Bentley Lyonel John Tollemache, 3rd Baron Tollemache, DL, JP (7 March 1883 – 13 January 1955) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, peer and writer on croquet and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Early life

Bentley Lyonel John Tollemache was born in 1883, the son of Hon. Lyonel Plantagenet Tollemache (1860–1902) and Lady Blanche Sybil King (1862–1923), only daughter and heiress of

Robert King, 7th Earl of Kingston The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. Bentley's father died in August 1902 after collapsing while taking a swim, and Bentley therefore became heir to his grandfather,

Wilbraham Tollemache, 2nd Baron Tollemache Wilbraham Frederic Tollemache, 2nd Baron Tollemache (4 July 1832 – 17 December 1904), was a British Conservative Member of Parliament. Career Tollemache was the eldest son of John Jervis Tollemache, 1st Baron Tollemache, and his first wif ...

Helmingham Hall Helmingham Hall is a moated manor house in Helmingham, Suffolk, England. It was begun by John Tollemache in 1480 and has been owned by the Tollemache family ever since. The house is built around a courtyard in typical late medieval/Tudor style. ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and Peckforton Castle,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

.Shaw, Charles John; ''A History of Clan Shaw'',

Phillimore & Co Ltd The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

(1983), p.86. ''The Titled Nobility of Europe'', Burkes Peerage (1914), p.1448 He duly succeeded him to the barony in December 1904, becoming owner of of land in Suffolk and in Cheshire,

Denbigh Denbigh (; cy, Dinbych; ) is a market town and a community in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly, the county town, the Welsh name translates to "Little Fortress"; a reference to its historic castle. Denbigh lies near the Clwydian Hills. History ...

and

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

. In 1924 he appealed to the tax commissioners against an assessment for supertax of £17,343 and £18,000 for the years 1921 and 1922. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and later became a Deputy Lieutenant. Before his marriage he was also a member of the

Bachelors' Club The Bachelors' Club was a London gentlemen's club in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, now defunct. As the name suggests, membership was only open to bachelors. The club had a reputation for having a markedly younger membership th ...

.Phillips, Gregory D. ''The diehards: aristocratic society and politics in Edwardian England'',

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

(1979), p.173. Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.:

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Br ...

Ltd, 2003. p.3911"Bentley Lyonel John Tollemache, 3rd Baron Tollemache, JP DL"
Cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2012

Military service

;Boer War On 21 August 1901 Tollemache was commissioned a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 3rd (

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

) Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers. The Battalion had been embodied for active service in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and he too served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, returning in June 1902. By 1905–06, he had been promoted to captain. In 1906, he transferred to the 3rd Battalion Cheshire Regiment, nearer to his ancestral home, and served for another two years. ;Great War During the First World War, he served briefly as a

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

in 1915, before transferring back to the British Army as a captain and serving in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

from 1916; he was wounded.

Family life

Tollemache first married in 1902 Wynford Rose Kemball (died 16 May 1926), daughter of army officer and diplomat

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Arnold Burrowes Kemball, KCB, KCSI. They had two daughters: ''Hon.'' Dorothy Tollemache, Mrs. Verney (1907-1994); and ''Hon.'' Frances Tollemache, Mrs. Lloyd-Worth 949-1965 (1908-1992), briefly a wartime 2nd Officer in the ATA. Tollemache was widowed in 1926. His second marriage, in 1928, was to Lynette Pawson, MBE, of

Nynehead Court Nynehead Court is a Grade II* listed building at Nynehead in Somerset, England. History The building dates back to the late 14th century with major additions in 1675 and the 18th century. It was occupied by the Fluri family (1068 - 1318), the d ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. They had one daughter: ''Hon.'' Diana Tollemache, Mrs. Diehl (1930-2012). Lord Tollemache died in 1955 and is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Church, Helmingham. As he had no son, he was succeeded in the Barony by his cousin John Edward Hamilton Tollemache, 4th Baron Tollemache, (1910–1975).

Publications

Over the years, Lord Tollemache was the author of several books on croquet and on

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

: *1914: ''Croquet'' *1914: ''The Chronological Order System - the key to safe calling in contract bridge'' *1923: ''Croquet: hints on "practice," "tactics," and "stroke play"'' *1926: ''Croquet'' *1931: ''The Key to Safe Slam Calling in Contract Bridge'' *1947: ''Modern Croquet Tips and Practice''''Modern Croquet Tips and Practice''
WorldCat database. Retrieved 2 September 2014

Coat of arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tollemache, Bentley Lyonel John, 3rd Baron 1883 births 1955 deaths People educated at Eton College People from Cheshire People from Mid Suffolk District Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Bentley Lyonel John King's Own Scottish Borderers officers Cheshire Regiment officers Royal Navy officers Royal Artillery officers English croquet players Royal Naval Reserve personnel