Earl Haig is a title in the

peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. It was created in 1919 for

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Sir Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

. During the

First World War 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 ...

, he served as commander of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France and Belgium (1915–18). Haig was made Viscount Dawick and Baron Haig, of Bemersyde in the County of Berwick, at the same time he was given the earldom, also in the peerage of the United Kingdom The viscountcy of Dawick is used as a

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

by the Earl's son and heir apparent. the titles are held by the first earl's grandson, the third earl, who succeeded his father in 2009. The family seat is

Bemersyde House Bemersyde House is a historic house in Roxburghshire, Scotland. The nearest towns are Newtown St. Boswells, Melrose, and Dryburgh. The William Wallace Statue, Bemersyde is on the Bemersyde Estate. History Dating back to the 16th century as ...

, near

Newtown St. Boswells Newtown St Boswells ( sco, Newtoon; gd, Baile Ùr Bhoisil ) is a village in the historic county of Roxburghshire which houses the administrative centre of the Scottish Borders council area. The village lies south of the Eildon Hills on the S ...

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

. The family motto is "''Tyde what may''", which refers to a 13th-century poem by

Thomas the Rhymer Sir Thomas de Ercildoun, better remembered as Thomas the Rhymer (fl. c. 1220 – 1298), also known as Thomas Learmont or True Thomas, was a Scottish laird and reputed prophet from Earlston (then called "Erceldoune") in the Borders. Thomas ...

which predicted that there would always be a Haig in

Bemersyde Bemersyde is a hamlet in the Mertoun parish of Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders. It sits on the left bank of the River Tweed, about three miles east of Melrose. Bemersyde House, the ancestral home of the Haig family, is the most notable feat ...

Lairds of Bemersyde (c.1150)

''The dates stated denote the period of proprietorship of the respective Lairds.''John Russell, ''The Haigs of Bemersyde, A Family History'' (Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1881), pp. 432–47. *Peter de Haga, 1st of Bemersyde (c.1150–1200) *Peter de Haga, 2nd of Bemersyde (c.1200–28) *Henry de Haga, 3rd of Bemersyde (c.1228–40) *Peter de Haga, 4th of Bemersyde (c.1240–80) *John de Haga, 5th of Bemeryde (c.1280–1326) *Peter de Haga, 6th of Bemersyde (c.1326–33) *Henry de Haga, 7th of Bemersyde (1333–68) *John de Haga, 8th of Bemersyde (1368–88) *Sir Andrew Haig, 9th of Bemersyde (1388–1414) *John Haig, 10th of Bemersyde (1414–36) *Gilbert Haig, 11th of Bemersyde (1436–58) *James Haig, 12th of Bemersyde (1458–90) *William Haig, 13th of Bemersyde (1490–1513) *Robert Haig, 14th of Bemersyde (1513–54) *Andrew Haig, 15th of Bemersyde (1554–83) *Robert Haig, 16th of Bemersyde (1583–1602) *James Haig, 17th of Bemersyde (1602–19) *Andrew Haig, 18th of Bemersyde (1620–27) *William Haig, 19th of Bemersyde (1627–36) *David Haig, 20th of Bemersyde (1636–54) *Anthony Haig, 21st of Bemersyde (1654–1712) *Zerubabel Haig, 22nd of Bemersyde (1712–32) *James Anthony Haig, 23rd of Bemersyde (1732–90) *James Zerubabel Haig, 24th of Bemersyde (1790–1840) *James Haig, 25th of Bemersyde (1840–54) *Barbara Haig, 26th of Bemersyde (1854–73) *Sophia Haig, 27th of Bemersyde (1873–78) *Lt.-Col.

Arthur Balfour Haig Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Balfour Haig, CMG, CVO (10 July 1840 – 15 April 1925) was a British Army officer, courtier, and Conservative Party political agent. A second cousin of Field-Marshal the Earl Haig, Arthur Balfour Haig was educated at Rug ...

, C.M.G., C.V.O., J.P., 28th of Bemersyde (1878–1921)

Earls Haig (1919)

Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 unti ...

, 29th of Bemersyde (1861–1928) * George Alexander Eugene Douglas Haig, 2nd Earl Haig, 30th of Bemersyde (1918–2009) *Alexander Douglas Derrick Haig, 3rd Earl Haig, 31st of Bemersyde (b. 1961) There is currently no heir to the earldom, viscountcy, or barony. Should the third earl die without a son, the titles will become extinct.

References

Sources

* *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *Russell, John. ''The Haigs of Bemersyde, A Family History''. Edinburgh and London, William Blackwood and Sons, 1881. {{DEFAULTSORT:Haig Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Noble titles created in 1919