Background
Ramsbotham was the son of Herwald Ramsbotham, of Crowborough Warren (son of James Ramsbotham and Jane Fielden), and Ethel Margaret Bevan.
Ramsbotham was the son of Herwald Ramsbotham, of Crowborough Warren (son of James Ramsbotham and Jane Fielden), and Ethel Margaret Bevan.
He served as a government minister between 1931 and 1941 and served as Governor-General of Ceylon between the years 1949 and 1954. Ramsbotham was commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant in 1915 and was promoted to temporary Captain later the same year. He was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1919 and relinquished his commission that year.
In 1931 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education by Ramsay MacDonald, a post he retained when Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister in June 1935, and then served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries between November 1935 and July 1936.
In September 1936 he was made Minister of Pensions by Baldwin. He continued in this office when Neville Chamberlain became Prime Minister in May 1937.
In June 1939 he was appointed First Commissioner of Works and sworn of the Privy Council. Ramsbotham entered the cabinet in April 1940 as President of the Board of Education.
He remained in this office after Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940 but was succeeded by R. A. Butler in July 1941.
In August he was raised to the peerage as Baron Soulbury, of Soulbury in the County of Buckingham, and made Chairman of the Assistance Board, a post he held until 1948. Chairman of the Soulbury Commission 1944-1945. Between 1949 and 1954 he served as Governor-General of Ceylon.
He was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Street Michael and Street George in 1949 and a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 20 April 1954.
On 10 June of that year, he was further honoured when he was created Viscount Soulbury, of Soulbury in the County of Buckingham. He went to Uppingham School, Uppingham, Rutland, England.
Lord Soulbury died in January 1971 at the age of 83. m.1st 11 November 1911 Doris Violet de Stein (d20 February 1954). M.2nd 10 November 1962 Ursula Jerome (d12 November 1964)
1887-1915: Herwald Ramsbotham
1915-1916: Temporary
Lieutenant Herwald Ramsbotham
1916-1917: Temporary
Captain Herwald Ramsbotham, Military Cross
1917-1919: Temporary Major Herwald Ramsbotham, Military Cross
1919: Temporary Major Herwald Ramsbotham, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross
1920-1929: Major Herwald Ramsbotham, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross
1929-1939: Major Herwald Ramsbotham, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, Member of Parliament
1939-1941: Major The Rt.
Honorary
Herwald Ramsbotham, Personal Computer, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, Member of Parliament
1941-1944: Major The Rt. Honorary the Lord Soulbury, Personal Computer, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross
1944-1949: Major The Rt. Honorary the Lord Soulbury, Personal Computer, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, Doctor of Laws
1949-1952: Major His Excellency The Rt.
Honorary the Lord Soulbury, Personal Computer, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Street Michael and Street George, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, Doctor of Laws, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of Ceylon
1952-1920 April 1954: Major His Excellency The Rt.
Honorary the Lord Soulbury, Personal Computer, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Street Michael and Street George, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, KStJ, Doctor of Laws, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of Ceylon
20 April-16 July 1954: Major His Excellency The Rt. Honorary the Lord Soulbury, Personal Computer, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Street Michael and Street George, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, KStJ, Doctor of Laws, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of Ceylon
16–17 July 1954: Major His Excellency The Rt.
Honorary the Viscount Soulbury, Personal Computer, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Street Michael and Street George, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, KStJ, Doctor of Laws, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of Ceylon
17 July 1954 – 1971: Major The Rt. Honorary the Viscount Soulbury, Personal Computer, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Street Michael and Street George, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Cross, KStJ, Doctor of Laws.
35th United Kingdom Parliament. 36th United Kingdom Parliament. 37th United Kingdom Parliament]
Ramsbotham was elected Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Lancaster in 1929.