Charles Clements, 5th Earl of Leitrim (23 June 1879 9 June 1952), styled Viscount Clements until 1892, was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

nobleman and Unionist. He was commissioned into the

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 ...

after college, and 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 ...

, during which he was made a prisoner of war in the debacle at

Lindley, Free State Lindley is a small town situated on the banks of the Vals River in the eastern region of the Free State province of South Africa. It was named after an American missionary, Daniel Lindley, who was the first ordained minister to the Voortrekkers ...

. He was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of the City of Londonderry This is a list of people to have served as Lord Lieutenant of the city of Londonderry (originally formally "County of the City of Londonderry", later the "County Borough of Londonderry"). County of the City of Londonderry *William Tillie: 20 Feb ...

in 1904, shortly after the close of the war. During the

Home Rule Crisis The Home Rule Crisis was a political and military crisis in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that followed the introduction of the Third Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in 1912. Unionists in Ulster, d ...

, he commanded the

Ulster Volunteers The Ulster Volunteers was an Irish unionist, loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government ("Home Rule") for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

and smuggled arms into the country for their use. He held a commission in the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, recruiting Volunteers into the regiment, and served as Private Secretary to fellow-Unionist Walter Hume Long,

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

. The Earl had no children by either of his two marriages; his only heir, his brother Francis, went to America under an assumed name, disappeared, and was pronounced dead in 1917. Accordingly, Leitrim's titles became extinct on his death in 1952.

Biography

Clements was the eldest son of Robert Clements, 4th Earl of Leitrim, whom he succeeded in 1892. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. Leitrim 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 5th Battalion,

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

on 9 February 1898 and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 7 December 1898. Following the outbreak of the

in late 1899, he volunteered for active service in the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

, where he was commissioned a lieutenant on 3 March 1900, leaving

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

for

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 ...

on the SS ''Cymric'' later the same month. He transferred to a regular army commission in the 9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers as a

on 21 April 1900. While serving with the 13th

, Leitrim was captured at Lindley. He was promoted lieutenant in the 9th Lancers on 5 July 1901, but returned to the United Kingdom when the war was drawing to a close in March 1902, and resigned his commission on 21 June 1902. Leitrim married at St Andrew's church,

Nuthurst Nuthurst is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The north of the parish borders Horsham town, with Nuthurst village south from the border. Within the parish is the estate and largely 19th-century country ...

, on 22 October 1902 Violet Lina Henderson, the daughter of Robert Henderson, a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

, and sister of the ambassador Sir Nevile Henderson. He was appointed

in 1904. Leitrim commanded the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaig ...

, and arranged to run guns into the county in his

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

, SS ''Ganiamore'', in 1913. During

, Leitrim was commissioned a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the 11th Service Battalion,

but resigned due to ill health on 10 January 1917. He was Private Secretary to the

, Walter Hume Long, in 1917. Later in life, he divorced Violet, and married Hon. Anne Mary Chaloner Vanneck, sister of

William Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield William Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield, (3 January 1883 – 20 November 1969) was a British Conservative Party politician, Governor of Victoria, and Administrator of Australia. He was the first Australian-born governor of an ...

, on 29 April 1939. Leitrim had no children by either of his marriages. His sometime

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

, his brother Hon. Francis Patrick Clements, disappeared in 1907, and was declared dead in 1917. Reports from the ''New York Times'' dated 12 July 1907, and 20 August 1911, suggested that he had gone to the US and worked as a stoker. The Earl was said to have spent thousands of dollars trying to establish his whereabouts. With no heir, the Earldom of Leitrim became extinct upon the Earl's death in 1952.

References

Book Sourced

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leitrim, Charles Clements, 5th Earl of 1879 births 1952 deaths 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British prisoners of war of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I People from County Leitrim Lord-Lieutenants of the City of Londonderry People educated at Eton College Rifle Brigade officers Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers Imperial Yeomanry officers Ulster Volunteers Earls of Leitrim