The Most Hon. Dermot Richard Claud Chichester, 7th Marquess of Donegall (18 April 1916 – 19 April 2007), known as

the Hon. ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

Dermot Chichester from 1924 to 1953, and as Baron Templemore from 1953 to 1975, was a British soldier, landowner and member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Lord Donegall was usually known to his family and friends as Dermey Donegall.

Biography

Lord Donegall was the second son of the 4th Baron Templemore, whom he succeeded in the barony. He was educated at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a

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

with the

7th Queen's Own Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

in Egypt. He was reported

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

and believed to have been killed, but had been captured in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in November 1942 during the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

. He remained a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

until escaping in June 1944. He was promoted

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

that year, and retired from the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1949, but served for several years with the

Leicestershire Yeomanry The Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794 and again in 1803, which provided cavalry and mounted infantry in the Second Boer War and the First World War and provided two fie ...

. His elder brother, Arthur, having been killed in 1942 serving with 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 of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

, Chichester succeeded his father in his several titles in 1953. In 1975, he also succeeded a distant cousin to become the 7th

Marquess of Donegall Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Si ...

, being the descendant of the 1st Baron Templemore, grandson of

Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess of Donegall Arthur Chichester, 1st Marquess of Donegall (13 June 1739 – 5 January 1799), known as Arthur Chichester until 1757 and as The Earl of Donegall between 1757 and 1791, was an English nobleman and politician in Ireland. Early life Chichester was ...

. He was also Lord High Admiral of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

. Lord Donegall became a member of the

Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a bodyguard to the British Monarch. Until 17 March 1834, they were known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. Formation The corps was formed as the Troop of Gen ...

in 1966, and was its Standard Bearer from 1984 to 1986. He was appointed LVO in 1986, and was for many years an active member of the

Conservative Monday Club The Conservative Monday Club (usually known as the Monday Club) was a British political pressure group, aligned with the Conservative Party, though no longer endorsed by it. It also had links to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio ...

. In 1981, he became Grandmaster of the

Grand Lodge of Ireland The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as ...

, a post he held until 1992. Lord Donegall also served as master of the Wexford Hounds. He bred horses, including

The Proclamation ''The Proclamation'' is the debut studio album by American jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington. Track listing Based on: #The Conception – 15:35 #The Bombshell's Waltz – 12:01 #Fair As Equal – 8:32 #Whacha Say – 4:56 #The Rhythm Changes ...

, winner of the

Punchestown Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish Nationa ...

champion hurdle in 1989, and Dunbrody Millar, winner of the Topham Trophy at

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, northeast of Liverpool city centre. In 2011 the parish had a p ...

in 2007. In 1946, he married Lady Josceline Gabrielle Legge (1918–1995), daughter of the 7th Earl of Dartmouth. They had a son, Patrick Chichester (born in 1952, and who used the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

of Earl of Belfast from 1975 to 2007), and two daughters, Lady Jennifer (1949–2013) and Lady Juliet (b. 1954). The Marquess lived at the family home of Dunbrody Park in Arthurstown in the southwest of

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Notes

References

* Copping, Robert, ''The Monday Club – Crisis and After''. May 1975, p. 25, published by the Current Affairs Information Service, Ilford, Essex, (P/B).
Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 20 July 2007

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donegall, Dermot Chichester, 7th Marquess of 1916 births 2007 deaths 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers British World War II prisoners of war Escapees from Italian detention Formerly missing British people People educated at Harrow School Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order British Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Italy Dermot Leicestershire Yeomanry officers Politicians from County Wexford 5 7 Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Missing in action of World War II Younger sons of barons Donegall British Freemasons