Sir George Andrew Dick Lauder, 12th Baronet of the Fountainhall creation (17 November 1917 – 11 August 1981), was a British author and soldier. He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1958 on the death of his father Sir John North Dalrymple Dick-Lauder, 11th Baronet.

Education

Dick-Lauder was educated at

Stowe Stowe may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village **Stowe House **Stowe School * Stowe, Cornwall, in Kilkhampton parish * Stowe, Herefordshire, in the List of places in Herefordshire * Stowe, Linc ...

and 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 ...

. Originally of Fountainhall, his family sold that estate.

Career

He served in the 1939-45 war in Palestine; East Africa; and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. He also served, with the 52nd Middle East Commandos, in Sudan and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

(where taken prisoner). He entered 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 ...

Regiment as 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 ...

in 1937, and was promoted Major in 1945. He served in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, where his two sons were born, and was promoted second-in-command of the Black Watch (1955 - 1956). He was then seconded as second-in command to the 11th battalion

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various possessions in East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s. It performed both military and internal security functions within ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

(1957 - 1960). He retired from the British Army in 1960.

Marriage and death

He died at Firth Mill House,

Roslin, Scotland Roslin (formerly spelt Rosslyn or Roslyn; Scottish Gaelic: Riasg Linne) is a village in Midlothian, Scotland, 11 kilometres (7 mi) to the south of the capital city Edinburgh. It stands on high ground, near the northwest bank of the river ...

, having married on 13 November 1945 Hester Marguerite, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel George Cecil Minett Sorell-Cameron, C.B.E. They had two sons and two daughters, Lauder being succeeded by his eldest son and heir Sir Piers Robert Dick-Lauder, 13th Baronet. He is buried in the Dick Lauder family plot in

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

in south Edinburgh. The plot lies midway along the eastern path facing the high path. Lady Dick-Lauder died in 2017.Lady Hester Marguerite DICK-LAUDER (Sorell-Cameron)
/ref>

Author

Lauder was the author of ''Skull and Two Crystals'', ''Let Soldiers Lust'', and ''Our Man for Ganymede''. He was a member of

Puffin's Club Puffin's is a private members' luncheon club, established in the 1960s by the historian Sir Iain Moncreiffe of That Ilk. Named after his first wife, Diana Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll (whose nickname was ' Puffin'), it started as an informal soc ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, founded by his friend

Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk Sir Rupert Iain Kay Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 11th Baronet (9 April 1919 – 27 February 1985), Chief of Clan Moncreiffe, was a British Officer of Arms and genealogist. Biography Moncreiffe was the son of Lieutenant-Commander Gerald Moncreif ...

, 11th Baronet.

References

* ''Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed, and Official Classes'', London, 1962, p. 629. * Townend, Peter, editor, ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage'', 105th edition, London, 1970, p. 1545. * ''Debrett's Baronetage'', London, 1971. * Mosley, Charles, editor, ''Burke's Peerage & Baronetage'', 106th edition, Crans, Switzerland, 1999, vol.1, p. 844. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dick-Lauder, Sir George, 12th Baronet 1917 births 1981 deaths Writers from Edinburgh People educated at Stowe School Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia British Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Black Watch officers British military writers British World War II prisoners of war King's African Rifles officers Burials at the Grange Cemetery Military personnel from Edinburgh