Peer Gallery

Sempill British Aviation Mission to Japan, four planes

Advance Training Machines. William Francis Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill AFC, AFRAeS (1893-1965) was a Scottish peer and record-breaking air pioneer who was later shown to have passed secret information to the Imperial Japanese military before the Second World War. In 1921, Sempill led an official military mission to Japan that showcased the latest British aircraft. In subsequent years he continued to aid the Imperial Japanese Navy in developing its Navy Air Service and began giving military secrets to the Japanese. Although his activities were uncovered by British Intelligence, Sempill was not prosecuted for spying and allowed to continue in public life. Seen here are a Gloster Sparrowhawk (centre foreground), a Blackburn Swift Mk.II (centre background), a Vickers Type 48 Viking IV (right) and a Supermarine Seagull Mk.II (left).
circa 1921

© The Royal Aeronautical Society (National Aerospace Library)/Mary Evans Picture Library

Cartoon, A Parcel of Old ------ Frightened at a... Bill

Cartoon, A Parcel of Old ------ Frightened at a Nasty! Great! Ugly! Jew Bill. A satirical comment on the House of Lords rejection of the Jewish Disabilities Bill, designed to permit Jewish MPs to swear a non-Christian oath of allegiance. The Bill was approved by the House of Commons in 1848, but was rejected twice by the House of Lords. Lionel de Rothschild had been elected in 1847 -- as a result of this rejection he resigned his seat and forced a by-election, which he won. There were more years of delay, and the so-called Jews Relief Act was finally passed in 1858.
1849

© Mary Evans Picture Library

William Duncombe, 2nd Baron Feversham - Memorial - Helmsley

Lord Feversham's Memorial - Helmsley, North Yorkshire - erected to the memory of William Duncombe, 2nd Baron Feversham (17981867) - a British peer with a large estate in the North Riding of Yorkshire. He was prominent in the affairs of the Royal Agricultural Society and owner of a prize-winning herd of short-horn cattle. Date: circa 1907