Baron Arthur Ponsonby Ponsonby

Born in 1871 into a well-connected political family, he spent part of his youth close to the royal household as a page of honour to Queen Victoria. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, then joined the diplomatic service, serving in Constantinople, Copenhagen, and the Foreign Office before leaving government service in 1902.

He later entered politics, working for the Liberal Party and serving as principal private secretary to Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman. After Campbell-Bannerman's death, he entered Parliament as MP for Stirling Burghs. During the First World War he became an outspoken pacifist and was active in the Union of Democratic Control, a stance that shaped both his reputation and his political fortunes.

Ponsonby returned to Parliament as Labour MP for Sheffield Brightside and in 1930 was raised to the peerage as Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede. Alongside his political career, he wrote widely, and he is still noted for his sharp criticism of the ways governments use propaganda in wartime. He died in 1946.