View source for Freeman Freeman-Thomas 1st Marquess of Willingdon

{{short description|British politician and colonial governor (1866–1941)}}
{{British barrelled name|Freeman-Thomas|Thomas}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[His Excellency]] [[The Most Honourable]]
| name             = The Marquess of Willingdon
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|GCSI|GCMG|GCIE|GBE|PC|size=100%}}
| image            = Freeman Freeman-Thomas by Henry Walter Barnett.jpg
| caption          = Freeman-Thomas {{circa}} 1915
| order1           =
| office1          = [[Viceroy and Governor-General of India]]
| monarch1         = [[George V]]<br>[[Edward VIII]]
| prime_minister1  = [[Ramsay MacDonald]]<br>[[Stanley Baldwin]]
| term_start1      = 18 April 1931
| term_end1        = 18 April 1936
| predecessor1     = [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|The Lord Irwin]]
| successor1       = [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|The Marquess of Linlithgow]]
| order2           = 13th
| office2          = Governor General of Canada
| monarch2         = [[George V]]
| prime_minister2  = [[Prime Minister of Canada|Canadian]]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;• [[W. L. M. King]]<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;• [[R. B. Bennett]]<br/>[[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British]]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;• [[Stanley Baldwin]]<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;• [[Ramsay MacDonald]]
| term_start2      = 5 August 1926
| term_end2        = 4 April 1931
| predecessor2     = [[Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy|The Viscount Byng of Vimy]]
| successor2       = [[Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough|The Earl of Bessborough]]
| office3          = [[#External links|More...]]
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=y|1866|9|12}}
| birth_place      = [[Eastbourne]], [[East Sussex]], England
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=y|1941|8|12|1866|9|12}}
| death_place      = Ebury Street, [[Metropolitan Borough of Westminster|Westminster]], [[County of London|London]], England
| spouse           = {{marriage|[[Marie Freeman-Thomas, Marchioness of Willingdon|Marie Adelaide Brassey]]|1892}}
| profession       = [[Politics|Politician]]
| education        = [[Eton College]]
| alma_mater       = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]
| allegiance       = {{flagcountry|UK}}
| branch           = {{Army|UK}}
| service_years    = 1886–1901
| rank             = Second Lieutenant<br>[[Major (rank)|Major]]
| unit             = [[Royal Sussex Militia Artillery]] 
}}

'''Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon''' (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941), styled as the '''Earl of Willingdon''' between 1931 and 1936, was a British [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] politician and administrator who served as [[Governor General of Canada]] and as [[Viceroy and Governor-General of India]].

Freeman-Thomas was born in England and educated at [[Eton College]] and then the [[University of Cambridge]] before serving for 15 years in the Sussex Artillery. He then entered the diplomatic and political fields, acting as [[aide-de-camp]] to his [[Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey|father-in-law]] when the latter was [[Governor of Victoria]] and, in 1900, was elected to the [[British House of Commons]]. He thereafter occupied a variety of government posts, including secretary to the [[British prime minister]] and, after being raised to the peerage as Lord Willingdon, as [[Lord-in-waiting]] to King [[George V]]. From 1913, Willingdon held gubernatorial and viceregal offices throughout the [[British Empire]], starting with the [[List of Governors of Bombay|governorship of Bombay]] and then the [[List of colonial Governors and Presidents of Madras Presidency|governorship of Madras]], before he was in 1926 appointed as the Governor-General of Canada to replace the [[Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy|Viscount Byng of Vimy]], occupying the post until succeeded by the [[Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough|Earl of Bessborough]] in 1931. Willingdon was immediately thereafter appointed as [[Viceroy and Governor-General of India]] to replace [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Irwin]] (later created Earl of Halifax), and he served in the post until succeeded by the [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Marquess of Linlithgow]] in 1936.

After the end of his viceregal tenure, Willingdon was installed as the [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]] and was elevated in the peerage as the Marquess of Willingdon. After representing Britain at a number of organisations and celebrations, Willingdon died in 1941 at his home in [[London]], and his ashes were interred in [[Westminster Abbey]].

==Early life and education==
Freeman Thomas was born the only son of [[Freeman Thomas (cricketer, born 1838)|Freeman Frederick Thomas]], an officer in the rifle brigade of Ratton and Yapton, and his wife, Mabel, daughter of [[Henry Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden|Henry Brand]], [[Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury]] (later [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House of Commons]], who retired as 1st [[Viscount Hampden]]). Before he was two, Thomas' father had died and he was raised thereafter by his mother, who sent him to [[Eton College]].<ref name=ReferenceA>{{acad|id=THMS885F|name=Thomas (post Freeman-Thomas), Freeman}}</ref> There, he acted as President of the [[Eton Society]] and was for three years a member of the school's [[cricket]] team, serving as captain of the playing eleven during his final year. He carried this enthusiasm for sport on to the [[University of Cambridge]], where he was accepted to [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]] after leaving Eton,<ref name=ReferenceA /> and was drafted into the Cambridge playing eleven, playing for [[Sussex County Cricket Club|Sussex]] and [[I Zingari]]. His father had also played for Sussex. Upon his general admission from university, he then volunteered for fifteen years for the Sussex Artillery, achieving the rank of [[Major (United Kingdom)|major]].<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27389| date=20 December 1901|page=8985}}</ref>

