Sir Eustace Edward Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 1st Baronet (29 February 1864 – 9 February 1943), known as Sir Eustace Fiennes, was a British soldier,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician and

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

administrator.

Background

Fiennes was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, the second son of John Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 17th Baron Saye and Sele and his wife, Lady Augusta Hay-Drummond, a daughter of the 11th Earl of Kinnoull. He was educated at Malvern College, In 1894, Fiennes married Florence Agnes Fletcher ''née'' Rathfelder (from

Constantia, Cape Town Constantia is an affluent suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, situated about 15 kilometres south of the centre of Cape Town. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious suburbs in South Africa. The Constantia Valley lies to the east of and ...

). They lived in

Windlesham Windlesham is a village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately south west of central London. Its name derives from the Windle Brook, which runs south of the village into Chobham, and the common suffix 'ham', the Old Engli ...

and

Sunningdale Sunningdale is a large village with a retail area and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England. It has a railway station on the (London) Waterloo to Reading ...

and had two children: John Eustace (1895–1917, Battle of Arras) and Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 2nd Baronet (1902–1943).

Military career

Fiennes fought in the North-West Rebellion in 1885, was stationed in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

from 1888 to 1889, and took part in the expedition to Mashonaland in 1890. He was commissioned into the

Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars The Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars (QOOH) was a Yeomanry Cavalry regiment of the British Army's auxiliary forces, formed in 1798. It saw service in the Second Boer War with 40 and 59 Companies of the Imperial Yeomanry and was the first Yeomanry ...

in 1895, and promoted

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 ...

on 29 April 1899. 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 South ...

in late 1899, Fiennes volunteered for service in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

on 3 February 1900, serving in the 40th (Oxfordshire) company of the 10th Battalion. He left London the same day on board the SS Montfort. He was promoted captain in 1901, major in 1905, and

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 colo ...

in 1918. He fought in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

during

World War I 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 ...

Political career

At the 1906 general election, Fiennes was elected as

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 o ...

(MP) for

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

and with a brief interruption in 1910, held the seat until the 1918 general election. He was also Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

(then

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

) from 1912 to 1914. 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 14t ...

in 1916, Fiennes left the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

two years later to become

Governor of the Seychelles This is a list of colonial governors of Seychelles, an archipelago, archipelagic island country in the Indian Ocean. Seychelles was first History of Seychelles#French settlement and rule, colonized by the French in 1770, and captured by the Bri ...

and was then Governor of the Leeward Islands from 1921 to 1929. Fiennes died in 1943 aged 78 and his title was inherited by his son who died the same year. His grandson, the famous explorer Sir

Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet (born 7 March 1944), commonly known as Sir Ranulph Fiennes () and sometimes as Ran Fiennes, is a British explorer, writer and poet, who holds several endurance records. Fiennes served in the ...

, inherited the title on his birth in 1944.Who's Who Through his grandfather the 16th Baron Saye and Sele, Fiennes is also related to the actors

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and

Joseph Fiennes Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particu ...

Notes

References

External links

Fiennes, Hon Eustace, Captain Oxfordshire Yeomanry
www.angloboerwar.com. * *
Fiennes Family, 1100 – 2004
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiennes, Eustace 1864 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Governors of the Leeward Islands Eustace Fiennes Governors of British Seychelles Imperial Yeomanry officers Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People of the North-West Rebellion People educated at Malvern College People from Reading, Berkshire People from Sunningdale People from Surrey Heath (district) Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars officers UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Younger sons of barons