Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Francis William Henry Fane, 12th Earl of Westmorland CB, DL (19 November 18253 August 1891), styled Lord Burghersh between 1851 and 1859, was a British Army Officer and racehorse owner.

Background and education

Fane was the fourth but eldest surviving son of

John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland (3 February 178416 October 1859), styled Lord Burghersh until 1841, was a British soldier, politician, diplomat, composer and musician. Background Styled Lord Burghersh from birth, he was born at Sackville St ...

, by Lady Priscilla Anne Pole-Wellesley, daughter of

William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington, (20 May 1763 – 22 February 1845), known as Lord Maryborough between 1821 and 1842, was an Anglo-Irish politician and an elder brother of the Duke of Wellington. His surname changed twice: he wa ...

. He was educated at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

''Obituary'' 4 August 1891

Military career

Francis William Henry Fane, Vanity Fair, 1883-11-10

Lord Burghersh entered the army in 1843. He campaigned in the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...

and the

Battle of Gujrat The Battle of Gujrat was a decisive battle in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, fought on 21 February 1849, between the forces of the East India Company, and a Sikh army in rebellion against the company's control of the Sikh Empire, represented by ...

during the second war. He also participated in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, being awarded the Medjidie and the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

on 30 April 1857, and appointed a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB) on 10 July 1855. On 1 August 1848, he was promoted captain and made aide-de-camp to

Viscount Hardinge Viscount Hardinge, of Lahore and of Kings Newton in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1846 for the soldier and Tory politician Sir Henry Hardinge. His son, the second Viscount, represented D ...

, the governor-general of India. He served under

Lord Gough Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was an Irish people, Irish officer of the British Army. After serving as a junior officer at the Invasion of the Cape Colony, seizur ...

in the following winter, received a medal for bravery at the battle of Gujerat on 21 February 1849, and obtained his majority on 7 June 1849. At the conclusion of the Sikh war, he returned to England and exchanged into the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

. On the outbreak of the

Crimean war The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, he went out as aide-de-camp to

Lord Raglan Baron Raglan, of Raglan in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 20 October 1852 for the military commander Lord FitzRoy Somerset, chiefly remembered as commander of the British troops ...

(his uncle by marriage). He served with distinction at the

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septem ...

(20 September 1854), bringing home Raglan's despatches. He was appointed brevet lieutenant-colonel on the day of the battle, and lieutenant-colonel on the 12 December following. Subsequently, he was present at Raglan's death on 28 June 1855. He received the

Crimea Medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of th ...

and the fifth-class Order of Medjidié on 2 March 1858, and in 1856 became aide-de-camp to the

Duke of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...

. Following the death of his three brothers, he became heir to the earldom of Westmorland. In 1859 he succeeded his father and, the following year, retired from the army ranked as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Horse racing

From this time he became a member of the Jockey Club and a racehorse owner, colours green with white braid. His horses never won any of the Classics and he was known to place heavy stakes. In 1866 he sold the family portraits by Joshua Reynolds, ''

Mr Fane Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland (March 1701 – 25 November 1771) was a British MP for Lyme Regis and a lord commissioner of trade. He was an ancestor of the writer George Orwell. Biography Thomas Fane was the second son of Henry Fane o ...

'' and '' Lord Burghersh.''

''Sale Of The Vaile And Other Pictures'' 25 May 1903 Eventually, his finances forced him to sell his horses and, instead, he managed

Lord Hartington Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, (23 July 183324 March 1908), styled Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1834 and 1858 and Marquess of Hartington between 1858 and 1891, was a British statesman. He has the distinction of having ...

's stable. He died at 34 Brook Street on 3 August 1891, and was buried at

Apethorpe Apethorpe (pronounced "Ap-thorp") is a village, civil parish,

, Northamptonshire.

Family

Lord Westmorland married Lady Adelaide Curzon-Howe, daughter of

Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe Richard William Penn Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe (11 December 1796 – 12 May 1870), was a British peer and courtier. Background He was the third but eldest surviving son of The Hon. Penn Assheton Curzon (the eldest son of Assheton Curzon, 1s ...

, on 16 July 1857. The Countess of Westmorland died in March 1903. They had four children: *George Neville John Fane, Lord Burghersh (3 September 1858 – 31 July 1860) *

Anthony Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland, CBE, JP (16 August 1859 – 9 June 1922), styled Lord Burghersh between October 1859 and 1891, was a British peer. Background and education Fane was born at Curzon House ...

(16 August 1859 – 9 June 1922) he married Lady Sybil St Clair-Erskine on 28 May 1892. They have four children. He married Catherine Louise Geale on 22 April 1916. *Lady Grace Adelaide Fane (3 October 1860 – 13 June 1933) she married William Denison, 2nd Earl of Londesborough on 11 August 1887. They have three children, two granddaughters, five great-grandchildren and two great-great-granddaughters: **Lady Irene Francis Adza Denison, GBE (4 July 1890 – 16 July 1956) she married Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke on 19 July 1917. They have one daughter and three grandchildren. **George Francis William Henry Denison, 3rd Earl of Londesborough (17 July 1892 – 12 September 1920) **Hugo William Cecil Denison, 4th Earl of Londesborough (13 November 1894 – 17 April 1937) he married Marigold Lubbock on 4 September 1935. They have one daughter, two grandsons and two great-granddaughters: ***Lady Zinnia Rosemary Denison (25 November 1937 – 13 July 1997) she married Peter Comins on 8 May 1957; they were divorced in 1961. They have one son. She married, secondly, John Leslie-Melville on 14 July 1961 and they were divorced in 1964. She married, thirdly, Major Hugh Cantlie on 26 June 1964 and they were divorced in 1967. They have one son. She married, fourthly, Ralph Pollock on 1 February 1968. She married, fifthly, James Judd in 1982. ****Timothy Hugo Comins (19 December 1958) he married Jeanie Anne Walford in 1993. They have two daughters: *****Arabella Zara Comins (1994) *****Lucy Caroline Comins (1995) ****Charles Edgar Cantlie (27 February 1965) *Lady Margaret Mary Fane ( 30 Sep 1870 - 22 November 1949) she married Captain John Edmund Philip Spicer on 2 October 1888. He was succeeded by his second but only surviving son,

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

, who was forced to sell the family seat, Apethorpe Hall in 1904. The house had been in the family for 300 years.

References

;Attribution

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westmorland, Francis Fane, 12th Earl of 1825 births 1891 deaths 19th-century English nobility Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Westminster School, London Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Francis Earls of Westmorland Barons Burghersh Coldstream Guards officers British Army personnel of the Crimean War Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie Recipients of the Legion of Honour