Robert Gordon-Canning
| Robert Cecil Gordon-Canning | |
|---|---|
| Born |
24 June 1888 Hartpury, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 4 January 1967 (aged 78) |
| Education | Eton College |
| Occupation | Soldier, journalist, farmer |
| Political party | British Union of Fascists |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Maguire (m. 1939; div. 1944) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1906–1925 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit |
Royal Gloucestershire Hussars 10th (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Military Cross |
Robert Cecil Gordon-Canning MC (24 June 1888 – 4 January 1967) was a notable British fascist, anti-Semite and supporter of Arab nationalist causes. He was briefly married to Australian actress Mary Maguire.
Gordon-Canning was born in Hartpury, Gloucestershire, the only son of William James Gordon-Canning, and his wife Clara, a daughter of Crawshay Bailey. His father was the fourth son of Captain Patrick Robert Gordon, of the 78th Highlanders, the son of William Gordon of Milrig. In 1848 Captain Gordon married Maria Canning of Hartpury, and added her surname to his own. Gordon-Canning claimed, and it is sometimes stated as fact, that the poet George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron, was his great-grandfather.
He was educated at Eton, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars on 15 November 1906, and was promoted to lieutenant in the 10th (Prince of Wales's Own Royal) Hussars on 14 March 1912. He was appointed a temporary captain on 18 November 1914, soon after the start of World War I, and this was confirmed on 15 May 1915. In June 1917 Gordon-Canning was awarded the Military Cross, "for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty." He was transferred to the General Reserve of Officers on 29 March 1919, and eventually resigned his commission on 19 August 1925.
After the war, Gordon-Canning became a supporter of Arab nationalist causes. He was involved in advocating for Moroccan independence during the Rif War and visited Morocco at least twice in the mid 1920s, the first time for the Red Cross and later to present independence views to the French government. He wrote several books of poetry at this time, including "Flashlights from Afar" (1920), "A Pagan Shrine" (1922) and "The Death of Akbar" (1923). Australian diplomat R. G. Casey reported meeting Gordon-Canning in January 1926. He described him as "having come into the limelight lately owing to his having been the vehicle and mouthpiece for Abd el-Krim's 'peace' terms to the French. He has a shifty eye and is, I think, not altogether a disinterested peacemaker." Casey went on to describe "a very heated exchange of words about Morocco between [Gordon-]Canning and Sir Malcolm Robertson." Casey felt Gordon-Canning's approach combined "journalism with gentlemanly adventure."
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