==Marriage and political career==
In 1892, he assumed the additional surname of ''Freeman'' by [[deed poll]]<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=33266|title=Thomas, Freeman Freeman-, first marquess of Willingdon (1866–1941)}}</ref> and married the Hon. [[Marie Freeman-Thomas, Marchioness of Willingdon|Marie Brassey]], the daughter of [[Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey|Thomas Brassey]], then recently created [[Baron Brassey]]. Freeman-Thomas often cited her as a source of support, stating once: "My wife has been a constant inspiration and encouragement."<ref name=GGFree>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/willingdon_e.asp| last=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Governor General > Former Governors General > The Marquess of Willingdon| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=3 April 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211095533/http://gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/willingdon_e.asp| archive-date=11 February 2009}}</ref> The couple had two sons: Gerard, born 3 May 1893, and [[Inigo Freeman-Thomas, 2nd Marquess of Willingdon|Inigo]], born 25 July 1899.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} Gerard was killed in [[World War I]] on 14 September 1914, and Inigo eventually succeeded his father as Marquess of Willingdon.

In 1897 Freeman-Thomas was appointed [[aide-de-camp]] to his father-in-law, who was then the [[Governor of Victoria]], Australia.<ref name=GGFree/> Upon his return to the United Kingdom, Freeman-Thomas joined the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] and [[1900 United Kingdom general election|in 1900 was elected]] to the [[British House of Commons]] to represent the borough of [[Hastings (UK Parliament constituency)|Hastings]].<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27244| date=6 November 1900|page=6770}}</ref> He then served as a junior [[lord of the Treasury]] in the [[Liberal Government 1905–1915|Liberal Cabinet]] that sat from December 1905 to January 1906.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27866| date=22 December 1905|page=9171}}</ref> Though he lost in the [[1906 United Kingdom general election|January 1906 elections]], Freeman-Thomas returned to the House of Commons by winning the [[1906 Bodmin by-election|by-election for Bodmin]],<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27935| date=27 July 1906|page=5130}}</ref> and, for some time, served as a secretary to the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]], [[H. H. Asquith]]. For his services in government, Freeman-Thomas was in 1910 elevated to the [[peerage]] as '''[[Baron Willingdon]]''' of [[Hampden Park, Eastbourne|Ratton]] in the [[County of Sussex]],<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=28398| date=22 July 1910|page=5269}}</ref> and the following year was appointed as [[Lord-in-waiting]] to King [[George V]], becoming a favourite tennis partner of the monarch.<ref name=GGFree/> His father-in-law was created Earl Brassey at the coronation in that year.

==Governorship of Bombay==
{{further|Kheda Satyagraha of 1918}}
[[File:Bombay Presidency War and Relief Fund half anna charity label 1916.jpg|thumbnail|right|A 1916 charity stamp for the ''Bombay Presidency War and Relief Fund'' organised by Lady Willingdon.]]
On 17 February 1913, Willingdon was appointed as the [[Crown Governor of Bombay]], replacing the [[George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe|Lord Sydenham of Combe]],<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=28693| date=25 February 1913|page=1446}}</ref> and to mark this event, Willingdon was on 12 March 1913 honoured with induction into the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] as a Knight Grand Commander (additional).<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=28701| date=18 March 1913|page=2060}}</ref> With a mandate from George V to 'to smash through all fences which socially divide communities',<ref>{{cite web |last=Rodrigues |first=Louiza |date= |title=Willingdon Sports Club |url=https://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/D%20Ward/Heritage-Sites/54_Legacy%20of%20D%20Ward_Article_Willingdon%20Sports%20Club.pdf |website=Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation |location= |publisher= |access-date=25 April 2026}}</ref> Willingdon attempted to take Indian friends to the [[Royal Bombay Yacht Club]]. When they were refused entry to the [[Europeans]]-only club, the outraged Willingdon resigned his membership and in 1917 founded the [[Willingdon Sports Club]] which would have no [[colour bar]].<ref name="Washington Post">{{cite news |last=Bumiller |first=Elisabeth |date=17 March 1985 |title=The Genteel Remnant of the Raj |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/03/18/the-genteel-remnant-of-the-raj/93da2bd4-5d83-4f94-8f02-564c1fd00c51/ |work=The Washington Post |location= |publisher= |access-date=25 April 2026}}</ref>

