George Ralph Charles Ormsby-Gore, 3rd Baron Harlech, (21 January 1855 – 8 May 1938), was a British soldier and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

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 ...

Background and education

Harlech was the son of William Richard Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech, and Lady Emily Charlotte Seymour, and 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, ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

Military career

He served in the regular army as a lieutenant in 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 ...

from 1875 to 1883. He later served in the

Shropshire Yeomanry The Shropshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1795, which served as a cavalry and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and as a cavalry and an artillery regiment in the Second World War. It ...

, becoming its commanding officer as lieutenant-colonel from 1902 to 1907, and was honorary colonel from 1908. He commanded the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V. ...

at home 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 ...

in 1915. He was chairman of the Salop Territorial Army Association.

Political career

He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

for Oswestry in a by-election in May 1901, a seat he held until 1904 when he succeeded his father as third Baron Harlech and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

Crown Appointments

Lord Harlech was a justice of the peace for both

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

and

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

and

High Sheriff of Leitrim The High Sheriff of Leitrim was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Leitrim, Ireland from c.1582 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Leitrim County Sheriff. The sheriff h ...

for 1885. He was appointed to be a deputy lieutenant of

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

in 1896 and of

in 1897. Harlech also served as

Lord Lieutenant of Leitrim The following is a list of those who have been Lord Lieutenant of County Leitrim, Leitrim. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II of England, James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieut ...

from 1904 to 1922 and as

Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire. After 1762, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Merionethshire. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974, and the area is now covered by the Lord Lieutena ...

from 1927 to 1938, as well as Constable of

Harlech Castle Harlech Castle ( cy, Castell Harlech; ) in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a Grade I listed medieval fortification built onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea. It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at t ...

from 1927 until his death.

Honours and decorations

*DL: Deputy lieutenant of

Salop Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, and County Merioneth. *TD: Ribbon - Efficiency Decoration (South Africa)

Recipient of the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

, ''2 September 1910''. *CB: 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 ...

. *GCB: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath – as a Companion (CB) in the 1923 Birthday Honours. *KCB: Order of the Bath UK ribbon

Knight commander in the 1936 New Year Honours. Harlech was also awarded the Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem From 1926 to 1938 he was served as Provincial Grand Master of Freemasonry in Shropshire and was a member of the Lodge of St. Oswald (No. 1124), which is now also known as the Harlech Lodge of Perfection.

Arms

, Under this sign thou shalt conquer.

Personal life

Lord Harlech married Lady Margaret Ethel Gordon, daughter of

Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly Charles Gordon, 10th Marquess of Huntly (4 January 1792 – 18 September 1863), styled Lord Strathavon from 1794 to 1836 and Earl of Aboyne from 1836 to 1853, was a Scottish peer and first a Tory (1818–1830) and then a Whig (1830 onwards) po ...

, on 25 July 1881. They had one child : * William George Arthur Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech (born 11 April 1885, died 14 February 1964) His family seats were

Brogyntyn Brogyntyn, or Porkington, is a mansion in the parish of Selatyn to the north-west of Oswestry in Shropshire, England. Brogyntyn Hall was the home of the Ormsby-Gore family from 1815, and had previously been the estate of their ancestors the Maur ...

, Oswestry; Derrycarne,

, Glyn, Merionethshire. Harlech died in May 1938, aged 83, and was succeeded in the barony by his son. Lady Harlech died in 1950. The couple are buried in the parish churchyard of Selattyn near Oswestry. Their southern English home was Tetworth Hall at Ascot in Berkshire.

References

Work cited

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harlech, George Ormsby-Gore, 3rd Baron Welsh Guards officers Coldstream Guards officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of the Bath High Sheriffs of Leitrim Lord-Lieutenants of Leitrim Lord-Lieutenants of Merionethshire Ormsby-Gore, George Ormsby-Gore, George British Army personnel of World War I 1855 births 1938 deaths People educated at Eton College

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Military personnel from Shropshire People from Ascot, Berkshire Shropshire Yeomanry officers 3 Younger sons of barons Harlech, B3 Welsh landowners