SPORTING PEER

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24869, 15 April 1944, Page 8

SPORTING PEER

LORD LONSDALE'S DEATH PART IN BRITISH LIFE LONDON, April 13 The death hns occurred of Lord Lonsdale, the sporting peer, at the age of 87. The death of Hugh Cecil Lowther, fifth Earl of Lonsdale, removes a national figure who held a place all his own in the esteem of Englishmen for two generations. Lord Lonsdale was not only the doyen of sporting peers and the last of the typical sport-loving landowners, but was also a symbol of some of the finest ingredients that go to make British character. He was one of the founders of modern boxing and possibly its most generous patron. His tall figure, side-whiskers, grey top hat, gardenia buttonhole and big cigar were familiar to millions of his fellowcountrymen. L , , The earl came of a family which had teen a power in the land as early the 13th century and which could claim a place among King knights at Agincourt. He owned 175,000 acres in Westmorland and Cumberland, including the mining and smelting region of Whitehaven. Educated at Eton, he won a wager at 21 walking 100 miles j in 18 hours net. having undertaken to i cover the distance in less than 24 | hours. . . He soon became prominent in foxhunting, horse racing coursing, shooting, boxing and yachting. For many Tears he was a. master of foxhounds, first of the Quorn and then of the Cottesmore, and held a record for a jump of L'Bft. 6in. on horseback. In 1882 at the age of 25, he succeeded his brother in the title. He was on the staff of the Imperial Yeomanry during the South African War. At Lowther Castle, his beautiful home near Pejirith, he entertained on the most liberal scale and had many Roval guests, including the Kaiser, with whom he was very friendly before the last war, and who used to invite him to German army manoeuvres. it was said on good authority that Lord Lonsdale, not the Marquis of Queensberry, drafted the famous rules of the prize ring. He was a principal founder (if the National Sporting Club in 1892 and. in 1908. he organised a system of championships by inaugurating the Lonsdale Challenge Belts for al! categories of boxers. On the turf and at horse shows—international and others —he was always to the front. He owned and raced many horses, and in 1932 was third on the list of winning owners. However, in the years immediately before the war increasing and expenses compelled .him to close Lowther Castle, sed many of his assets and make the most drastic economies. He was married to a daughter of the 10th Marquis of Hnntly. As they had no children the title passes to a brother, the Hon. Lancelot Lowther. SWEEPING AIMS COMMON WEALTH PARTY LONDON, April 13 Sir Richard Acland, Parliamentary leader of the Common Wealth Party, in an address to the Overseas Empire Correspondents' Association, said: "Our main trouble is to make people realise that we really mean what we gay. We believe in abolishing the present system, not altering it. We do not believe in public control of private industry. The present controls are not halfwav toward Socialism —they are three-quarters of the way toward Fascism. "We believe." he added, "in public ownership of the whole darn shooting match, right down to but excluding one-man ownership of small businesses, ptoclc exchange share certificates and bonds. Company promoters will not exist from John o' Croats to Land s End. I am absolutely confident that this will be achieved, at least in the next 15 years."

PILOT'S SACRIFICE life for children MELBOURNE, April 33 To avoid crashing into a school in England, W.O. Douglas Rogers, of Wavville South Australia, .sacrificed Ins life after he had ordered the rest of ]iU crew to hail out of his disabled aircraft. . Rogers was piloting n Mitchell bomber that Vas hit by intense anti-aircraft tire over Kurope. With the starboard engine smoking Rogers was able to get his aircraft back to within a mile of his base. When he was unable to make a safe'landing he ordered his crew to hail out and they were saved. Had it not been for the selfless action of Rogers, stated a report by the Director of Education in England, a considerable number of children might ha\e been injured or killed.