Within a year of Willingdon's appointment as governor, the First World War erupted, and India, as a part of the [[British Empire]], was immediately drawn into the conflict. Lord Willingdon strove to serve the Allied cause, taking responsibility for treating the wounded from the [[Mesopotamian campaign]]. In the midst of those times, [[Mahatma Gandhi]] returned to Bombay from South Africa and Willingdon was one of the first persons to welcome him and invite him to [[Raj Bhavan, Mumbai|Government House]] for a formal meeting. This was the first meeting Willingdon had with Gandhi and he later described the Indian spiritual leader as "honest, but a [[Bolshevik]] and for that reason very dangerous."
[[File:Gandhi Kheda 1918.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mahatma Gandhi]], whose return to India and subsequent nationalistic activities would cause problems for Willingdon as Crown Governor of Bombay and Madras]]

In 1917, the year before Willingdon's resignation of the governorship, a severe famine broke out in the [[Kheda]] region of the [[Bombay Presidency]], which had far-reaching effects on the economy and left farmers in no position to pay their taxes. Still, the government insisted that tax not only be paid but also implemented a 23% increase to the levies to take effect that year. Kheda thus became the setting for Gandhi's first ''[[satyagraha]]'' in India, and, with support from [[Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel]], [[Narhari Parikh]], [[Mohanlal Pandya]], and [[Ravishankar Vyas]], organised a ''Gujarat sabha''. The people under Gandhi's influence then rallied together and sent a petition to Willingdon, asking that he cancel the taxes for that year. However, [[Bombay Presidency#Administration|the Cabinet]] refused and advised the Governor to begin confiscating property by force, leading Gandhi to thereafter employ non-violent resistance to the government, which eventually succeeded and made Gandhi famous throughout India after Willingdon's departure from the colony. For his actions there, in relation to governance and the war effort, Willingdon was on 3 June 1918 appointed by the King as a Knight Grand Commander of the [[Order of the Star of India]].<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=30723| date=31 May 1918|page=6529}}</ref>

==Governorship of Madras==
Willingdon returned to the United Kingdom from Bombay only briefly before he was appointed on 10 April 1919 as the [[governor of Madras]]. This posting came shortly after the [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms]] of 1918 were formalised by the [[Government of India Act 1919|Government of India Act]], which distributed power in India between the executive and legislative bodies.<ref name=NYT>{{Cite news| title=Episodes in the chronology of the world's revival| newspaper=The New York Times| date=1 January 1922| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/01/01/107040414.pdf| access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> Thus, in November 1920, Willingdon dropped the [[writs of election]] for the first election for the [[Madras Legislative Council]]; however, due to their adherence to Gandhi's [[Non-cooperation movement (1909–22)|non-cooperation movement]], the [[Indian National Congress]] party refused to run any candidates and the [[Justice Party (India)|Justice Party]] was subsequently swept into power. Willingdon appointed [[A. Subbarayalu Reddiar]] as his premier and [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn]] (a former Governor General of Canada), opened the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly.

The following year, the Governor found himself dealing with a series of communal riots that in August 1921 broke out in the [[Malabar District]].<ref name=militaryNYT>{{Cite news| last=Associated Press| title=Military occupy riot area in India| newspaper=The New York Times| date=28 August 1921| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/08/28/98722560.pdf| access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> Following a number of cases of arson, looting, and assaults,<ref>{{Cite news| title=More Moplah Disorders| newspaper=The New York Times| date=14 September 1921| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/09/14/98733207.pdf| access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> Willingdon declared martial law just before the [[government of India]] sent in a large force to quell the riots.<ref name=militaryNYT /><ref>{{Cite news| title=64 Out of 100 Moplah Prisoners Suffocated in a Closed Car on Train in India| newspaper=The New York Times| date=22 November 1921| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/11/22/103572143.pdf| access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> At around the same time, over 10,000 workers in the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills of [[Chennai|Madras city]] organised for six months a general strike contemporaneous with the non-cooperation movement, which also sparked riots between pro- and anti-strike workers that were again only put down with police intervention.<ref>{{Cite news| title=Ambush British in India| newspaper=The New York Times| date=2 September 1921| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/09/02/107025228.pdf| access-date=5 April 2009}}</ref><ref name=untouchablesp94>{{cite book| title=The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty, and the State in Modern India| page=94| first=Oliver| last=Mendelsohn|author2=Marika Vicziany| publisher=Cambridge University Press| year=1998| isbn=978-0-521-55671-2}}</ref>

When he returned once more to the United Kingdom at the end of his tenure as the Governor of Madras, Willingdon was made a viscount, becoming on 24 June 1924 the '''Viscount Willingdon''', of Ratton in the County of Sussex.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=32949| date=24 June 1924|page=4887}}</ref>

