Major-General Sir Hugh McCalmont (9 February 1845 – 2 May 1924) was an Anglo-Irish soldier, politician, and horseman. He was elected as an Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for North Antrim in 1895, resigning in 1899 by becoming Steward of the Manor of Northstead.

Early life and education

Hugh McCalmont was born in Dublin, the eldest son of James McCalmont (of Abbeylands, Belfast) and Emily Anne Martin. 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 ...

. He was the half-nephew of author

Violet Florence Martin Violet Florence Martin (11 June 1862 – 21 December 1915) was an Irish author who co-wrote a series of novels with cousin Edith Somerville under the pen name of Martin Ross (Somerville and Ross) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth cent ...

and the composer Robert "Ballyhooly" Martin, who composed the

Killaloe March Killaloe is the Regimental Quick March of the British Army regiment, The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment). It has informal, historical associations with other Irish Regiments and Brigades: as an ...

, both younger than him, being children of his maternal grandfather's second marriage.

Career

McCalmont was commissioned into the

6th Dragoon Guards The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabi ...

in 1865. He saw service in the Red River Rebellion in 1870, the

Third Anglo-Ashanti War The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Though the Ashanti emerged victorio ...

in 1873 and the Russo-Turkish War in 1877. McCalmont also took part in the

South African 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 1879, the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1879 and the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882 as well as the

Nile Expedition The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition (1884–85), was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to the Sudan to help Egyptians evacuate from Sudan af ...

in 1884. In 1884 he became aide-de-camp to General Wolseley. He was elected as an Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for North Antrim in 1895 but resigned in 1899 by becoming Steward of the Manor of Northstead. He was commanding the troops in the

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

district, when on 1 April 1902 he became General Officer Commanding 8th Division within Third Army Corps in Ireland. He served temporarily as commander of the Third Army Corps from December 1902 to March 1903, during the absence for a royal tour of India of the Commander, the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. In 1907 he was given the colonelcy of 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 ...

, a position he held until his death in 1924. McCalmont lived at ''Abbeylands'', a two-storey Victorian house in

Whiteabbey , translit_lang1 = , translit_lang1_type = Derivation: , translit_lang1_info = , translit_lang1_type1 = Meaning: , translit_lang1_info1 = , translit_lang2 = , translit_lang2_type = Derivation: , tra ...

, near Belfast, until it was set on fire by

Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

s in 1914 causing £20,000 of damage. Unionist leader, Edward Carson, had declared against votes for women, meanwhile his Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) had been drilling troops at Abbeylands House. In protest the Suffragettes burnt the building to the ground on 27 March 1914, complaining that they were being imprisoned while the UVF were gun running and preparing for civil war.

Personal life

In 1885, he married the Hon. Rose Elizabeth Bingham, daughter of John Charles Robert Bingham, 4th Baron Clanmorris of Newbrook. His son, Dermot McCalmont (1887–1968), inherited a fortune from his second cousin,

Harry McCalmont Colonel Harry Leslie Blundell McCalmont, CB (30 May 1861 – 8 December 1902) was a British army officer, race-horse owner, yachtsman and Conservative party politician. Life He was the son of Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont, and was educated ...

, and was the owner of race horse

The Tetrarch The Tetrarch (1911–1935) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated in a racing career of seven starts and was voted the best British-trained two-year-old of the 20th century according to the National Horse ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCalmont, Hugh 1845 births 1924 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Military personnel from Dublin (city) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1895–1900 British Army generals People from County Antrim 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers Irish autobiographers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War People of the Red River Rebellion British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British Army personnel of the Mahdist War