The Honourable Sir John William Fortescue (28 December 1859 – 22 October 1933) was a British military historian. He was a historian of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and served as Royal Librarian and Archivist at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

from 1905 until 1926.

Early life

Fortescue was born on 28 December 1859 in

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, the 5th son of Hugh, 3rd Earl Fortescue, by his wife Georgina, Countess Fortescue (née Dawson-Damer). His family owned much of the area around

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 since the twelfth century, thus he joined the North Devon Yeomanry Cavalry latterly serving as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. Fortescue was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, later lecturing at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

( DLitt (Oxon)).

Career

Fortescue is best known for his major work on the history of the British Army, which he wrote between 1899 and 1930. Between 1905 and 1926 he worked as the Royal Librarian at Windsor Castle. In 1911, Fortescue delivered the

Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures, technically the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. In 1920 he delivered the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

's Raleigh Lecture on History. He served as President of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

from 1921 to 1925 and was elected an Honorary Fellow of

. He received the

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

Version of the

Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal is a civil decoration awarded by the British monarch to servants of the royal household for long and faithful service. History The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal was establish ...

in 1925 for 20 years service to the British Royal Family. Fortescue was appointed KCVO in the 1926 King's Birthday Honours List.

Personal life

In 1914 Fortescue married

Winifred Beech Winifred Fortescue (7 February 1888 – 9 April 1951) was a British writer and actress. The wife of Sir John Fortescue, librarian and archivist at Windsor Castle and reputed British Army historian, she became formally styled Winifred, Lady For ...

, daughter of the Revd Howard Beech, Rector of

Great Bealings Great Bealings is a small village in Suffolk, England. It has about 302 people living in it in around 113 households. Its nearest towns are Ipswich ( away) and Woodbridge (). Nearby villages include Little Bealings, Playford, Culpho, Hasket ...

, Suffolk; they had no children. Lady Fortescue (who died in 1951) was a writer and actress. He died in Cannes on 22 October 1933 at the age of 73.John William Fortescue and Exmoor

Works

* * * 1897 ''The Story of a Red Deer'' * * 1899–1930 ''A History of the British Army'' (in thirteen volumes, taking the story up to 1870
Available online for downloading
* * * * * * * * * * 1930–1932 ''Royal Army Service Corps: A History of Transport and Supply in the British Army'' * * * *

References

External links

Biography from a site about his wife, Lady Fortescue
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortescue, John 1859 births 1933 deaths Younger sons of earls

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...