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Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford


Wogan Philipps, 2nd Baron Milford (25 February 1902 – 30 November 1993) was the only member of the Communist Party of Great Britain ever to sit in the House of Lords.

Philipps was the eldest son of Laurence Philipps, 1st Baron Milford. In 1928, he married the novelist Rosamond Lehmann. The couple had two children: Hugo, who became 3rd Baron Milford on his father's death, and Sarah. By the end of the 1930s, Lehmann had left Philipps for poet Cecil Day-Lewis, but she and Philipps did not divorce until 1944.

Philipps aimed to become an artist and set up a studio in Paris, but found little success. He abandoned this to join Medical Aid to Spain, acting as an ambulance driver for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. During the conflict, he was wounded and had to return to Britain. On his return, he encouraged Nan Green to take his place and, in her absence, paid for the education of her children. Following his experiences, he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), a choice which led him to be disinherited by his father.

Philipps' second marriage was to Cristina Casati, Viscountess Hastings in 1944. She was previously married to Francis Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon and was the only child of the eccentric Italian arts patron Luisa Casati. The couple ran a progressive farm in Gloucestershire.

In 1946, Philipps was elected as a Communist councillor on Cirencester Urban District Council, but soon lost the seat. In the 1950 general election, he stood for the House of Commons in the Cirencester and Tewkesbury constituency, but took only 432 votes. During the campaign, opponents described by Hymie Fagan as "fascists" threw rotten food, and an attempt was made to force his car off the road. In 1959, he narrowly lost a rural council by-election. Following this, he and his third wife went to study in the Soviet Union.


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