==Governor General of Canada==
[[File:Governor General's Foot Guards - 1927.jpg|thumb|right|The Viscount Willingdon inspects the [[Governor General's Foot Guards]] on [[Parliament Hill]] as part of the [[Dominion Day]] celebrations, 1927, the 60th jubilee of [[Canadian Confederation]]]]
It was announced on 5 August 1926 that George V had, by commission under the [[royal sign-manual]] and [[Seal (emblem)#Signet rings|signet]], approved the recommendation of his [[British prime minister]], [[Stanley Baldwin]], to appoint Willingdon as his representative in Canada. The sitting [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[British Cabinet]] had initially not considered Willingdon as a candidate for the governor generalcy, as he was seen to have less of the necessary knowledge of affairs and public appeal that other individuals held. However, the King himself put forward Willingdon's name for inclusion in the list sent to Canada, and it was that name that the then [[Canadian prime minister]], [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]], chose as his preference for the nomination to the King.<ref name=TCE>{{Cite encyclopedia | last=Hillmer| first=Norman| title=Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/freeman-freeman-thomas-1st-marquess-of-willingdon | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721140941/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008607| url-status=live |archive-date=21 July 2009| date=16 December 2013}}</ref> George V readily accepted, and Willingdon was notified of his appointment while on a diplomatic mission in [[China]].

This would be the last Canadian viceregal appointment made by the monarch in his or her capacity as [[sovereign of the United Kingdom]], as it was decided at the [[1926 Imperial Conference|Imperial Conference in October 1926]] that the [[Dominion]]s of the [[British Empire]] would thereafter be equal with one another, and the monarch would operate for a specific country only under the guidance of that country's ministers. Though this was not formalised until the enactment of the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] on 11 December 1931, the concept was brought into practice at the start of Willingdon's tenure as Governor General of Canada.<ref name=GGFree />
[[File:KingRoyals1927.jpg|thumb|left|Princes [[Edward VIII|Edward]] and [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|George]], along with Viscount Willingdon, outside [[Rideau Hall]]'s main door, August 1927]]
The [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]], issued during the Imperial Conference, also declared that governors-general would cease to act as representatives of the British government in diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and individual dominions. Accordingly, in 1928, the United Kingdom appointed its first [[High Commissioner (Commonwealth)|High Commissioner]] to Canada thus effectively ending the governor general's, and Willingdon's, diplomatic role as the British government's envoy to Ottawa.<ref name="What's in a name">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080518172615/http://www.psa.ac.uk/publications/psd/1998/lloyd1.htm#1 ''"What's in a name?" – The curious tale of the office of High Commissioner''], by Lorna Lloyd.</ref>

Willingdon arrived at [[Quebec City]] in late 1926, and on 2 October was sworn in as governor-general in a ceremony in the ''[[Legislative Council of Quebec|salon rouge]]'' of the [[Parliament Building (Quebec)|parliament buildings of Quebec]]. His following journey to [[Ottawa]] to take up residence in the country's official royal and viceroyal home, [[Rideau Hall]], was just the first of many trips Willingdon took around Canada, meeting with a variety of Canadians and bringing with him what was described as "a sense of humour and an air of informality to his duties."<ref name=TCE /> He also became the first governor general to [[Air travel|travel by air]], flying from Ottawa to [[Montreal]] and back, as well as the first to make official visits abroad; not only did he tour the [[Caribbean]] in 1929, but he further paid a visit to the [[United States]], going there in 1927 to meet with and receive state honours from [[President of the United States|President]] [[Calvin Coolidge]].<ref name=Hubbard>{{cite book| last=Hubbard| first=R. H.| title=Rideau Hall| publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press| year=1977| location=Montreal and London| page=[https://archive.org/details/rideauhallillust00hubb/page/166 166]| isbn=978-0-7735-0310-6| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/rideauhallillust00hubb/page/166}}</ref> On that visit, the Governor General was welcomed in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] by [[List of Canadian ambassadors to the United States|the King's emissary to the US]], [[Vincent Massey]], who would later himself be appointed as Governor General of Canada.<ref name=GGFree />
[[File:Johnston, Puyi and Wanrong in the Zhang Garden in Tianjin, 1920s.png|left|thumb|Lord Willingdon with [[Reginald Johnston]] and the former [[Puyi|Emperor of China]] in Tianjin, China, 1920s ]]
[[File:Freeman Freeman-Thomas.jpg|thumb|right|The Marquess of Willingdon in later life.]]
In Canada, Willingdon hosted members of [[Monarchy of Canada#Canada's royal family and house|the Royal Family]], including the King's two sons, [[Edward VIII|Prince Edward, Prince of Wales]], and [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|Prince George]], who, along with Baldwin, came to Canada to participate in the celebrations of the [[Diamond Jubilee]] of [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]]. The Princes resided at Rideau Hall and the Prince of Wales, accompanied by Willingdon, dedicated at the [[Peace Tower]] both the [[altar]] of the [[Peace Tower#Memorial Chamber|Memorial Chamber]] and the [[Peace Tower#Carillon|Dominion Carillon]],<ref>{{cite web| url=http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/ic/can_digital_collections/books/history.htm| title=The Books of Remembrance > History of the Books| author=Library and Archives Canada| author-link=Library and Archives Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=23 December 2008}}</ref> the first playing of which on that day was heard by listeners across the country on the first ever coast-to-coast radio broadcast in Canada.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/Sites/Collections//carillon/history-e.htm| title=The House of Commons Heritage Collection > Carillon > History| author=Library of Parliament| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=24 December 2008}}</ref> This dedication marked the completion of the [[Centre Block]] of [[Parliament Hill]], and the following year, Willingdon moved the annual governor general's [[New Year's Eve|New Year]]'s [[Levée (event)|levée]] to that building from the [[East Block]], where the party had been held since 1870.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Phillips| first=R. A. J.| title=The House That History Built| journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review| volume=5| issue=1| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| location=Ottawa| year=1982| url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/english/issue.asp?param=100&art=442| access-date=4 January 2009}}</ref> A few months before the end of his viceregal tenure in Canada, Willingdon was once more elevated in the peerage, becoming on 23 February 1931 the '''Earl of Willingdon''' and '''Viscount Ratendone'''.<ref name="Gazz33692">{{London Gazette| issue=33692| date=24 February 1931|page=1283}}</ref>

