Captain Lionel George Carroll, 16th Baron Petre (3 November 1890 – 30 September 1915) was an English peer. Born in

Wadhurst Wadhurst is a market town in East Sussex, England. It is the centre of the civil parish of Wadhurst, which also includes the hamlets of Cousley Wood and Tidebrook. Wadhurst is twinned with Aubers in France. Situation Wadhurst is situated on ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1890, he was educated at the Oratory, Edgbaston & Sandhurst. There is a story that he originally intended to join the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

but was turned down he then joined the fourth Pioneer Battalion,

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 ...

. He became a

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 ...

and finally a

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

. In 1908, he became engaged to Catherine Margaret Boscawen (1891–1983), granddaughter of the 6th Viscount Falmouth, taking a diamond from an earring of the Petre jewels to make the ring. They married at

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

on 28 June 1913. He became the 16th Lord Petre after his father's death in December 1908. His father had taken over the title from his brother for only six months. He served in France and Belgium, but died at Paris-Plage on 30 September 1915 of wounds received in action 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 ...

. Through his mother Julia, Lord Petre is a relative of the American Carroll family of Maryland, who were prominent Catholics and

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

s in a largely Protestant society. A notable ancestor is

Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic si ...

, the only Catholic signatory of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

Issue

The 16th Lord Petre and his wife had two children: * Joseph William Lionel Petre, 17th Baron Petre (5 June 1914 – 1 January 1989) *Elizabeth Mary Lionel Margaret Petre (13 December 1915 – ?); married Major Robert Healing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petre, Lionel Petre, 16th Baron 1890 births 1915 deaths Lionel Military personnel from East Sussex English Roman Catholics Coldstream Guards officers British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst 16 20th-century English nobility People from Wadhurst