Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu
Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (born October 20, 1926) is a British peer known for founding the National Motor Museum.
Montagu was born in London, and inherited his Peerage in 1929 when his father was killed in an accident. He attended St. Peter's Court School and Ridley College in Canada, Eton College and New College, Oxford. He served in the Grenadier Guards including in Palestine before the end of the British Mandate.
On coming of age Montagu immediately took his seat in the House of Lords and swiftly made his maiden speech on the subject of Palestine. His interest in historic cars led him to open the National Motor Museum on his estate at Beaulieu, Hampshire in 1952. In 1954 Montague was imprisoned for twelve months for consensual homosexual offences along with journalist Peter Wildeblood and Michael Pitt-Rivers. Unlike other defendants in the trial Montague continued to protest his innocence. The trial was a consequence of concern in the early 1950s about the increasing incidence of homosexuality but caused a backlash which led to the Wolfenden Report which recommended legalisation.
Montagu founded 'The Veteran And Vintage Magazine' in 1956 and continued to develop the museum, making a name for himself in tourism. He was Chairman of the Historic Houses Association from 1973 to 1978 and Chairman of English Heritage from 1984 to 1992.
Reference And Further Reading
- Wheels Within Wheels by Lord Montagu (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2001). ISBN 0297817396