16 SEPTEMBER 1938, Page 3

Prince Arthur of Connaught There will be widespread sympathy with

the Duke of Connaught on the death, at the age of 55, of his only son, Prince Arthur of Connaught, who had rendered distin- guished service to his country as soldier and administrator, and devoted himself with no less diligence to many philan- thropic causes. With his family's distinguished military record it was not surprising that Prince Arthur should seek his career in the army and he saw active service both as a subaltern in South Africa and later in the Great War. He and King George V were Queen Victoria's only two grandsons left in the direct male line in England. Conse- quently it fell to him to share with King George many of the important duties which devolved on the latter when he was still Prince of Wales. During the early years of King George V's reign, when the King's sons were too young to undertake public duties, Prince Arthur frequently represented the Sovereign both in this country and abroad, where he undertook a number of important missions. In 1920 he was appointed Governor-General of the Union of South Africa in succession to Lord Buxton, an office which he filled with impressive simplicity and distinction. His chairmanship of the Middlesex Hospital was only one of the many charitable duties which engaged him in later years. * * *