Papers of John Edward Bernard Seely, Lord Mottistone, 1868-1947

The papers of John Edward Bernard Seely, Lord Mottistone, have been divided into six main classes: general correspondence, political papers, official papers, military papers, literary papers and press cuttings. They cover his very varied career; from his time at the War Office, as a soldier during the First World War, in the House of Lords and to Chairman of the National Savings Committee.

John Edward Bernard Seely was born on 31 May 1868, the 4th son of Sir Charles Seely, 1st baronet and his wife Emily. He first married Emily Florence Crichton by whom he had 3 sons and 4 daughters. She died in 1913. In 1917 he married the Honourable Evelyn Izmé Murray, daughter of Viscount Elibank and widow of Captain G.C.N. Nicholson. He was educated at Harrow and Trinity, Cambridge and called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1897. He spent 18 months fighting in the Boer War, during which he earned the Distinguished Service Order. It was whilst he was in South Africa that he was elected as Conservative M.P. for the Isle of Wight (1900-1904). In 1904 he became a Liberal but was still returned as M.P. for the Isle of Wight. From 1906 to 1910 he was Liberal M.P. for Liverpool Abercromby, from 1910 to 1922 for Ilkeston, Derbyshire and from 1923 to 1924 for the Isle of Wight. From April 12th 1908 to March 23rd 1911 he was Under-Secretary of State at the Colonial Office, serving under Lord Crewe and Lewis Harcourt. From March 23rd 1911 to June 12th 1912 he was UnderSecretary of State at the War Office, serving under R.B. Haldane whom he replaced from June 6th 1912 until March 30th 1914 when he was forced to resign over the Curragh issue. He served in various capacities during the First World War ending as Commander of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. From June 18th 1918 to January 1st 1919 he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Munitions (W.S. Churchill) and from January 1st 1919 to December 22nd 1919 he was Under-Secretary of State for Air. He resigned over Lloyd George's failure to set up a separate Air Force, detached from both the Army and the Navy. He was Chairman of the National Savings Committee from 1926 to 1943. In 1933 he was created Baron Mottistone. He died on November 7th 1947. (Source: Oxford DNB)

By sections as follows: General correspondence, Political papers, Official papers, Military papers, Literary papers and miscellaneous, Press cuttings and photos.

By prior appointment only. Application in writing (letter or email) to the Assistant Librarian (Archives). See Nuffield College Archives location page for more details.

The handlist for the Lord Mottistone collection can be found [online] Link: https://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/the-college/library/special-collection-and-archives/archive/

The Mottistone papers were deposited in Nuffield College Library by the 4th Baron Mottistone in 1970 and additional papers were deposited in March 1975.