Edward Dudley Metcalfe
MVO MC (16 January 1887 – 18 November 1957), known as Fruity Metcalfe, was an officer in the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
and a close friend of and
equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
to the Prince of Wales, later
King Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...
and
Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a ...
.
Early life
Metcalfe was born in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland, on 16 January 1887, the only son of Edward Metcalfe, member of the Irish General Prisons' Board, and Edith Maud Mary Howard-Hamilton. He was educated privately and at
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
.
[Courcy, Anne de (2002) "''The Viceroy's Daughters: the Lives of the Curzon Sisters''", W. Morrow, New York, amazon.co.uk, paperback. Retrieved 23 February 2007]
Career
He was commissioned on to the Unattached list for Auxiliary Forces (University Candidate) on 27 May 1907. He transferred to the Unattached List, Indian Army on 15 August 1908 but to have seniority from 17 August 1907. He spent a year attached to the 1st battalion
Connaught Rangers
The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Foot (which ...
in India from 8 November 1908 until, on 8 November 1909, being accepted into the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
and joining 3rd
Skinner's Horse
The 1st Horse (Skinner's Horse) is a regiment of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. It traces its origins as a cavalry regiment from the times of the East India Company, followed by its service in the British Indian Army and finally, afte ...
. He was 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 sub ...
on 17 November 1909.
[Indian Army List April 1912]
He attended the 1911
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was ...
with his regiment, and in 1912 attended the Cavalry School at
Saugor
Sagar is a city, municipal corporation and administrative headquarter in Sagar district of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Situated on a spur of the Vindhya Range, above sea-level. The city is around northeast of state capital ...
.
On 12 August 1914 he was appointed Adjutant of the Governor's Body Guard, Bombay.
World War I
With the outbreak of the Great War, Metcalfe's regiment was mobilised and sent to France late in 1914.
Metcalfe was promoted temporary captain on 1 September 1915. He served in France before being sent back to India in June 1916, from where he volunteered to served with the 7th Meerut Cavalry headquarters which went to Mesopotamia. He was promoted captain 17 August 1916; however this was later antedated to 1 September 1915.
Metcalfe was
mentioned in dispatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
, reported in the ''London Gazette'' on 15 August 1917, and ten days later came notice that he had been awarded the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC i ...
for distinguished service in
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
.
![Edward VIII with his staff wearing Happi 1922](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Edward_VIII_with_his_staff_wearing_Happi_1922.jpg)
In 1918, Metcalfe was attached to the Signal Service, where he remained until January 1920, when he was attached to the 27th Light Cavalry. By early 1921, he was back serving with the 3rd Skinner's Horse.
Between the wars
By July 1921, Metcalfe was serving with the Indian State Forces of
Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...
. Metcalfe first met the future Edward VIII when, as Prince of Wales, he was touring India in 1922. Edward was impressed with Metcalfe's knowledge of horses and made him a member of his personal staff, appointing him an aide de camp; he subsequently accompanied the prince on his tour of Japan.
In July 1922, in the wake of the Prince's tour, he was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order, 4th class, and in August 1922 was appointed as temporary
equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
to the Prince of Wales. Metcalfe was provisionally promoted to the rank of
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
on 17 August 1922.
He was appointed an extra
aide de camp to the Commander-in-Chief in India on 4 September 1926 and retired from the Indian Army on 6 September 1927.
With his wife, he attended meetings of the
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
organization in the
January Club
The January Club was a discussion group founded in 1934 by Oswald Mosley to attract Establishment support for the movement known as the British Union of Fascists.
The Club was under the effective control of Robert Forgan, working on behalf of the ...
, and, in May 1934, a dinner at
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
's
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...
of the
British Fascist Blackshirts, of which he was a member.
After the king abdicated on 11 December 1936 and became the
Duke of Windsor
Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a ...
, Metcalfe was best man at his wedding in France to
Wallis Simpson
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...
on 3 June 1937.
World War II
Metcalf served as
equerry
An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...
to the Duke of Windsor from 1939 in Paris and Antibes until the German invasion of France in 1940 prompted the Windsors' evacuation and, later, the Duke's appointment to govern the Bahamas.
[ Donaldson quotes extensively from Metcalfe's letters written home to his wife Baba in England.] Fruity's loyalty was not rewarded by the Duke - Windsor fled Paris in May 1940 following the German invasion, leaving Fruity to find his own way home back to England. The Duke was apparently more concerned for the welfare of his terriers than his equerry;
[''Hidden Agenda: How the Duke of Windsor Betrayed the Allies Hardcover'', by Martin A. Allen (2002), p188](_blank)
Retrieved 24 January 2020 at a dinner in Paris in May 1940 Fruity unburdened himself to his friend Clare Luce: "The Duke has ordered me to take those bloody cairns
ogsto
La Croë n the South of France I was a soldier! When I resigned from my regiment in India to serve the Prince, it wasn't to be a valet to his God-damned dogs!".
On 10 August 1940, Metcalfe was commissioned as a
pilot officer
Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
into the Administrative and Special Duties Branch of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. He was promoted to
flying officer on 10 August 1941. He was posted to Cairo in November 1941, returning to Britain at the end of September 1942,
but resigned his commission on 17 November 1942.
Metcalfe and his wife Alexandra purchased a grand country house, Little Compton Manor, in 1939 near Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire. There they entertained friends and dignitaries, including the Windsors after the war. Based on proximity to Cheltenham, they befriended the American Maj. Gen.
John C. H. Lee in 1942. Lee was Commanding General of the
United States Army Services of Supply
The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...
beginning in May 1942, and centred the vast buildup operations of the U.S. Army in Cheltenham, far enough west in Britain to be out of range of German Luftwaffe bombers. Lee spent many respite weekends at the Manor until the D-Day Invasion in June 1944, and also entertained many military and diplomatic visitors there, recouping from the crushing responsibilities of managing the largest logistical operation in the history of the world.
Personal life
In 1925, Metcalfe married
Alexandra Naldera Curzon ("''Baba''") (1904–1995),
[Tompsett Brian C. (2005]
Royal Genealogical Data Index to Royal Genealogical Data
Retrieved 17 March 2007 18 years younger than him, and the third daughter of
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...
and
Viceroy of India
The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
, and Lord Curzon's first wife, the American mercantile heiress
Mary Victoria Leiter.
They had a son, David Metcalfe (1927-2012), and twin daughters Dinah and Sheilah (1930).
They divorced in 1955.
Metcalfe lived at South Hartfield House,
Coleman's Hatch, in
Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation
of ...
, Sussex, about 40 miles south of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
Metcalfe's sister Muriel married John Strangman Russell, director of his family's woollen mill; their daughter was the BBC Radio commentator
Audrey Russell.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalfe
British Indian Army officers
Royal Air Force officers
Military personnel from Dublin (city)
1887 births
1957 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Equerries