Hugh William Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue, (14 June 1888 – 14 June 1958), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1905 until 1932, of Castle Hill in the parish of

Filleigh Filleigh is a small village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon, on the southern edge of Exmoor, west of South Molton. The village centre's street was, until the 1980s opening of the North Devon Link Road, the main highway between ...

, of Weare Giffard Hall, both in Devon and of Ebrington Manor in

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 ...

, was a

British peer The peerages in the United Kingdom are a legal system comprising both hereditary and lifetime titles, composed of various noble ranks, and forming a constituent part of the British honours system. The term '' peerage'' can be used both coll ...

, military officer, 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 ...

politician.

Origins

Hugh Fortescue was the eldest son of

Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue (16 April 1854 – 29 October 1932), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1861 to 1905, was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1881 until 1892 and later in the House of Lords havin ...

(1854–1932) by his wife Emily Ormsby-Gore, a daughter of

William Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech William Richard Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech (3 March 1819 – 26 June 1904), was an Anglo-Irish peer and Member of Parliament. Biography Lord Harlech was the younger son of William Ormsby-Gore and Mary Jane Ormsby. He was educated at Eton ...

Career

Early life

He 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, ...

from 1901 to 1905, followed by 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 service

In 1907 Fortescue joined the Royal Scots Greys. 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 ...

(1914–18) he served in France as a regimental officer for the Scots Greys, followed by the Royal Corps of Signals. He was twice wounded in battle and received 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 ...

in 1917. Following the war he went to India where he served as an instructor at the Cavalry School at Sangor. He then served as aide-de-camp to

Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson General Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson, (20 February 1864 – 28 March 1925), known as Sir Henry Rawlinson, 2nd Baronet between 1895 and 1919, was a senior British Army officer in the First World War who commanded the Fourth Army ...

Commander-in-Chief in India During the period of the Company rule in India and the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the British Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...

. He returned to England in 1922 and joined the

Royal Devon Yeomanry The Royal Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1920. It participated in the Second World War and now forms a squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry. History Formation Following the experience of the First World W ...

. He was promoted lieutenant colonel in command in 1924 and colonel in 1930 and in 1935 he became Colonel Commandant of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in 1939, Fortescue joined the General Staff. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for war services in 1942 and Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1946 Birthday Honours.

Political career

Fortescue succeeded his father in the earldom in 1932 and took up his seat in 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 ...

. He served under

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 i ...

s Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain and

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

as a Lord-in-waiting (government whip in the

) from 1936 to 1945 and under Churchill as

Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms The Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms is a post in the Government of the United Kingdom that has been held by the Government Chief Whip in the House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is th ...

(chief government whip in the House of Lords) in 1945. During the Labour Party's term in power from 1945 to 1951, he was Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords. He was again Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms under Churchill from 1951 to 1955 and under Prime Minister

Sir Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achieving rapid promo ...

from 1955 to 1957. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1952 and received the very great honour of being appointed a Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1951. Fortescue served as president of both the

British Horse Society The British Horse Society (BHS) is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a Society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education". It currently has ...

and Royal Agricultural Society.

Marriage and progeny

On 8 February 1917 in London, Fortescue married Margaret Beaumont, a daughter of

Wentworth Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale Wentworth Canning Blackett Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale PC, JP, DL (2 December 1860 – 12 December 1923), styled The Hon. Wentworth Beaumont between 1906 and 1907, and Lord Allendale from 1907, was a British Liberal politician. Backgro ...

by his wife Lady Alexandrina Vane-Tempest, a daughter of

George Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry George Henry Robert Charles William Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry, KP (26 April 1821 – 6 November 1884), styled Viscount Seaham between 1823 and 1854 and known as The Earl Vane between 1854 and 1872, was a British aristocrat, busin ...

. By his wife he had four children: Monument HughPeterFortescue ViscountEbrington Died1942 FilleighChurch Devon

*Hon. Diana Margaret Fortescue (17 May 1919 – 6 April 1920), who died an infant. *(Hugh) Peter Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington (1920–1942), only son and

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

, killed in action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

fighting for his father's old regiment the Royal Scots Greys at the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marsha ...

