Field Marshal Julian Hedworth George Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy GCB GCMG MVO


The Hon Julian ‘Bungo’ Byng was born at Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire, the family seat, on 11 Sep 1862, the seventh son and 13th child of the 2nd Earl of Strafford, and a descendant of the famous Admiral John Byng who was executed for failing to relieve the garrison at Minorca. He was reluctantly educated at Eton where he was called Bungo (two of his older brothers were called Byngo and Bango) and commissioned, because of his father’s frugality, into the Second Sussex Militia on 27 Aug 1879. On 27 Jan 1883, with a recommendation from the Prince of Wales, he gained the rank of lieutenant in the 10th Hussars and, after scraping the money together to sustain his position in such a prestigious unit, joined the regiment at Lucknow on 10 March. When the regiment was ordered back to England in 1884, and diverted to Suakin, he went with them and took a very active part in the battles at El Teb and Tamai, where his horse was killed, followed by the hellish reconnaissance of Tamanieb. In 1886 he was appointed adjutant for 4 years. During his time as adjutant he was determined to improve the quality of the meat supplied to the regiment and spent several early mornings at Smithfield to learn the meat trade. As a result, the suppliers were sacked and replaced by more reliable tradesmen.

At the end of his time as adjutant he was promoted to captain, on 4 Jan 1890. He then went to Staff College during which time he was put in charge of the pall bearers at Albert Victor’s funeral. After 3 years he was appointed DAAG at Aldershot. On 4 May 1898 he was promoted to major. In the Boer War he was sent out as Provost Marshal to accompany Buller at the Relief of Ladysmith. But it was very soon decided to raise an irregular unit of mounted troops called the South Africa Light Horse and Byng was give command of these ‘scallywags’ who came from different parts of the world. They fought at Colenso , Hlangwane, Spion Kop and the battles for Ladysmith. By Dec 1900 his force included other units and guns so that he was commanding a column which fought at Murraysberg on 11 Jan 1901. His men took part in the many drives, and captured hundreds of prisoners, gaining a high reputation under his leadership. He was regarded as the ideal leader of irregular troops, very well respected by his men.

In March 1902 he went on leave, during which time he married Evelyn daughter of the Hon Richard Morton, on 30 April. They sailed out to India and he rejoined the 10th Hussars on 11 October as their new commanding officer. Evelyn Byng proved herself to be a great asset to the regiment, greatly improving the life of the women in the otherwise tedious existence experienced by soldiers’ wives. They were stationed at Mhow where polo was the popular sport, but in May 1904 Brevet Colonel Byng was badly injured in a game and had to relinquish command. He returned to England, and having recovered he was given command of the new Cavalry School at Netheravon. This successful posting only lasted a year when he was put in charge of 2nd Cavalry Brigade, Eastern Command. On 11 May 1905 he was promoted to Brigadier-General, awarded CB in 1906, and on 1 April 1907 he commanded the First Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot. This lasted two years after which he was promoted to major-general on 1 April 1909.

In 1913 Byng purchased Thorpe Hall in Essex for which his wife Evelyn set herself the task of laying out the gardens. But he was by this time sent to the Middle East. When the First World War broke out Major-General Byng had been commanding troops in Egypt. His next posting was the Third Cavalry Division in the BEF and in 1915 he was given command of the Cavalry Corps. He was sent to the Dardanelles in August 1915 and was among the first to realise the hopelessness of the situation and called for a withdrawal. After the evacuation he was sent to France to take charge of the Canadian Corps. He gained their respect so that they trusted his judgement at Thiepval and Vimy Ridge which was a famous victory for Byng and the Canadians. Now a lieutenant-general he was next, in June 1917, given the thankless task of commanding the Third Army in succession to General Allenby at a time when the high command of the British Army was coming under severe criticism. However, he inspired his army at the tank battle of Cambrai, and to put up a stiff resistance at Arras. The advances in 1918 which took them to the Hindenburg Line gained him more plaudits such as a KCB. For his services in the war he was raised to the peerage as Baron Byng of Vimy, and appointed GCMC in July 1921.

On 2 Aug 1921 he was appointed Governor-General of Canada where he showed how someone in high office was not going to sit in an ivory tower, but was willing to travel around and be involved at all levels. He also made popular appointments of Canadians such as Georges Vanier as his ADC. But he found himself at the centre of a controversy when, in 1926, he would not allow the PM Mackenzie King to dissolve parliament and call a general election. This constitutional crisis came to be known as the King-Byng Affair and had widespread implications for the Commonwealth. Lord Byng returned to England on 30 Sep 1926.

He was appointed Colonel of the 10th Hussars on 22 Jan 1924 and he remained in that post until his death in 1935. In January 1928 his peerage was elevated so that he became Viscount Byng of Vimy, of Thorpe-le-Soken in the County of Essex. Later in 1928 he was given his last appointment, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. In this post he introduced several important changes, such as the system of promotion, no longer to be based on length of service but promotion on merit, improving discipline, removal of inefficient senior officers, the introduction of Dr Who style police boxes, increased use of police cars, and the setting up of a central radio control room. He retired in 1931.

In July 1932 Viscount Byng was promoted to Field Marshal, but on 6 June 1935 he died suddenly at his home at Thorpe Hall. He was buried without pomp and ceremony, in a small village graveyard at St Leonards, Beaumont in Essex. He and Evelyn had no children, they gave up hope after a series of miscarriages early in the marriage.

This photo is of General Viscount Byng and his wife Lady Evelyn, who wears a crown of gilt Maple leaves. The general has two breast stars for Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) and the lower one for Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). The striped sash on his right shoulder is also for the GCMG. His medals have the white cross of a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO), and medals for the Boer War and the Egypt and Sudan War.


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by Stephen Luscombe