3671

Brigadier General the Honourable Julian Hedworth George Byng 1908

Standing half-length to the right in dress uniform, holding his Sam Browne belt with his right hand, in his left his cap, his greatcoat draped over his forearm

Oil on canvas, 142 x 107cm (56 x 42 in.)

Inscribed lower left: P. A. László / 1908 

Sitters’ Book I, opp. f. 80: Julian Byng, 1908

Private Collection

This portrait was painted when General Byng was commanding the 1st Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot, 1907-9. De László had just moved into his new house, 3 Palace Gate, and studio in Campden Hill, in the spring of 1908. de László noted in his diary that the General’s portrait had been commissioned by Mr. Ralli, the well-known art collector and uncle by marriage, thanks to an introduction from his next door neighbour, Count Mensdorff. “Besides being a distinguished soldier he was an exceptionally well-read man, and was a student of philosophy. Our association became a very agreeable one.”

There is a preparatory drawing for the present portrait in the collection of the National Archives of Canada, Ontario [3673]. De László painted Lord Byng again in 1933 [3666] and Lady Byng in 1917 [3678], the former hangs in Winchester at The Royal Hussars Museum. General Byng was also painted by John Singer Sargent in 1922.^[1] 

Julian Hedworth George Byng was born on 11 September 1862, the seventh son of George Stevens Byng, 2nd Earl of Strafford, and youngest of the four sons by his second wife Harriet, younger daughter of the first Lord Chesham. He was educated at Eton and entered the army through the militia (7th battalion, the King’s Royal Rifle Corps) and gazetted to the 10th Hussars in 1883, who were then stationed in India  There he learned to play a good game of polo. On the regiment’s way home, he saw active service in the Sudan, most notably taking part in the historic charge at El Teb in February 1884. During the South African War he commanded the South African Light Horse. He was appointed to command the 10th Hussars from 1902-4. In 1902 he married Marie Evelyn Moreton, only child of the Hon. Sir Richard Charles Moreton, K.C.V.O., of Crookham House, near Fleet in Hampshire. He proposed marriage by telegram while serving in South Africa; she replied peremptorily, “Yes, return immediately, Evelyn.”^[2] Thus he gained an ideal partner who was to give him invaluable support in his many years of public life.

In 1914 he became the Major-General Commanding in Egypt, then G.O.C. 3rd Division in France. At Ypres he proved himself to be a sound and determined commander in the most adverse of circumstances. His division supported the Intelligence Corps and was repeatedly called upon at the shortest notice and in the most unfavourable conditions. In March 1915 he was appointed K.C.M.G., and in May took over command of the Cavalry Corps with promotion to Lt. General. In August that year he was sent out to the Gallipoli peninsular to command the IX Corps at Suvla. He immediately made the difficult decision to withdraw. That withdrawal was not as costly as had been feared and was indeed so successful that Byng became known as the “Hero of Gallipoli.” He was appointed K.C.B. in 1916 and took over command of the Canadian Corps in France in May 1916. The Corps distinguished itself on the Somme in the battle of Flers-Courcelette in mid-September, and again at the end of the month in the Thiepval ridge operations; but its greatest feat, which will forever be inseparably connected with Byng’s name, was the capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917. Despite heavy losses, the battle was a strategic victory and a source of great national, and international, pride.  He was Commander of the 3rd Army until 1918.

He was appointed Governor General of Canada from 1921-26 and he travelled more than any of this predecessors, making extended trips to Western Canada and the North, taking the opportunity to meet with many Canadians. At the end of his term, he became embroiled in a constitutional controversy when he refused to dissolve Parliament at the request of Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King, who had become involved in a political scandal. Lord Byng’s refusal was given only after consulting with King George V at Windsor. His view was that there was no reason why a Prime Minister who thought he didn’t have a sufficient majority should automatically be given another chance by the grant of a further dissolution. Canada was thus left temporarily without a Prime Minister and government. However, on leaving Canada on 30 September 1926, the Byngs returned to England with many close friendships they had established while serving Canada. Lord Byng had worked to represent the interest of Canadians as much as possible, and despite the political crisis, did leave a much-respected man. He was Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1928-31 and Colonel of the 10th  from 1924-35. He was much decorated in both wars, created Baron Byng of Vimy of Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex, in 1919 and 1st Viscount in 1928.  

Lord Byng was passionate about sport. Both he and his wife particularly loved ice hockey and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is presented to the NHL player exhibiting the most sportsmanlike conduct each year. Lord Byng established the Governor General’s Cup presented at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. and Lady Byng created a rock garden at Rideau Hall, which continues to be enjoyed by visitors today. The sitter died at Thorpe Hall on 6 June 1935, leaving no issue, and his peerage became extinct.

PROVENANCE:

By descent through the family

EXHIBITED:

•Dowdeswell Galleries, London, An Exhibition of Portraits by Philip_A. László, June-July 1908, no 3

•The Fine Art Society, London, Portraits of British Commanders Taking Part in the War on Sea and Land, 1915

LITERATURE:

•Rutter, Owen, Portrait of a Painter, London, 1939, p. 261

•Williams, Jeffrey, Byng of Vimy: General and Governor General, London, 1983, ill. pl.13 (detail)

•Knox, Tim, “Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire – II. The Seat of Julian Byng, Esq.,” Country Life, 21 February 2002, pp. 53-7, ill. p. 54

•Field, Katherine ed., Transcribed by Susan de Laszlo, The Diaries of Lucy de László Volume I: (1890-1913), de Laszlo Archive Trust, 2019, p. 131, ill. p. 125

•László, Lucy de, 1908 diary, private collection, 16 May entry, p. 161

•László, Philip de, June- November 1935 diary, private collection, 13 June 1935 entry, p. 2-3

KF 2011