John Forbes-Sempill, 18th Lord Sempill (21 August 1863 – 28 February 1934) was a Scottish peer, the 18th

Lord Sempill Lord Sempill (also variously rendered as Semple or Semphill) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in circa 1489 for Sir John Sempill, founder of the collegiate Church of Lochwinnoch. Sempill was killed at the Battle of Flodde ...

and 9th Baronet of Craigievar.

Life

He was the son of

William Forbes-Sempill, 17th Lord Sempill William Forbes-Sempill, 17th Lord Sempill (20 May 1836 – 21 July 1905), born William Forbes, was a Scottish peer, the 17th Lord Sempill and 8th Baronet of Craigievar. He was the son of Sir John Forbes, 7th Baronet, and succeeded his father to ...

, and Frances Emily Abercromby, the daughter of Sir Robert Abercromby, 5th Baronet, and succeeded to the titles on the death of his father in 1905, prior to which he was known by the courtesy title "Master of Sempill". In addition to two sisters, he was the eldest of five brothers, four of whom served in the military; Douglas, a Major in the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw service ...

, was killed on the North-West Frontier of India in 1908, whilst Robert, a Lieutenant with the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

, was killed near

Festubert Festubert is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. The village was on the Western Front during the First World War and was largely destroyed in the May 1915 Battle of Festubert. Geography A farming v ...

in northern France during the

Great 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 ...

. The youngest of the four,

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, served with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

and survived the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice ...

. A fifth brother, William, died in infancy.''Burke's'', p. 1082 After studying at Eton, he joined the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the

in 1883, then transferred to the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Al ...

in 1885. After service in the Sudan, he transferred to the Army Service Corps in 1894, then transferred into the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...

in 1894.'SEMPILL', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 15 Nov 2008
/ref> He served with the

Lovat Scouts The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit and in 1916 formally became the British ...

and then the

in 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 So ...

, and only left

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 coun ...

after the end of the war, in late July 1902. He would later go on to command the 8th Battalion Black Watch in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, where he was severely wounded at the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

and

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. Colonel Lord Sempill was badly wounded near Fosse No.8, and lay, his legs paralysed, until bearers were able to carry him back. His orderly, corporal W. Smith service number 3/3133, lay all day in the open with him, and assisted in carrying him in at dusk. He later claimed to have been the first man from

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

to land in France; he had leapt ashore before the troopship had tied up at the dock.Forbes, p.5 He later served 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 Westminst ...

as a

Scottish representative peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the Parliament of Scotland, where, as a unicameral legislature, all Scottish P ...

, and was later the chairman of the Aberdeenshire Territorial Army Association, the Honorary Colonel of the 5th Battalion

- his brother Robert's battalion - and an aide-de-camp to

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 Qu ...

. He was buried at the Forbes of Fintray burial vault, St Meddan's Church, Aberdeenshire.

Family

His wife, Gwendolyn Prodger, was born and raised in Wales, with a Cornish mother, and was an accomplished harpist. The two had met at the fashionable resort of Homburg in the 1880s, and were married on 22 June 1892. They had four children; the eldest,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, who led a trade mission to Japan and subsequently released British aviation secrets to the Japanese, succeeded to his father's titles. The baronetcy would later pass to their younger son,

Ewan Ewan is an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic name Eòghann. It is possibly a derivative of the Pictish name, ''Vuen'' (or 'Wen'), "The Warrior" or "born of the mountain". It is most common as a male given name in Scotland and Canada. I ...

, on William's death, whilst the barony passed to their granddaughter

Ann Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in th ...

. In addition to the sons, they had two daughters; Gwendolyn (also known as Gwyneth), who died of appendicitis aged twelve, and Margaret, who later became a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

and a decorated member of the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

in 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 ...

. His sister Katherine married the naturalist George Muirhead

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

in 1907.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sempill, John Forbes-Sempill, 18th Lord 1863 births 1934 deaths Black Watch officers Lovat Scouts officers People educated at Eton College Gordon Highlanders officers Scottish representative peers British Army personnel of World War I Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Lords Sempill

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 ...

Royal Army Service Corps officers