John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies

For other people named John Beresford, see John Beresford (disambiguation).

John Graham Hope Horsley de la Poer Beresford, 5th Baron Decies PC (5 December 1866 – 31 January 1944), styled The Hon. John Beresford until 1910, was an Anglo-Irish army officer, civil servant, and polo player in the 1900 Summer Olympics.^[1][2]

The Right Honourable The Lord Decies PC
Lord Decies in 1919
Representative peer for Ireland
In office 1912–1944
Preceded by	The Lord Crofton
Succeeded by	Office lapsed
Personal details
Born	John Graham Hope Horsley de la Poer Beresford (1866-12-05)5 December 1866 Newcastle upon Tyne
Died	31 January 1944(1944-01-31) (aged 77) Ascot, Berkshire
Spouses	Helen Vivien Gould ​ ​ (m. 1911; died 1931)​ Elizabeth Wharton Drexel ​ ​ (m. 1936)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	William Horsley-Beresford, 3rd Baron Decies Catherine Anne Dent
Education	Eton College

Medal record
Men's polo
Representing  Mixed team
Olympic Games
	1900 Paris	Team competition

Early life

Beresford was born on 5 December 1866 at Newcastle upon Tyne.^[3] He was the second son of William Horsley-Beresford, 3rd Baron Decies, by Catherine Anne Dent, daughter of Commander William Dent. He was educated at Eton before joining the army in 1887.^[4]

Career

Beresford joined the 7th Hussars as a Second lieutenant in February 1887, was promoted to Lieutenant on 10 April 1889, and to Captain on 7 October 1896. He saw military service mainly in Africa, first during the Second Matabele War in 1896 and later during the Second Boer War. In January 1900 he was seconded to the Staff,^[5] and appointed an Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Connaught, Commander-in-Chief of Ireland.^[6][7] In early February 1902, he was appointed in command of the 37th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, with the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonel,^[8][9] and the following May left Aldershot with his Battalion for service in South Africa.^[10] The battalion arrived after hostilities ended in early June, and left for home again on the SS Avondale Castle in late December 1902.^[11] From 1903 to 1904 he served in Somaliland. After retiring from the Regular Army, he became commanding officer of the South Irish Horse (Special Reserve) on 20 January 1912.^[12]

In 1910 he succeeded his elder brother in the barony. This was an Irish peerage and did not entitle him to an automatic seat in the House of Lords. However, in 1912 he was elected as an Irish representative peer and was able to take a seat in the upper chamber of Parliament. From 1916 to 1919 he was Chief Press Censor for Ireland.^[13]

Time magazine on 5 May 1930 reported his stance on British taxation:

"The time may have come," said Lord Decies ominously, "when our wealthy men should seriously consider whether they must send their money out of this country." As Director of the British Income Taxpayers' Association, he vowed that he would suggest to them that "the time may have come. ..."^[14]

Polo

Beresford was an Irish polo player in the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Foxhunters Hurlingham polo team which won the gold medal. ^[15]

In 1908, he played in the first international polo match between England and Argentina at the Hurlingham Club in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires alongside Alexander Godley.^[16]

Personal life

Lord Decies and his first wife, Helen, in 1911

Lord Decies married Helen Vivien Gould, a daughter of American railroad executive George Jay Gould I and actress Edith Kingdon, on 7 February 1911. They had three children:^[17]

• Hon. Eileen Vivien de la Poer Beresford (1912–1975)^[18] who married Major Robert Alfred O'Brian.^[3]
• Hon. Catherine Moya de la Poer Beresford (1913–1967),^[19] who married Patrick Herbert Bellew in 1936;^[20] they divorced in 1946.^[21]
• Arthur George Marcus Douglas de la Poer Beresford, 6th Baron Decies (1915–1992).^[22][23]

Lady Decies died on 3 February 1931,^[24][25] and following her death he married Elizabeth Wharton Drexel, the daughter of Joseph William Drexel, on 25 May 1936. Elizabeth had previously been married to Harry Lehr and John Vinton Dahlgren.^[26] Lord Decies filed suit for divorce in 1942, which Lady Decies contested.^[27]

Asked how to say his name, Lord Decies told The Literary Digest: "With ci as in conscience it is dee-shees, and Beresford is berysford."^[28]

Lord Decies died on 31 January 1944 at his Ascot home.^[4] Lady Decies died at the Hotel Shelton in London on 13 June 1944.^[29]

