Foreign News: Noblesse Oblige

Blue blood has flowed as red from Britain’s war wounds as any other kind of blood. For Britain’s peers understand one prerequisite for those who would rule a democratic empire—they know how to die for it. Of all England’s foreign wars, World War I took the heaviest toll of blue blood. World War II’s toll may be even heavier.

Latest aristocratic casualty is Lord Stuart, youthful heir to the Earldom of Castle Stuart, who died on the Italian front. Two years ago his elder, brother was killed in North Africa. Other aristocrats who have died in World War II:

¶ H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, 39, brother of King George VI. He was killed in an airplane crash, flying to Iceland (1942).

¶ The Duke of Wellington, 31, sixth of his line, who was also a Netherlands prince, a Spanish grandee, a Portuguese count. He was killed in Italy last year. To a mess steward who doubted his identity, the Duke once explained: “It’s the same name so many pubs have.”

¶ The Marquess of Hartington, 26, eldest son & heir of the tenth Duke of Devonshire, owner of a 20,000-acre estate, husband (for four months) of ex-Ambassador Joseph Kennedy’s daughter, Kathleen. He was killed in France a month ago.

¶ The Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, 35, 20th of his line, who succeeded to the title as a child after his father’s death in World War I. A man of many parts (Australian sheep rancher, sailor before the mast, rare-books collector, scientist), he became one of Britain’s leading bomb-disposal experts, was blown to pieces (with seven of his staff) by a bomb three years ago.

¶ Lord Lyell, 30, posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for valor in North Africa last year. Lord Lyell lived as a Scottish laird, died in a bayonet grapple inside a German gun pit. He was the first peer to win Britain’s highest award in World War II, the fifth ever to win it.

¶ Lord Shuttleworth, 26, captain Royal Artillery, killed in action last year. The third Baron Shuttleworth, he was also the third of his family to die in battle. His father was killed in World War I; his brother was killed in the Battle of Britain.

¶ Lord Clive, 38, a direct descendant of Clive of India. One of the tallest men in the House of Lords, he sat there as 17th Baron Darcy de Knayth, a peerage created by Edward III. A fighter pilot in the R.A.F., he was killed last year.

¶ Lord David Douglas-Hamilton, 32, son of the 13th Duke of Hamilton, Scotland’s No. 1 peer. A boxer who captained Oxford, he married Prunella Stack (Britain’s “Perfect Girl”), with whom he toured Britain preaching physical fitness. Their son, born in July 1940, was a “perfect boy.” Last August, Squadron Leader Douglas-Hamilton was shot down, killed.

¶ Sir Robert Peel, 21, sixth baronet; ordinary seaman, Royal Navy. A descendant of the famed British Prime Minister who founded the London police force, he was drowned when Japanese planes dive-bombed and sank his ship in the Indian Ocean two years ago. His mother, comedienne Beatrice Lillie, learned backstage of her only son’s death, went on with her show. She inherited his fortune of £150,000.