Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy

Who was Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy?

Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy, also known as Lady Byng, was the wife of Lord Byng, the twelfth Governor General of Canada.

Born as Marie Evelyn Moreton, she was born to the Hon. Sir Richard Charles Reynolds-Moreton and Janie Ralli on January 11, 1870 in London. Her father was comptroller at Rideau Hall during the term of Marquess of Lorne. She married Lord Byng in 1902. She and Lord Byng lived in India before returning to Canada. They had no children.

Lady Byng is best known today for donating the Lady Byng Trophy to the National Hockey League in 1925. She and her husband were both keen sports fans, especially of ice hockey, and they attended many Ottawa Senators games. They donated the trophy because Lady Byng appreciated gentlemanly play and good sportsmanship and wanted to encourage and reward it.

At the end of his term as Governor General, Lord and Lady Byng returned to England, but she returned to live in Canada with friends after his death in 1935. She spent time working at thrift shops in Ottawa during the war and wrote her autobiography Up the Stream of Time. Lady Byng died on June 20, 1949 in Ottawa, Ontario.

A 2/4 March for bagpipes was composed in honour of Evelyn Byng, Viscountess Byng of Vimy.