Editing Alec Douglas-Home (section)

==Early life and education==
Douglas-Home was born on 2 July 1903 at 28 [[South Street, Mayfair|South Street]] in [[Mayfair]], London, the first of seven children of [[Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home|Lord Dunglass]] (the eldest son of the [[12th Earl of Home]]) and of his wife, the Lady Lilian Lambton (daughter of the [[Frederick Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham|4th Earl of Durham]]). The boy's first name was customarily abbreviated to "Alec".<ref>Thorpe (1997), p. 19</ref> Among the couple's younger children was the playwright [[William Douglas-Home]].<ref name=timesobit/>

In 1918 the 12th Earl of Home died; Dunglass succeeded him in the earldom, and the [[Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom|courtesy title]] passed to his son, Alec Douglas-Home, who was styled Lord Dunglass until 1951.<ref>"Death of Lord Home", ''The Times'', 1 May 1918, p. 8; and "The Earl of Home", ''The Times'', 13 July 1951, p. 6</ref> The young Lord Dunglass was educated at [[Ludgrove School]], followed by [[Eton College]]. At Eton his contemporaries included [[Cyril Connolly]], who later described him as:
{{Blockquote|[A] votary of the esoteric Eton religion, the kind of graceful, tolerant, sleepy boy who is showered with favours and crowned with all the laurels, who is liked by the masters and admired by the boys without any apparent exertion on his part, without experiencing the ill-effects of success himself or arousing the pangs of envy in others. In the 18th century he would have become Prime Minister before he was 30. As it was, he appeared honourably ineligible for the struggle of life.{{Sfnp|Connolly|1961|p=245}}|}}
After Eton, Dunglass went to [[Christ Church, Oxford]], where he graduated with a [[British undergraduate degree classification|third-class honours]] [[BA degree]] in [[Modern History]] in 1925.<ref>Dutton, p. 31</ref>
[[File:Dunglass-Eton-and-Harrow-Match-1921.jpg|thumb|left|150px|alt=young man in cricket whites at the wicket|As a member of the Eton XI, 1921]]
Dunglass was a talented sportsman. In addition to representing Eton at [[fives]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 November 1921 |title=Public Schools Fives |work=The Times |page=14}}</ref> he was a capable cricketer at school, club and county level, and was unique among British prime ministers in having played [[first-class cricket]].<ref name=cricinfo/> Coached by [[George Hirst]],<ref>Thorpe (1997), p. 28</ref> he became in [[Wisden Cricketers' Almanack|''Wisden'']]'s phrase "a useful member of the Eton&nbsp;XI"<ref name=cricinfo/> that included [[Percy Lawrie]] and [[Gubby Allen]].<ref>"Eton v. I Zingari", ''The Times'', 4 July 1921, p. 7</ref> Wisden observed, "In the rain-affected Eton-Harrow match of 1922 he scored 66, despite being hindered by a saturated outfield, and then took 4 for 37 with his medium-paced out-swingers".<ref name=cricinfo/> At first-class level he represented the [[Oxford University Cricket Club]], [[Middlesex County Cricket Club]] and [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] (MCC). Between 1924 and 1927 he played ten first-class matches, scoring 147 runs at an average of 16.33 with a best score of 37 not out. As a bowler he took 12 wickets at an average of 30.25 with a best of 3 for 43. Three of his first-class games were internationals against [[Argentine cricket team|Argentina]] on the MCC "representative" tour of South America in 1926–27.<ref name="cricinfo">[http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/12295.html "Sir Alec Douglas-Home"], [[CricInfo]], accessed 13 April 2012</ref>

Dunglass began serving in the [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] in 1924 as a [[Lieutenant (British Army)|lieutenant]] in the [[Lanarkshire Yeomanry]], and was promoted to [[Captain (British Army)|captain]] in 1928.<ref>Thorpe (1997), p. 37</ref>