References

1. "John Beresford". Olympedia. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "John Beresford". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015.
3. Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 335.
4. "LORD DECIES DIES IN ENGLAND AT 77; Soldier, Sportsman, Friend of Taxpayer--Married Gould Heiress Here in 1911". The New York Times. 2 February 1944. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
5. "No. 27173". The London Gazette. 13 March 1900. p. 1711.
6. "No. 27167". The London Gazette. 20 February 1900. p. 1173.
7. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36044. London. 20 January 1900. p. 12.
8. "No. 27405". The London Gazette. 11 February 1902. p. 845.
9. "No. 27415". The London Gazette. 11 March 1902. p. 1733.
10. "The War - The Reinforcements". The Times. No. 36779. London. 28 May 1902. p. 9.
11. "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home". The Times. No. 36960. London. 25 December 1902. p. 6.
12. Monthly Army List.
13. "Lord Decies dies in England at 77. Soldier, Sportsman, Friend of Taxpayer. Married Gould Heiress Here in 1911". New York Times. 2 February 1944. Retrieved 21 July 2007. Married Gould Heiress Here in 1911.
14. "'Time May Have Come ...'". Time. 5 May 1930. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2007. The British Treasury collected a death duty (inheritance tax) of $5,620,000 last week on the estate of $13,985,000 left by Major Andrew Coats, of the famed Paisley thread-spinning family. This and the increased taxes of all sorts provided in Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden's Budget (TIME, April 21), stirred to wrath and protest the Englishman who married Miss Helen Vivien Gould (daughter of Jay) and her millions: John Graham Hope de la Poer Beresford, fifth Baron Decies, D. S. O., lately of the 7th Hussars, onetime Chief Press Censor for Ireland (1916-19). "The time may have come," said Lord Decies ominously, "when our wealthy men should seriously consider whether they must send their money out of this country." As Director of the British Income Taxpayers' Association, he vowed that he would suggest to them that "the time may have come. . . ."
15. "John Beresford at databaseOlympics.com". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
16. Horace A. Laffaye, Polo in Britain: A History, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2012, p. 37
17. Photo, Times Wide World (4 February 1931). "FUNERAL TOMORROW FOR LADY DECIES; Body of Former Helen Vivien Gould, Who Died Yesterday in London, to Be Cremated". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
18. Times, Marconi Transatlantic Wireless Telegraph To the New York (18 August 1912). "DAUGHTER TO LADY DECIES.; Child Is Born to the Former Vivien Gould in English Home". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
19. "Catherina Moya Johannsen". npg.org.uk.
20. "MOYA BERESFORD BRIDE IN LONDON; Daughter of Lord Decies Is Married to the Hon. Patrick Bellew, Peer's Brother". The New York Times. 17 April 1936. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
21. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (20 December 1946). "DIVORCE FOR MRS. BELLEW; Daughter of Late Lord Decies Gets Decree, Is Rewed at Reno". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
22. "SON BORN TO LADY DECIES.; Former Vivien Gould Already the Mother of Two Daughters". The New York Times. 25 April 1915. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
23. "DECIES". The Daily Telegraph. 11 November 1992. p. 24. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
24. "LADY DECIES DIES AT 38 IN LONDON; Former Helen Vivien Gould Was Principal in Brilliant International Wedding of 1911.WAS NOTED AS HOSTESS Her Entertaining Was a Feature of British Capital--Husband Is Distinguished Irish Peer. LADY DECIES DIES AT 38 IN LONDON". The New York Times. 3 February 1931. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
25. "LORD DECIES DUE HERE.; Widower of Former Vivien Gould Arrives Today on Mauretania". The New York Times. 3 March 1931. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
26. TIMES, Wireless to THE NEW YORK (12 May 1936). "DECIES TO MARRY MRS. HARRY LEHR; Widow of New York Leader of Society to Become Bride of Irish Peer on May 23. ANNOUNCEMENT IN PARIS Bride-Elect Member of Drexel Family -- Wrote Book, 'King Lehr and Gilded Age.'". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
27. "LORD DECIES ASKS DIVORCE; Irish Peer's Suit Contested by Former Mrs. Elizabeth Lehr". The New York Times. 12 April 1942. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
28. Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.
29. "LADY DECIES, WIDOW OF IRISH PEER, DIES; Former Elizabeth Drexel of Philadelphia Was Once the Wife of Harry Lehr". The New York Times. 14 June 1944. Retrieved 29 January 2022.

External links

• John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies at Olympedia
• John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies at Team GB
• Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London: Dean & Son. p. 269.
• "Decies, Baron" . Thom's Irish Who's Who . Dublin: Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. 57  – via Wikisource.

Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Crofton	Representative peer for Ireland 1912–1944	Succeeded by office lapsed
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by William Marcus de la Poer Beresford	Baron Decies 1910–1944	Succeeded by Arthur George Marcus Douglas de la Poer Beresford