Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven VC GCMG (1872 - 1955)

Born 6 Jul 1872 in Windsor, Berkshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Zara Eileen (Pollok) Hore-Ruthven — married 1 Jun 1908 in St George's, Hanover Square, London, England, United Kingdom

Died 2 May 1955 at age 82 in Shipton Moyne, Gloucestershire, England

Biography

Sandie Hore-Ruthven VC GCMG is Notable.

Preceded by Sir George Tom Molesworth Bridges KCB KCMG DSO

20th Governor of South Australia 14 May 1928 to 26 Apr 1934

Succeeded by Major General Winston Joseph Dugan GCMG CB DSO KStJ, 1st Baron Dugan of Victoria

Preceded by Air Vice Marshal Sir Philip Game GBE KCB DSO

27th Governor of New South Wales 15 Jan 1935 to 22 Jan 1936

Succeeded by Admiral Sir David Anderson KCB KCMG MVO

Preceded by The Right Hon. Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG

10th Governor-General of Australia 23 Jan 1936 to 30 Jan 1945

Succeeded by HRH The Prince Henry William Frederick Albert, Duke of Gloucester KG KT KP GCB GCMG GCVO

Sir Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie (1872-1955), governor-general of Australia, was born on 6th July 1872 at Windsor, Berkshire, England, second son of Walter James Hore-Ruthven, 8th Baron Ruthven, and his wife Lady Caroline Annesley, née Gore, daughter of the 4th Earl of Arran. The family was Scottish. Registered as Alexander Harry Gore Ruthven and known throughout his life as 'Sandie', he was educated at Winchester and Eton Colleges.

In 1892 he was commissioned in the militia (3rd Battalion Highland Light Infantry), in 1893 visited Canada and in 1898 travelled to Egypt. Temporarily attached to the Egyptian Army, he commanded the Slavery Department Camel Corps and for rescuing a wounded Egyptian officer from the Dervishes on 22nd September 1898 he was awarded the first Victoria Cross to be awarded to a militia officer. In May the next year he was gazetted to the Cameron Highlanders but remained in Egypt for the Sudan campaign—he was Mentioned in Despatches three times. He was special-service officer in Somaliland in 1903-04, then rejoined the Cameron Highlanders in Dublin. In 1904-08 he was military secretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Dudley, and his successor, Lord Aberdeen.

On 1st June 1908 at St George's, Hanover Square, London, he married Zara Eileen Pollok (1879-1965), daughter of John Pollok and his wife the Honourable Florence Madeline, née Bingham.^[1] Zara had been born at Lismany, Galway, Ireland, on 20 January 1879. Her family opposed the marriage, regarding Hore-Ruthven, he later wrote, as 'the impecunious son of an impoverished family, with indifferent prospects'.

In July 1908 as military secretary, Hore-Ruthven rejoined Dudley, newly appointed governor general of Australia, as aide-de-camp. They arrived in Sydney in September.

Retiring from the army in 1928, Hore-Ruthven was appointed Governor of South Australia, and was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG). He arrived in Adelaide in May. Active and enthusiastic, he travelled the state by Tiger Moth aeroplane. He was an enthusiast for the Boy Scouts and his wife for the Girl Guide movements. She was also president of the State branch of the Red Cross Society and was associated with the Victoria League. In a 1930 Anzac Day speech Hore-Ruthven expressed sympathy for returned soldiers 'suffering hardship and deprivation owing to the misguided leadership of a few hot-headed irresponsible [strikers]'. The United Trades and Labor Council censured him. As early as February 1931 he privately urged Sir Philip Game, Governor of New South Wales to dismiss the Premier, Jack Lang. In London on leave during 1933 he helped mediate in the cricket 'body-line crisis'.

On his return to England Hore-Ruthven was selected as Governor of New South Wales and arrived in Sydney on 21 February 1935. But while in London he had already been sounded by the King about appointment as Governor General of Australia, and on 23rd January 1936 he assumed that office, succeeding Sir Isaac Isaacs. At the suggestion of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons he had been created Baron Gowrie of Canberra and Dirleton; in December 1935 he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). Gowrie was conscious that as an 'imported' governor general following an Australian his exercise of office would be under intense critical scrutiny. He believed that he should 'try and re-establish the dignity of the office and ensure the proper performance of the social and official duties without causing undue criticism on account of the extra expense involved'. Possessing only a small private income, he found the cost a strain. He faced no constitutional crises until the death of Lyons in April 1939, when Gowrie's action in commissioning Sir Earle Page, after having obtained privately the advice of Billy Hughes, was uncontroversial. He planned to relinquish office in September, and the Duke of Kent was named as his successor. But on the outbreak of war Gowrie's appointment was continued, in the first instance for an additional year.

Lady Gowrie, too, was tireless in her work. She organised concerts and Government House fêtes to raise money for the war effort, set up a soldiers' club in Canberra and lent her support to the establishment of what became known as the Lady Gowrie kindergartens. Her 1941 New Year's Day radio broadcast to the women of Australia calling for 'hope and courage' was followed by a similar message next year from Lord Gowrie. Their only surviving son Patrick was killed in action in 1942; next year a collection of his poetry was published. Despite Gowrie's ill health and their desire to see their grandsons they were persuaded to stay on for another two years. In 1943 a Gowrie scholarship trust fund was set up for ex-service personnel and their children.

They left Australia on 10th September 1944; officially his appointment continued until he was succeeded by the Duke of Gloucester on 30th January 1945. Gowrie's nine years is a record term as governor general. In 1945 he was created the first Earl of Gowrie, and until 1953 was deputy constable and lieutenant-governor of Windsor Castle. He was president of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1948. 'Tallish and spare of build, lightly moustached, with a soldier's trimness without a general's portentous carriage', Gowrie had an attractive personality and a capacity for getting on with fellows who were useful to know. Though he had sailed close to the wind in Adelaide at a time of political turmoil, his term in Canberra, particularly during war years when patriotism ran high, was dignified and successful.

Gowrie died in Gloucestershire on 2nd May 1955,^[2] survived by his wife, who died on 19th July 1965, and by two grandsons.

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DXY-B76 : 13 December 2014), Alexander Gora A Hore-Ruthven, 1908; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1908, quarter 2, vol. 1A, p. 877, St G H Sq, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
2. ↑ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVCD-XNSV : 4 September 2014), Alexander G Earl Hore-Ruthven, 1955; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.

• Chris Cunneen and Deirdre Morris, 'Gowrie, first Earl of (1872–1955)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
• Wikipedia entry