to politics coincided with the rise to power of Adolf Hitler as . Grigg feared the Nazi movement and in two books he pressed the case for a strong defense against the threat it posed . Yet Grigg never openly challenged the policy of appeasement advanced by the governments of Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain , keeping his criticisms private . When war did break out , Grigg joined the government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information . In April 1940 he became first the financial secretary , then joint parliamentary Under - Secretary of State for War , a post he held until March 1942 . He declined Winston Churchill ' s invitation to become First Commissioner of Works , as it was dependent upon acceptance of a peerage , and did not return to government until he was selected as Minister Resident , Middle East in November 1944 . He was also appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1944 . Final years . In the aftermath of the Conservative caretaker government ' s defeat in the 1945 general election , Grigg was raised to the peerage as Baron Altrincham , ending his political career . Three years later , he assumed the editorship of the " National Review " , a post he held until failing health forced his retirement in 1954 . Grigg died a year later in Gloucestershire aged 76 . His son , John Grigg , who became the second Baron Altrincham upon his father ' s death , disclaimed the peerage in 1963 under the terms of the Peerage Act of that year .