In their time the viceroyal couple, the Earl and Countess of Willingdon fostered their appreciation of the arts, building on previous governor general [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|the Earl Grey]]'s Lord Grey Competition for Music and Drama by introducing the Willingdon Arts Competition, which dispensed awards for painting and sculpture. They also left at Rideau Hall a collection of carpets and ''[[Work of art|objets d'art]]'' that they had collected during their travels around India and [[China]], and many of which were restored in 1993 to the [[Rideau Hall#Art and decoration|Long Gallery]] of Rideau Hall.<ref>{{cite book| last=MacMillan| first=Margaret| author2=Harris, Majorie| author3=Desjardins, Anne L.| title=Canada's House: Rideau Hall and the Invention of a Canadian Home| publisher=Alfred A. Knopf Canada| year=2004| location=Toronto| isbn=978-0-676-97675-5| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/canadashouseride0000macm}}</ref> However, Willingdon's tastes also included sports, particularly fishing, tennis, skating, skiing, curling, cricket, and golf.<ref name="GGFree" /> For the latter, he in 1927 donated to the [[Royal Canadian Golf Association]] the [[Willingdon Cup]] for Canadian interprovincial amateur golf competition, which has been contested annually since that year.

During his residence in Ottawa, Willingdon was a regular attendee at home matches of the [[Ottawa Senators (original)|Ottawa Senators]], continuing a tradition of patronage by sitting Governors-General of the local professional club. In 1930, he donated a trophy to be awarded to the Senators player "of the greatest assistance to his team", which the organisation cheekily interpreted as an award for the player to lead the team in assists<ref>{{cite journal |title=Coveted Trophy for Senators |journal=Ottawa Citizen |date=11 February 1930 |page=11 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=QBJtjoHflPwC&dat=19300211&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref> and dubbed the Willington Trophy.

==Viceroy and Governor-General of India==
=== Appointment ===
[[File:Gandhi Willingdon caricature 1932.jpg|thumb|right|A cartoon from 1932 depicting the Viscount Willingdon on a [[hunger strike]] against [[Gandhi]]]]
He had not been Governor General of Canada for five years before Willingdon received word that he was to be sent back to India as that country's [[Governor-General of India|viceroy and governor general]]. After being appointed to the [[British Privy Council]] on 20 March 1931,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33700|page=1877| date=20 March 1931}}</ref> he was sworn in as such on 18 April 1931, merely two weeks after he was replaced in Canada by [[Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough|the Earl of Bessborough]]. When Willingdon arrived again in India, the country was gripped by the [[Great Depression]] and was soon leading Britain's departure from the [[gold standard]], seeing thousands of tonnes of gold shipped to the United Kingdom through the port of Bombay. Of this, Willingdon said: "For the first time in history, owing to the economic situation, Indians are disgorging gold. We have sent to London in the past two or three months, £25,000,000 sterling and I hope that the process will continue."

