| Name | Seely; John Edward Bernard (1868-1947); 1st Baron Mottistone CB, CMG, DSO, TD, PC, JP, DL; British soldier, politician |
| Biography | John Edward Bernard Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone CB, CMG, DSO, TD, PC, JP, DL (31 May 1868 7 November 1947) was a British soldier and politician. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1904 and a Liberal MP from 1904 to 1922 and from 1923 to 1924. He was Secretary of State for War for the two years prior to World War I, and as General Jack Seely led what was probably the last great cavalry charge in history at the Battle of Moreuil Wood in March 1918. General Jack Seely was a great friend of Winston Churchill and the only Cabinet Minister to go to the front in 1914 and still be there four years later.
He was made Chairman of the National Savings Committee in 1926, a post he served in until 1943, the same year he became Vice-President. During this time he was asked by the Government to conduct the publicity in regard to the conversion of the 5% war loan. According to The Times, "in the Second World War the activities of the National Savings Committee were largely extended and became a vital part of the national war effort." He continued to have an influential role in domestic politics; in fact, due to his influence in the formation of the all-party Government of Co-operation in 1931, Lloyd George called him the "Father of National Government." He died in Westminster aged 79 |