Colonel George Lionel Dawson-Damer CB PC (28 October 1788 – 14 April 1856) was a British

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician.

Background

Dawson-Damer was a younger son of

John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington Earl of Portarlington is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1785 for John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington, who had earlier represented Portarlington in the Irish House of Commons. He was the son of William Dawson, 1st Visco ...

, and Lady Caroline, daughter of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. He assumed the additional name of Damer by royal sign-manual in 1829 on succeeding to a portion of the estates of his aunt, Lady Caroline Damer.

Military career

While on the staff of Sir Robert Wilson he was present with the Russian army at the retreat of the French cavalry from Moscow in October 1812. In 1813 he was at the battles of

Lützen is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Lützen is situated in the Leipzig Bay, approximately southwest of the Leipzig city limits and northeast of Weißenfels. The town has access to the Bundesstraße 8 ...

, Bautzen,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, Kulm, Wurzen, and the Siege of Hamburg and the operation at Holstein. In 1815 he was appointed quartermaster general to the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

, under whom he served in the

1st King's Dragoon Guards The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment was raised by Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, named in honour of Queen Mary, consort of King James II. It was renamed the 2nd Ki ...

and was present at the battles at

Quatre Bras Quatre Bras (, French for crossroads; literally "four arms") is a hamlet in the municipality of Genappe, Wallonia, Belgium. It lies on the crossroad of the Charleroi-Brussels road (currently named N5) and the Nivelles-Namur road south of Genappe ...

and

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

, where he was wounded and had two horses shot under him and for which he was made a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB).

Political career

Dawson-Damer was returned to Parliament for Portarlington in 1835, a seat he held until 1847, and served under Sir Robert Peel as

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

from 1841 to 1846. Between 1847 and 1852 he represented Dorchester in the House of Commons.

Family

Dawson-Damer married Mary Georgiana Emma, daughter of Lord Hugh Seymour and Lady Anne Horatia Waldegrave, in 1825. They had five daughters and one son:thepeerage.com
/ref> * Lady Georgiana Augusta Charlotte Caroline Dawson-Damer - Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue * Lady Evelyn Mary Stuart Dawson-Damer * Lady Cecilia Blanche Horatia Seymour Dawson-Damer * Alice Henrietta Dawson-Damer * Lady Constance Wilhelmina Frances Dawson-Damer -

Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet (16 December 1822 – 23 January 1916) was the son of Charles Powell Leslie (II) and grandson of Charles Powell Leslie (I) and his uncle was the Bishop, John Leslie. Leslie was a Conservative Member of Parliament fo ...

* Lionel Seymour William Dawson-Damer, 4th Earl of Portarlington Mary died in October 1848. Dawson-Damer survived her by eight years and died in April 1856, aged 67. He is buried in

St Peter's Church, Winterborne Came St Peter's Church in Winterborne Came, Dorset, England was built in the 14th century. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is now a redundant church in the care of the Churches ...

, where there is a memorial to him. His only son Lionel succeeded to the title Earl of Portarlington on the death of his cousin

Henry Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington Henry John Reuben Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl of Portarlington (5 September 1822 – 1 March 1889) was an Irish peer. On 17 November 1841, he was commissioned a cornet in the Dorsetshire Yeomanry. He became Earl of Portarlington Earl of Portar ...

, in 1889.

References

External links

*
Portrait of George Dawson-Damer at the National Portrait Gallery

Sketch of George Dawson-Damer at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson-Damer, George 1788 births 1856 deaths Younger sons of earls Irish Conservative Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Portarlington Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Dawson-Damer family