===Jailing leaders of Congress===
Simultaneously, Willingdon found himself dealing with the consequences of the nationalistic movements that [[Gandhi]] had earlier started when Willingdon was Governor of Bombay and then Madras. The [[India Office]] told Willingdon that he should conciliate only those elements of Indian opinion that were willing to work with the Raj. That did not include [[Nehru]] and the [[Indian National Congress]], which launched its Civil Disobedience Movement on 4 January 1932. Therefore, Willingdon took decisive action.<ref>{{cite book|author=John F. Riddick|title=The History of British India: A Chronology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Es6x4u_g19UC&pg=PA110|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood |page=110|isbn=978-0313322808}}</ref> He imprisoned Gandhi. He outlawed the Congress, he rounded up all members of the [[Congress Working Committee|Working Committee]] and the [[Pradesh Congress Committee|Provincial Committees]] and imprisoned them, and banned [[Indian Youth Congress|Congress youth organisations]]. In total, he imprisoned 80,000 Indian activists. Without most of their leaders, protests were uneven and disorganized, boycotts were ineffective, illegal youth organisations proliferated but were ineffective, more women became involved, and there was terrorism, especially in the [[North-West Frontier Province]]. Gandhi remained in prison until 1933.<ref>Brian Roger Tomlinson, ''The Indian National Congress and the Raj, 1929–1942: the penultimate phase'' (Springer, 1976).</ref><ref>Rosemary Rees. ''India 1900–47'' (Heineman, 2006), p. 122.</ref> Willingdon relied on his military secretary, [[Hastings Ismay]], for his personal safety.<ref>{{cite book| title=The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay| first=Hastings| last=Ismay| location=New York| publisher=Viking Press| page=66| year=1960| isbn=978-0-8371-6280-5}}</ref>

===Construction projects===
It was also by Willingdon's hand, as Governor-in-Council, that the [[Lloyd Barrage]] was commissioned, seeing £20 million put into the construction of the [[Barrage (tidal)|barrage]] across the mouth of the [[Indus River]], which not only provided labour but also brought millions of hectares of land in the [[Thar Desert]] under [[irrigation]].<ref>{{cite book| title=Heirs of Tradition: Tributes of a New Zealander| first=Robert E.| last=George|author2=Sencourt, Robert| page=66| year=1949}}</ref> Further, Willingdon established the [[Willingdon Airfield]] (now known as Safdarjung Airport) in [[Delhi]] and, after he was denied entry to the [[Royal Bombay Yacht Club]] because he was accompanied by Indian friends, despite his being the Governor of Bombay, Willingdon was motivated to establish the [[Willingdon Sports Club]], with membership open to both Indians and British and which still operates today.<ref>{{Cite book| last=Streat| first=Raymond, Marguerite Dupree| year=1987| title=Lancashire and Whitehall| page=260| publisher=Manchester University Press ND| isbn=0-7190-2390-4| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BxANAQAAIAAJ}}</ref>
As he had been in Canada, Willingdon acted for India as [[Chief Scout (The Scout Association)|Chief Scout]] of the [[Bharat Scouts and Guides]] and took this role as more than an ''ex-officio'' title. Convinced that [[Scouting]] would contribute greatly to the welfare of India, he promoted the organisation, especially in rural villages, and requested that [[J. S. Wilson]] pay special attention to cooperation between Scouting and village development.<ref>{{cite book| last=Wilson| first=John S.| author-link=J. S. Wilson|author2=Baden-Powell, Olave |author-link2=Olave Baden-Powell | title=Scouting Round the World| publisher=Blandford Press| year=1959| location=London| pages=91–93| asin =B0000CKE7M}}</ref>

The [[Construction of New Delhi]] also took place under his rule.<ref>{{Cite book |last=DIVISION |first=PUBLICATIONS |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJ6IEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22sir+sobha+singh%22+%22sir+teja+singh+malik%22&pg=PP50 |title=INTERPRETING GEOMETRIES: FLOORING OF RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN |publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting |isbn=978-93-5409-659-4 |language=hi}}</ref>

==Post-viceregal life==
Once back in the United Kingdom, Willingdon associated with [[Roland Gwynne]]. Willingdon was one of the notable guests of parties at Gwynne's [[East Sussex]] estate, [[Folkington Manor]].<ref>{{cite book| last=Cullen| first=Pamela V.| title=A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams| publisher=Elliott & Thompson| year=2006| location=London| isbn=1-904027-19-9}}</ref> He was also honoured by George V, not only by being appointed as the [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]]—one of the higher honours bestowed by the sovereign and normally reserved for members of the Royal Family and former prime ministers—but he was also elevated once more in the peerage, being created '''Marquess of Willingdon''' by Edward VIII on 26 May 1936,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=34289| date=29 May 1936|page=3440}}</ref> making him the most recent person to be promoted to such a rank.

Willingdon did not cease diplomatic life altogether: he undertook a goodwill mission to [[South America]], representing the Ibero-American Institute, and chaired the British committee on the commissioning of army officers. In 1940, he also represented the United Kingdom at the celebrations for the centennial of the formation of [[New Zealand]]. The next year, however, on 12 August, the Marquess of Willingdon died at 5 Lygon Place, near [[Ebury Street]], in London, and his ashes were interred in [[Westminster Abbey]].

