Henry Valerian George Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington (14 July 1912 – 16 September 1943), styled as Earl of Mornington between 1912 and 1934 and Marquess of Douro between 1934 and 1941, was a British peer and politician.

Life and career

He was the younger child and only son of Arthur Wellesley, 5th Duke of Wellington, and his wife, the Hon. Lilian Maud Glen Coats (elder daughter of George Coats, 1st Baron Glentanar). On 14 October 1933, he received a commission as a reserve second 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 of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

, and he received a regular commission in the same rank in the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

on 13 November 1935. He died, aged 31, on 16 September 1943, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, from wounds received in action while leading a group of

Commandos A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opp ...

. He is buried in the British Salerno War Cemetery, Bivio Pratole, in the province of

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

, Italy. At the time of his death, he was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in command of a troop in No. 2 Commando, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel 'Mad' Jack Churchill. Both No. 2 and 41 Commando were engaged at the Salerno landings, part of the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allies of World War II, Allied Amphibious warfare, amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign of World War II. T ...

. They switched from their initial battle area around Vietri sul Mare, west of Salerno, to a position two to three miles inland of Mercatello, then southeast of Salerno. The Germans held and were strengthening three high-ground positions. During the daytime of 16 September, No. 2 Commando moved back through a valley around the village of Piegolelle, dubbed 'Pigoletti', which had been cleared the night before, intending to capture a hill at the far end referred to as 'Pimple Hill'. However, in the early hours, the Germans had sent light forces back into the valley and also strengthened 'Pimple Hill'. On assaulting the hill two troops of commandos were exposed to well-positioned machine-gun fire. The Duke was among the fatalities: leading a charge against a machine-gun post he was hit by a sustained burst from an

MG 42 The MG 42 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr 42'', or "machine gun 42") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Enter ...

. His helmet was holed in three or four places. He was buried close to the place where he was killed. His probates (one for his current and future-valued interest in the settled ntrustedland, one for the rest) were resworn the next year at a total of .Calendar of Probates and Administrations
Accessed 19 January 2023. As he died without issue and was the only son of his father, he was succeeded in the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

by his uncle, Lord Gerald Wellesley. His sister, Lady Anne Rhys, succeeded him as 7th Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo.

References

External links

*
Duke of Wellington's Regiment – West Riding
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Henry Wellesley, 6th Duke 1912 births 1943 deaths Henry Wellesley, 6th Duke of Wellington Dukes of Ciudad Rodrigo Dukes of Wellington Dukes da Vitória Princes of Waterloo Wellesley, Henry 6 Coldstream Guards officers Duke of Wellington's Regiment officers British Army personnel killed in World War II British Army Commandos officers Earls of Mornington