Lewis Gielgud

Lewis Evelyn Gielgud, MBE (11 June 1894 – 25 February 1953) was an English scholar, writer, intelligence officer and humanitarian worker.

Life

Early years Gielgud was born in South Kensington, London, first of the four children of Frank Henry Gielgud (1860–1949) and his second wife, Kate Terry-Gielgud, née Terry-Lewis (1868–1958). His younger siblings were Val, later head of BBC radio drama; John, who became a leading actor; and their sister Eleanor, who became John's secretary for many years. On his father's side, Gielgud was of Lithuanian and Polish descent. The surname derives from Gielgaudskis, a village in Lithuania. Frank Gielgud was one of his grandchildren. Frank's maternal grandmother was a famous Polish actress, Aniela Aszpergerowa.

Frank Gielgud married into a family with wide theatrical connections. His wife was the daughter of the actress Kate Terry, and a member of the stage dynasty that included Ellen, Fred and Marion Terry, Mabel Terry-Lewis and Edith and Edward Gordon Craig. Frank had no theatrical ambitions and worked all his life as a stockbroker in the City of London. After attending Hillside preparatory school in Surrey, Gielgud went to Eton College as a King's Scholar and then studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, as an exhibitioner in 1912 and a classical demy in 1913.

Adult life On the outbreak of the First World War he became an officer in the 6th Battalion, The King's Shropshire Light Infantry, but left active service after being wounded in 1915.

After the war Gielgud joined the staff of the International League of Red Cross Societies, rising to Under-Secretary General in 1927. |