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Lord Mountbatten
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Famous As |
Last Viceroy
of British India and Governor General of Independent
India |
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Born On |
25 June 1900 |
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Born In |
Windsor,
England |
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Died On |
27 August
1979 |
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Nationality |
United
Kingdom |
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Louis
Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, commonly known as Lord
Mountbatten, was a British admiral, statesman and the 1st Earl
Mountbatten of Burma. He was the youngest child of Prince Louis of
Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse and His royal ancestry can
be dated back to the Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Before
moving to India he served as the 'First Sea Lord' from 1954 till
1959 where he was known for his adventurous and daring acts. While
in India, he earned appreciation for his efforts and contribution
towards |
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Indian
Independence which was one of the many
achievements credited to him including the
recapturing of Burma from Japanese troops during
his days as a Supreme Allied commander of South
Asia. He was the last viceroy of the British
Indian Empire and became the first
Governor-General of Independent India in 1947.
Mountbatten was assassinated on 27 August 1979
by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). |
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Child Hood: Lord Mountbatten was
born on 25 June 1900 in Windsor, England. He was the youngest child
and second son of Prince Louis of Battenberg and his wife Princess
Victoria of Hesse. His father, Prince Louis was honored as ‘First
Sea Lord’ but the extreme anti-German feelings made him resign from
his position. His parental grandparents were Prince Alexander of
Hesse and Princess Julia of Battenberg. The Royal Family stopped
using their German names and titles in 1917. Thus, Prince Louis of
Battenberg was rechristened as Louis Mountbatten and his son got the
courtesy style Lord Louis Mountbatten. |
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Career: Mountbatten attended
Lockers Park Prep School and later Naval Cadet School for basic
formal education. After completing his education, Mountbatten joined
Royal Navy during the World War I. It was during this period he
accompanied Edward, Prince of Wales, on a Royal trip to India in
1922 and the two became good friends. In his fast moving career, he
was appointed as chief of combined operations in 1941. In India he
was appointed the last viceroy of British Indian empire in 1947 and
then first Governor-General of Independent India in the same year.
After the partition and Independence of India, he served as Chief of
the Defense Staff and later took charge of the presidency of United
World Colleges. |
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Second World War:
In
World War II, he was the commander of the 5th Destroyer
Flotilla. He led a number or operations during his career and was
famous for his adventurous and daring acts. In 1940 he invented the
Mountbatten Pink naval camouflage pigment. His ship sank in 1941
during the Crete campaign and in the same year, he was appointed as
the captain of HMS Illustrious. On 27 October 1941, Roger Keyes,
Chief Of Combined Operations, was replaced by Lord Mountbatten. The
terrible Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942, in which thousands of
Canadians were wounded and jailed, made Louis Mountbatten a
controversial figure in Canada.. It was believed that Mountbatten
conducted the raid without authority and despite this fact no action
was taken against him. Mountbatten explained this move claiming that
the lesson learned from the Dieppe Raid was necessary for planning
the Normandy invasion, which many historians discard as a real
reason. As a result of the controversial raid, the Royal Canadian
Legion started distancing itself from Mountbatten. And in spite of
his cold relations with Canadian veterans, a Royal Canadian Cadet
corps was named after him in 1946. During his career as a Supreme
Allied commander of South Asia, Mountbatten saw many high points and
recapturing Burma from Japanese after their surrender was one of
them. |
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Viceroy In India:
Mountbatten was
appointed as the last Viceroy of British Indian Empire by Clement
Attlee. In his position as a Viceroy, Mountbatten developed good
relations with the princes of the British India, who were said to
have great faith in him. He shared amicable relations with Mahatma
Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru as well. After his unsuccessful efforts,
Mountbatten gave up hope for a unified Independent India and
resigned himself to the partition of India. During his tenure as
Viceroy, he oversaw the partition of India into Independent Pakistan
and India. After independence (celebrated in Pakistan on the 14th
August and the 15th August 1947 in India), he remained in Delhi
serving as the first Viceroy of Independent India till June 1948. |
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Criticism For
His Role In Partition Of India:
There are mixed views
regarding his role in the partition of India. One is that he hurried
the Independence process to avoid the inevitable life loss and
disruption in India caused by the widespread violence. According to
some critics, he did not want this to take place, when British Rule
was still there. However, he unknowingly caused it to occur, rather
to a greater extent. Violence and disruption followed by the
partition of Punjab and in Bengal dominated headlines for months.
