Captain Charles Barrington Balfour JP, DL, CB (20 February 1862 – 31 August 1921) was a British Army officer who became a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1900 to 1907. He was a first cousin of Arthur Balfour, who served as Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905.

Early life

Balfour was the son of Charles Balfour, son of James Balfour, and his wife Adelaide (died 1862), daughter and 8th child of the 6th Viscount Barrington. His father died when he was 10 years old, and Charles succeeded to his estates: Balgonie Castle in Fife and "Newton Don" a country house near Kelso in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

. He was educated at Eton College and then at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, afterwards being commissioned as a lieutenant in the Scots Guards in 1881. He served in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882, and was present at the battle of Tel-El-Kebir, for which received a medal with a clasp. In 1890 he was promoted to captain and joined the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers from 1891 to 1895, and later served as a captain in the Royal Guards Reserve Regiment. He was appointed to the Reserve on 17 January 1900, and attached to the 25th Regimental district at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Later life

Balfour was a councillor on

Berwickshire County Council Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

, 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 ...

for Berwickshire, and a Deputy Lieutenant of Berwickshire. He stood for Parliament five times before he won a seat. He was unsuccessful in

at the 1885 general election, in Berwickshire at the

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

and 1895 general elections, and the Southport by-election in 1899. At the 1900 general election he was elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Hornsey division of Middlesex. He was re-elected in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

, but resigned his seat on 28 May 1907 by becoming Steward of the Manor of Northstead. Balfour was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire on 31 May 1917. In the King's Birthday Honours in June 1919, he was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

for services in connection with the First World War in his capacity as president and chairman of the Berwickshire Territorial Force Association. Balfour was also a director of Barclays Bank and of the

Scottish Widows Scottish Widows is a life insurance and pensions company located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. Its product range includes life assurance and pensions. The company has been providing financial services to the ...

fund. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Botanic Society The Royal Botanic Society was a learned society founded in 1839 by James de Carle Sowerby under a royal charter to the Duke of Norfolk and others. Its purpose was to promote "botany in all its branches, and its applications." Soon after it was es ...

in November 1902. He died on 31 August 1921. A memorial to his memory was erected in Kelso in 1925 to a design by Sir Robert Lorimer.

Family

In 1888, Balfour married Lady Helena McDonnell, known as "Nina", daughter of

Alexander MacDonnell, 5th Earl of Antrim Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

. They had four sons, the eldest being Charles James Balfour (b.1889), who became a captain in the Scots Guards, and (in 1917) married the Hon. Aurea Vera Baring, daughter of

Francis Baring, 5th Baron Ashburton Francis Denzil Edward Baring, 5th Baron Ashburton, DL (20 July 1866 – 27 March 1938), was a British peer and politician. Early life Baring was the son of Alexander Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton, a Member of Parliament for Thetford, and Leonora ...

. Another son, John, was imprisoned in Germany at Ruhleben, a racecourse on the outskirts of Berlin, for the duration of the First World War. He had been studying at a university in Germany at the outbreak of the war and was immediately interned there. On repatriation, he joined the Foreign Office and became a career diplomat, and was knighted in 1954. He was posted in Moscow, Madrid, Buenos Aires and Washington, as well as serving in other countries. He died in 1983. His memoir, ''Not Too Correct an Aureole: the Recollections of a Diplomat'', was published posthumously.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, Charles Barrington 1862 births 1921 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Lord-Lieutenants of Berwickshire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Scots Guards officers British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Councillors in Scotland

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...