==Honours==

===Titles===
{{Infobox viceroy styles
| image    = [[File:Crest of the Viceroy of India.svg|50px]]&nbsp;&nbsp;[[File:Arms of Canada (1921–1957) (crowned).svg|30px]]
| name     = the Viscount Willingdon<br>(1926–1931)<br>then<br>the Earl of Willingdon<br>(1931–1936)
| dipstyle = His Excellency The Right Honourable<br>(in Canada, also) ''Son Excellence le très honorable''
| offstyle = Your Excellency<br>(in Canada, also) ''Votre Excellence''
}}

<div class="center">
[[File:ImperialOrderCrownIndiaRibbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:Order of the Indian Empire Ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon.svg|100px]]
<br>
[[File:King Edward VII Coronation Medal (Military) ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:UK King George V Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:UK King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:GeorgeVICoronationRibbon.png|100px]]
</div>

[[File:A Lords' statue.JPG|right|thumb|Statue of Lord Willingdon in [[Coronation Park, Delhi]]]]
;Appointments
* {{Royal Standard-UK}} '''18 July 1911 – 31 January 1913''': [[Lord-in-waiting|Lord-in-Waiting to His Majesty the King]]<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=28515| date=21 July 1911|page=5429}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette| issue=28686| date=31 January 1913|page=761}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|British Raj}} '''3 June 1918 – 21 July 1941''': [[Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India]] (GCSI)
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''20 July 1926 – 21 July 1941''': [[Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George]] (GCMG)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33184| date=20 July 1926|page=4795}}</ref>
* {{flagicon|British Raj}} '''12 March 1913 – 21 July 1941''': [[Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire]] (GCIE)
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''4 December 1917 – 21 July 1941''': [[Order of the British Empire|Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire]] (GBE)
* {{flagicon|Canada|1921}} '''5 August 1926 – 4 April 1931''': [[Scouts Canada#Organizational structure|Chief Scout for Canada]]
* {{flagicon|Canada|1921}} '''5 August 1926 – 4 April 1931''': [[Royal Military College of Canada|Honorary Member of the Royal Military College of Canada Club]]
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''20 March 1931 – 21 July 1941''': [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council]] (PC)<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33700| date=20 March 1931|page=1877}}</ref>
;Medals
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''1902''': [[King Edward VII Coronation Medal]]
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''1911''': [[King George V Coronation Medal]]
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''1935''': [[King George V Silver Jubilee Medal]]
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''1937''': [[King George VI Coronation Medal]]

===Honorary military appointments===
* {{flagicon|Canada|1921}} '''5 August 1926 – 4 April 1931''': Colonel of [[the Governor General's Horse Guards]]
* {{flagicon|Canada|1921}} '''5 August 1926 – 4 April 1931''': Colonel of the [[Governor General's Foot Guards]]
* {{flagicon|Canada|1921}} '''5 August 1926 – 4 April 1931''': Colonel of [[the Canadian Grenadier Guards]]
* {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} '''1936 – 21 July 1941''': Colonel of the 5th battalion of the [[Royal Sussex Regiment]]

===Honorific eponyms===
;Awards
* {{flag|Canada}}: [[Willingdon Arts Competition]]
* {{flag|Canada}}: [[Willingdon Cup]]

;Organisations
* {{flag|India}}: [[Willingdon Sports Club]], [[Mumbai]]

;Geographic locations
* {{flag|Alberta}}: [[Mount Willingdon]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.placenamesofalberta.ca/300_names_definitions/willingdon.html| title=Friends of Geographical Names of Alberta > 300 Names > Top 300 Names > Willingdon, Mount| publisher=Friends of Geographical Names of Alberta| access-date=4 April 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723230013/http://www.placenamesofalberta.ca/300_names_definitions/willingdon.html| archive-date=23 July 2009}}</ref>
* {{flag|Alberta}}: [[Willingdon, Alberta|Willingdon]]
* {{flag|British Columbia}}: [[Burnaby#Transportation|Willingdon Avenue]], [[Burnaby]]
* {{flag|British Columbia}}: [[Willingdon Heights]], [[Burnaby]]
* {{flag|India}}: [[Willingdon Dam]], [[Junagadh]]
* {{flag|India}}: [[Willingdon Airport]], [[New Delhi]] (later renamed Safdarjung Airport)
* {{flag|India}}: [[IAF Willingdon]], [[New Delhi]]
* {{flag|India}}: [[Willingdon Island]]

;Schools
* {{flag|British Columbia}}: [[Willingdon Secondary School]], [[Burnaby]]
* {{flag|India}}: [[Willingdon College]], [[Sangli]]
* {{flag|Quebec}}: [[Willingdon Elementary School]], [[Montreal]]