While Mrs. Mountbatten is praised for her efforts to alleviate the
misery and trauma that followed the partition, Lord Mountbatten was
harshly criticized by historians and critics in this regard. |
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Career After
India:
Soon after leaving
India, Mountbatten served in the Mediterranean Fleet and became a
staff officer in the Admiralty. He was honored as the First Sea
Lord, a position held by his father many years ago. Lord Mountbatten
was appointed Chief of the Defense in1959, where he served for six
years. Mountbatten became the first Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of
Wight, and kept the position until his death. During 1967-1978, he
served as the president of the United World Colleges. As President,
Mountbatten devoted himself to the organization and encouraged
people from across the country to share his interest. During his
presidency, he played a key role in the establishment of the United
World College of South East Asia in Singapore in 1974. |
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Marriage and
Personal Life:
Mountbatten was
married on 18 July 1922 to Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley, daughter
of Wilfred William Ashley. He had met her during his Royal tour of
India, where he proposed her. She was granddaughter of the Edwardian
magnate Sir Ernest Cassel and the principle heir to his fortune.
They together had two daughters: Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd
countess Mountbatten of Burma and Lady Pamela Carmen Louise (Hicks).
The marriage was not successful though, with several extramarital
affairs on both parts which they readily admitted to. While Lady
Mountbatten’s intimacy with Jawaharlal Nehru became public during
1930’, Lord Mountbatten was said to have lovers of both sexes.
Though according to his official biographer there was no such
evidence to support these stories, a number of magazines published
eye witness accounts. |
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Death and
Funeral:
In his last years,
Lord Mountbatten usually holidayed in Mullaghmore, a small seaside
on the northwest coast of Ireland which was a popular holiday
destination for the volunteers of IRA. Mountbatten was assassinated
in a bomb blast planted in his boat by IRA on 27 August 1979 when he
was on one of such voyages. Other people killed in the incident were
his some close family members. It was said that, what IRA did to
Mountbatten was something he had been doing to other people
throughout his life. On the day he was assassinated, IRA killed 18
British Army soldiers and graffiti like “Bloody Sunday’s not
forgotten, we got eighteen and Mountbatten" were spotted in some
Republican areas in Ireland. His assassination came as a shock for
his great nephew Prince of Wales, whom he had a great influence
upon. A memorial service was held for Mountbatten in St. Patrick’s
Cathedral in Dublin which was attended by many prominent
personalities, including the president of Ireland, Patrick Hillery
and the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch. Mountbatten was buried in Romsey
Abbey after a televised funeral. On 23 November 1979, Thomas McMahon
was convicted of murder for his part in planning and later was
released in 1998. |
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Time Line
1900 -
Lord Mountbatten was born on 25
June in England.
1917 -
The Royal family dropped the German
style and titles.
1922 -
Royal tour of India.
1922 -
Married to Edwina Ashley on 18 July.
1941 -
He Became captain of HMS ILLUSTRIOUS.
1942 -
The Dieppe Raid conducted by
Mountbatten on 19 August.
1947 -
He became last Viceroy of British
India.
1947 -
Mountbatten became first
Governor-General of Independent India (till 1948).
1954 -
He became First Sea Lord (till
1959).
1959 -
He was appointed as Chief of the Defense.
1960 -
Lady Mountbatten died on 21 February.
1967 -
Became the president of the United World Colleges.
1974-
United World College of South East Asia was established in
Singapore.
1979 -
Mountbatten was assassinated by IRA
on 27 August.
1979 -
Thomas McMahon was convicted of Mountbatten’s murder on 23
November.
1998 -
Thomas was released under the terms
of Good Friday Agreement.
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