Gilbert Byng Alwyne Russell (1 June 187528 May 1942) was a British military officer and banker, who made his home at

Mottisfont Mottisfont is a village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, approximately 7 km north west of Romsey. The village is best known as the location of Mottisfont Abbey. Much of the surrounding land, which is part ...

Background

Russell was the son of Lord Arthur Russell and Laura de Peyronnet, daughter of Paul Louis Jules, Viscount of Peyronnet. His cousin was the Duke of Bedford. His siblings included Harold Russell,

Flora Russell Flora Magdalen Isabel Russell (28 September 186923 August 1967) was an English noblewoman, childhood friend of Gertrude Bell. Biography Flora Magdalen Isabel Russell was born on 28 September 1869, the daughter of Lord Arthur Russell and Lady Laura ...

Claud Russell Sir Claud Frederick William Russell (8 December 18719 December 1959) was a British diplomat who was minister to Ethiopia and to Switzerland and ambassador to Portugal. Biography Russell was the second son of Lord Arthur Russell. He was educat ...

, Caroline Russell, and

Conrad Russell Conrad Sebastian Robert Russell, 5th Earl Russell, (15 April 1937 – 14 October 2004), was a British historian and politician. His parents were the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell and his third wife Patricia Russell. He was al ...

Military career

Russell joined the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 1 December 1897, and was promoted to

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 20 April 1899. He served in the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...

(1898), and was present at the Battle of Omdurman, for which he received the Queen's Sudan Medal and the Khedive's Sudan Medal (1897). In early 1900, he joined his regiment in

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

during 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 Sout ...

, and took part in operations in the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

from April to May 1900, followed by the action at Biddulphsberg (May 1900) and Wittebergen (July 1900). After the end of hostilities in May 1902, he left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

the following month on board the ''SS City of Vienna'', arriving at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in late July. Rising to the rank of Major, Russell's military career also included

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 ...

Banking

In 1917, Russell married

Maud Nelke Maud Julia Augusta Russell (; 7 November 189127 May 1982) was a British socialite and art patron, who aided Jewish relatives in their escape from Nazi Germany during the 1930s. Family The daughter of Maria and Paul Nelke, German Jewish immigra ...

, daughter of Paul Nelke, a German Jew who was the senior partner in Nelke, Phillips & Bendix. Her grandfather had been Master of the Mint in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. After a stint with Salomon Brothers, Russell's father-in-law assisted him with setting up the merchant banking firm, Cull and Company. Mottisfont Abbey, Hampshire

Russell and his wife had lived in Prince's Gate,

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

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 ...

, as well as

Heveningham Hall Heveningham Hall is a Grade I listed building in Heveningham, Suffolk. The first house on the site was built for the politician and regicide William Heveningham in 1658. The present house, dating from 1778 to 1780, was designed by Sir Robert Ta ...

(

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

) and Stanway House (

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

). In 1934, he purchased Mottisfont. There were two sons from the marriage, Martin Basil Paul Russell (born 1918) and Raymond Anthony Russell (1922–1964). After Russell's death, his wife made arrangements for Mottisfont and its estate to be preserved with the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Gilbert Byng Alwyne 1875 births 1942 deaths Grenadier Guards officers English bankers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Mahdist War

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...