===Arms===
{{Emblem table
|image=Coat_of_arms_of_Freeman_Freeman-Thomas,_1st_Marquess_of_Willingdon.svg
|imagesize=240px
|escutcheon = Quarterly, 1st and 4th: Argent three lions rampant Gules a chief azure (Thomas); 2nd and 3rd: Ermine two pallets in pale Azure over all three fusils conjoined in fess Or (Freeman).
|crest = 1st: A demi lion rampant Gules charged on the shoulder with an Ermine spot Argent (Freeman); 2nd: Issuant out of an antique crown Azure a boar's head proper (Thomas).
|supporters = On either side a freeman armed cap à pie in English armour of the 17th century Proper.
|motto = Honesty Is The Best Policy <ref>{{cite book|title=Burke's Peerage |date=1949}}</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[List of alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikisource|The Indian Biographical Dictionary (1915)/Willingdon, 1st Baron of Ratton. (1910), His Excellency the Right Hon'ble Freeman Freeman-Thomas|Willingdon, 1st Baron of Ratton}}
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-freeman-freeman-thomas | Freeman Freeman-Thomas }}
* [http://archive.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/willingdon_e.asp Website of the Governor General of Canada entry for Freeman Freeman-Thomas]
* {{PM20|FID=pe/039803}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box |
  before = [[George Clarke, 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe|George Clarke]] |
  title  = [[Governor of Bombay]] |
  years  = 17 February 1913 – 16 December 1918 |
  after  = [[George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd|George Lloyd]]
}}
{{succession box |
  before = [[Alexander Cardew]] |
  title  = [[Governor of Madras]] |
  years  = 10 April 1919 – 12 April 1924 |
  after  = [[George Goschen, 2nd Viscount Goschen|The Viscount Goschen]]
}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy|The Lord Byng of Vimy]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Governor General of Canada]]|years=1926–1931}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough|The Earl of Bessborough]]}}
{{succession box | title=[[List of Governors-General of India|Viceroy of India]] | before=[[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|The Lord Irwin]] | after= [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|The Marquess of Linlithgow]] | years=1931–1936}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box |
 title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Hastings (UK Parliament constituency)|Hastings]] |
 years  = [[1900 United Kingdom general election|1900]]–[[1906 United Kingdom general election|1906]] |
 before = [[William Lucas-Shadwell]] |
 after  = [[William Harvey du Cros]]
}}
{{succession box |
 title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Bodmin (UK Parliament constituency)|Bodmin]] |
 years  = [[1906 Bodmin by-election|July 1906]] – [[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|January 1910]] |
 before = [[Thomas Agar-Robartes]] |
 after  = [[Cecil Grenfell]]
}}
{{s-court}}
{{succession box |
 title  = [[Lord-in-waiting]] |
 before = [[Edward Colebrooke, 1st Baron Colebrooke|The Lord Colebrooke]] |
 after  = [[Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne|The Lord Ashby St. Ledgers]] |
 years  = 1911–1913
}}
{{s-hon}}
{{succession box |
  before = [[Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading|The Marquess of Reading]] |
  title  = [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]] |
  years  = 1936–1941 |
  after  = [[Winston Churchill]]
}}
{{s-reg|uk}}
{{s-new | rows = 4 | creation }}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Marquess of Willingdon]]
        | years = 1936–1941}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Inigo Freeman-Thomas, 2nd Marquess of Willingdon|Inigo Freeman-Thomas]]
        | rows  = 4 }}
{{s-break}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Earl of Willingdon]]
        | years = 1931–1941 }}
{{s-break}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Viscount Willingdon]]
        | years =1924–1941 }}
{{s-break}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Baron Willingdon]]
        | years = 1910–1941 }}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors general of Canada}}
{{Viceroys of India}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willingdon, Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of}}
[[Category:Viceroys of India]]
[[Category:1930s in British India]]
[[Category:Governors of Bombay]]
[[Category:1866 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Governors general of Canada]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) Lords-in-Waiting]]
[[Category:Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies|Freeman-Thomas, Freeman]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1900–1906|Freeman-Thomas, Freeman]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1906–1910|Freeman-Thomas, Freeman]]
[[Category:UK MPs who were granted peerages]]
[[Category:Scouting and Guiding in India]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bodmin|Freeman-Thomas, Freeman]]
[[Category:English cricketers]]
[[Category:Cambridge University cricketers]]
[[Category:Sussex cricketers]]
[[Category:Chief Scouts of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Marquesses of Willingdon|1]]
[[Category:Barons created by George V]]
[[Category:Viscounts created by George V]]
[[Category:Burials at Westminster Abbey]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:Freeman-Thomas family|Freeman, 1st Marquess of Willingdon]]