Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock

Who was Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock?

Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock,GCSI, GCIE, KCMG was a British soldier and colonial governor who served as the Administrator of Matabeleland, Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal and Governor of Madras.

Lawley was born in 1860 to 2nd Baron Wenlock and his wife, Lady Elizabeth. He was their seventh child to the couple and the fourth and youngest son. He was educated at Eton, where he became President of the Eton Society and Editor of the Eton Chronicle.

In October 1879 he went to Trinity College, Cambridge. However, Lawley did not complete his studies at Cambridge. Instead, he went in 1880 to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 10th Hussars in 1882. He served in India and in fought in the Sudan Mahdist War seeing action at Suakin. In 1885 he was promoted to Captain and served in the United Kingdom until 1892. Upon retiring from the army, he became involved in politics, serving as the private secretary to his uncle, the Duke of Westminster from 1892 to 1896, after which he was appointed secretary to Earl Grey, who went to administer Rhodesia after the Jameson Raid.