. He died unmarried. His mural monument exists in the Fortescue Chapel of St Paul's Church, Filleigh, inscribed as follows: ::"In proud and ever-loving memory of Hugh Peter, Viscount Ebrington, only son of the Fifth Earl and Countess Fortescue, Lieutenant Royal Scots Greys, who was born on 9 December 1920 and killed near El Alamein on 17 July 1942. ''He leaves a white unbroken glory, a gathered radiance, a shining peace''" * Lady Margaret Fortescue (13 December 1923 – 25 May 2013), eldest surviving daughter and co-heiress, who married the prominent race-horse breeder

Bernard van Cutsem Bernard Henry Richard Harcourt van Cutsem (23 January 1916 – 8 December 1975) was an English horsebreeder and racehorse trainer. Ancestry and early life The van Cutsem family are Roman Catholics, and of Dutch origin.Newmarket, Suffolk, and had issue. Following her inheritance (see below) Lady Margaret found herself frequently commuting the long distance between Newmarket and Devon to administer her estates at Castle Hill and at

Simonsbath Simonsbath () is a small village high on Exmoor in the English county of Somerset. It is the principal settlement in the Exmoor civil parish, which is the largest and most sparsely populated civil parish on Exmoor, covering nearly but with ...

on Exmoor.Exmoor Oral History Archive, Dulverton and District Civic Society, 200

/ref> Shortly after 1879 her grandfather

(1854–1932), Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds 1880/81–87, had acquired the reversion of the whole of the former Royal Forest of Exmoor after the death of Frederick Winn Knight. When Castle Hill was largely destroyed by a fire in 1934, the Fortescue family moved to Simonsbath House whilst rebuilding was in progress. Lady Margaret devoted much time to attempting to put the Exmoor estate, purchased by her grandfather largely for his sporting interest, onto a profitable footing. The marriage was unsuccessful and eventually the couple were divorced and in 1966 she resumed the surname of Fortescue. She served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon. In 2001 she gave a lengthy interview for the Exmoor Oral History Archive of the Dulverton and District Civic Society, which provides a valuable insight into many aspects of modern Devon history. *Lady Elizabeth Fortescue (1 October 1926 – 17 January 2010), second daughter and co-heiress, who married William Lloyd Baxendale,

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 ...

, of Uckfield, Sussex, and had issue.

Death and succession

Fortescue died on his 70th birthday in June 1958, four days after the death of his wife, whose funeral he was too ill to attend. As his only son and

, Lord Ebrington, had been killed in action at the

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

in 1942, he left no male issue, and was therefore succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother, Denzil Fortescue, 6th Earl Fortescue (1893–1977), who also inherited Ebrington Manor in

, thenceforth the principal seat of the Earls Fortescue. Although the title passed to his brother on his death, the 5th Earl left his principal and grandest seat, Castle Hill,

in North Devon, to his elder surviving daughter, Lady Margaret Fortescue (1923–2013). Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, p.80 Castle Hill is now the home of her daughter Eleanor, Countess of Arran (née van Cutsem) and her husband

Arthur Gore, 9th Earl of Arran Arthur Desmond Colquhoun Gore, 9th Earl of Arran (born 14 July 1938), styled Viscount Sudley between 1958 and 1983, is a British peer and Lord Temporal in the House of Lords, sitting with the Conservative Party. Biography Early life Lord Arr ...

. The 5th Earl Fortescue left his secondary Devon seat, Weare Giffard Hall, to his younger daughter Lady Elizabeth Baxendale (born 1926), who sold it in 1960.http://www.wearegiffardoinfo

References

External links

* * , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortescue, Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl 1888 births 1958 deaths British Army personnel of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Fortescue,5 Hugh,5 Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Knights of the Garter Lord-Lieutenants of Devon Military personnel from London Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 Ministers in the Chamberlain wartime government, 1939–1940 Ministers in the Churchill caretaker government, 1945 Ministers in the Churchill wartime government, 1940–1945 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Eton College Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Scots Greys officers Royal Corps of Signals officers Royal Devon Yeomanry officers Honourable Artillery Company officers