Douglas James Proby DL, JP (23 September 1856 – 18 November 1931), known as Douglas James Hamilton until 1904, was a British politician and soldier.

Background

Born Douglas Hamilton, he was the only son of Lord Claud Hamilton (1813–1884) and his wife Lady Elizabeth Emma, second daughter of

Granville Proby, 3rd Earl of Carysfort Admiral Granville Leveson Proby, 3rd Earl of Carysfort (12 November 1782 – 3 November 1868), known as The Honourable Granville Proby until 1855, was a British naval commander and Whig politician. Biography Carysfort was the third and younge ...

John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, was his great-grandfather and

James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, (21 January 1811 – 31 October 1885), styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and The Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a British Conservative statesman who twice served as Lord Lieutenant of I ...

, his uncle. In 1904 he assumed by Royal licence the surname of Proby in lieu of his patronymic. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and matriculated on 15 January 1875 at

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 ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1879 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1912.

Military career

In January 1880, Proby was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant from the military college into the 109th Regiment of Foot. He was exchanged to 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; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

in April and when two years later the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

erupted, he fought with the 1st Battalion . He then became involved into the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...

with the 2nd Battalion and took part in the

Battle of Suakin The Battle of Suakin (also known as the Battle of Gemaizah), part of the Mahdist War, occurred on 20 December 1888 when General Francis Grenfell defeated a Mahdist, or Dervish, force near Suakin, a chief port of Sudan. The Mahdist force, under ...

in 1888. After the end of the war in 1891, he was promoted to captain and transferred to the 5th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. From 1897, he recruited new soldiers around

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and in the following year, was advanced to major. Proby was attached to the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

in 1900 and became lieutenant-colonel after another four years. He was promoted to brevet-colonel in 1907 and retired in the following year. From 1914 Proby commanded a regimental district until 1917.

Political career

Proby entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

in the January 1910 general election. However, he lost his seat in the December general election of the same year, and never returned to Parliament. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...

in 1923 and was 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

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. Proby represented the latter together with

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

also as Deputy Lieutenant. He was invested as an Officer of the

Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(OStJ).

Family

On 6 July 1882, Proby married Lady Margaret Frances Hely-Hutchinson, daughter of

Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore Richard John Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore PC FRS (4 April 1823 – 22 February 1866), styled Viscount Suirdale between 1832 and 1851, was a British Conservative politician. Background Donoughmore was the son of John Hely-Hutchins ...

, and had by her four sons and a daughter. Proby died in 1931 at his residence

Elton Hall Elton Hall is a baronial hall in Elton, Cambridgeshire. It has been the ancestral home of the Proby family (sometime known as the Earls of Carysfort) since 1660. The hall lies in an estate through which the River Nene runs. The building inc ...

. His oldest son Granville was a

lord-lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

and his third son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proby, Douglas 1856 births 1931 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Mahdist War Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire Deputy Lieutenants of Wicklow High Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Irish Guards officers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Officers of the Order of St John People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1910 Coldstream Guards officers British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Royal Fusiliers officers