Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Charles Gore Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll, (7 February 1852 – 8 July 1927), styled Lord Hay until 1891, was a Scottish soldier and Conservative politician.

Early life

Hay was the eldest surviving son of eight children born to Eliza Amelia Gore and

William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll (3 May 1823 – 3 December 1891), styled Lord Hay between 1823 and 1831, and Lord Kilmarnock from 1831 to 1846, was a Scottish peer. Early life William Harry Hay was born on 3 May 1823. He was the only son ...

. His paternal grandparents were

William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, KT, GCH, PC (21 February 1801 – 19 April 1846), styled Lord Hay between 1815 and 1819, was a Scottish peer and politician. Early life Erroll was the son of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll, and hi ...

and

Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll Elizabeth Hay, Countess of Erroll (née FitzClarence; 17 January 1801 – 16 January 1856) was an illegitimate daughter of King William IV of the United Kingdom and Dorothea Jordan. She married William Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, and became ...

(the illegitimate daughter of William IV by his mistress Dorothea Jordan). His maternal grandfather was General the Hon. Sir Charles Stephen Gore, a Waterloo officer (who was a son of the 2nd Earl of Arran and brother to the

Duchess of Inverness Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

Military career

Hay 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

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...

on 7 July 1869. He was 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 19 August 1871, to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 11 September 1875, to

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 ...

on 1 July 1881, to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

on 24 September 1887, and to

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 of ...

on 18 January 1895. Following the outbreak of 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 ...

in late 1899, he volunteered for active service and was commissioned in the Imperial Yeomanry. He took part in the

Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain") was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley. Lord Methuen adv ...

(February 1900), following which he was in charge of prisoners from Piet Cronjé's army. In early March 1900 he took command of a yeomanry brigade in the South Africa Field Force, with the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. The following year he was in June 1901 appointed

Assistant Adjutant-General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

. He was later an honorary major general in the British Army and a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

commanding the

. He went on to serve as General Officer Commanding 65th (2nd Lowland) Division between 1915 and 1916.

Peerage and political career

Hay succeeded his father in the earldom in 1891. Lord Erroll served in the Conservative administration of Arthur Balfour as a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(government whip in the House of Lords) from 1903 to 1905. In 1901 he was made a

Knight of the Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an Chivalric order, order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by James II of England, King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that h ...

.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,

Personal life

In 1875, Hay married Mary Caroline L'Estrange, daughter of Edmund L'Estrange by his wife Harriet Susan Beresford Lumley-Savile (sister of Richard Lumley, 9th Earl of Scarbrough, and daughter of Frederick Lumley-Savile and of Charlotte De la Poer-Beresford, a daughter of

George de la Poer Beresford George Beresford may refer to: *George Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford (1735–1800), Irish peer *George Beresford (bishop) (1765–1841), Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh, nephew of the above *George Beresford (provost of Tuam) (died 1842), Provo ...

, Bishop of Kilmore). Together, they were the parents of three sons: * Victor Alexander Sereld Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll (1876–1928), who married Mary Lucy Victoria, only daughter of Sir Allan Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet, in 1900. * Cmdr. Hon. Sereld Mordaunt Alan Josslyn Hay (1877–1939), who married Violet Spiller, second daughter of Lt.-Col. Duncan Chisholm Oliver Spiller, in 1915. * Capt. Hon. Ivan Josslyn Lumley Hay (1884–1936), a Page of Honour who married Pamela Burroughes, a daughter of Francis George Burroughes of Blakeney Holt, in 1921. Hay died in July 1927, aged 75, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son,

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, who held the title for less than a year before his death on 20 February 1928 when he was succeeded by his eldest son, Josslyn. Lady Erroll died in 1934.

Descendants

Through his eldest son, and heir, Victor, he was a grandfather of

Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll (11 May 1901 – 24 January 1941)Cokayne et al., ''The Complete Peerage'', volume I, p.1337 was a British peer, known for the unsolved case surrounding his murder and the sensation it caused during wartime ...

(who married Lady Myra Sackville, daughter of the Earl De La Warr),

Gilbert Boyd, 6th Baron Kilmarnock Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

(who married firstly The Hon. Rosemary Guest, daughter of

Viscount Wimborne Viscount Wimborne, of Canford Magna in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1918 for Ivor Guest, 2nd Baron Wimborne. The Guest family descends from the engineer and businessm ...

), and Lady Rosemary Hay, who (married Lieutenant Colonel

Rupert Ryan Rupert Sumner Ryan, (6 May 1884 – 25 August 1952) was an Australian soldier and politician. Early life Ryan was born in Melbourne to surgeon Sir Charles Snodgrass Ryan and Alice Elfrida, née Sumner. He had one sister, Ethel Marian "Maie" ...

and, secondly Major James Gresham).

References

External links

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Erroll, Charles Hay, 20th Earl 1852 births 1927 deaths 20 British Army major generals British Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Companions of the Order of the Bath Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Knights of the Thistle British Army generals of World War I