Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir Steuart Robert Pringle (21 July 1928 – 18 April 2013) was a Scottish

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer who served as

Commandant General Royal Marines The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier. This position is not t ...

from 1981 to 1985. He was seriously injured by an

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

in 1981, in which he lost his right leg. He was styled as the 10th Baronet of Stichill from 1961 to 2016, when a court accepted DNA evidence that established he was not the biological grandson of the 8th baronet. His cousin Murray Pringle inherited the baronetcy instead of Sir Steuart's eldest son and expected heir.

Early life and education

Pringle was born in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

on 21 July 1928, the only child of Sir Norman Hamilton Pringle of Stichill, 9th Baronet (1903–1961), and his first wife, Winifred Olive Curran (died 1975). He was educated at

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors , ...

Military career

Pringle joined the

in 1946. He was appointed commanding officer of 45 Commando in 1971 and, after a tour at Headquarters Commando Forces from 1974 in which role he was promoted from

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, he became Major General Commando Forces in 1978.Clan Pringle
, clanpringle.org.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2018. Pringle went on to be chief of staff to the Commandant General Royal Marines in 1979 and

in 1981. On 17 October 1981, he was injured by an

attached to his red Volkswagen car outside his home in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

, South London as he went to take his pet black Labrador, Bella to the park for a run. One of the first questions he asked was, "How's my dog?" His dog, Bella, was unscathed but Pringle lost his right leg in the incident and badly injured his left. As Commandant General of the Royal Marines, he was seen welcoming the Commandos home following the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. He was named BBC Pebble Mill Man of the Year for his "outstanding achievement and bravery". He later returned to duties, and retired in June 1984.

Later life

In retirement he became chairman and Chief Executive of the

Chatham Historic Dockyard The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, South East England. Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km²) and was one of the Royal Navy's main faciliti ...

Trust. He died in London on 18 April 2013.

Honours

Pringle was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) in the 1982 Birthday Honours. He was awarded an Honorary

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

City University London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

in 1982 and an Honorary LLD of

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

in 1994. He was also an Honorary Admiral of the

Texas Navy The Texas Navy, officially the Navy of the Republic of Texas, also known as the Second Texas Navy, was the naval warfare branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Navy, which was established ...

Personal life

In 1953, Sir Steuart married Jacqueline Marie Gladwell, only daughter of Wilfrid Hubert Gladwell. They had two sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Simon, had been the heir apparent to the baronetcy.

DNA case

Norman Hamilton Pringle and his son Sir Steuart were recognised as the 9th and 10th Pringle

Baronets of Nova Scotia Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James ...

, respectively, during their lifetimes; however, questions had been raised in the family as to whether Norman was the biological child of Sir Norman Robert Pringle, 8th Baronet (1871–1919). The 8th Baronet had married Florence Madge Vaughan on 16 October 1902 but she gave birth to Norman only seven months later, on 13 May 1903, leading to questions of legitimacy that were not resolved until more than a century later. In 2009, Sir Steuart agreed to

DNA testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

for a project launched by his first cousin Murray Pringle (born 1941), an accountant who was attempting to restore a

clan chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard c ...

to Clan Pringle, which has been an

armigerous clan An armigerous clan (from armiger) is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognised as such by Lyon Court. Befor ...

since 1737. The results indicated that Sir Steuart's paternal DNA was not consistent with that of other Pringles, but Murray heeded advice that the issue of the legitimate claimant to the baronetcy should not be contested during Sir Steuart's lifetime. After he died in 2013, both Simon (Sir Steuart's eldest son) and Murray attempted to claim the baronetcy. In 2016, a court agreed Murray Pringle was the rightful heir to the baronetcy instead of his first cousin once removed Simon, as DNA evidence demonstrated that Sir Steuart's father was not the biological son of Sir Norman Pringle, 8th Baronet. There were two younger sons – Ronald Steuart (1905–1968; Murray Pringle's father), and James Drummond (1906–1960). Norman Hamilton was proven with a "high degree of probability" to be fathered by someone outside the Pringle clan, and Sir Steuart and his father were removed posthumously from the

Official Roll of the Baronetage The Official Roll of the Baronetage is an official list of baronets kept by the Lord Chancellor; an abridged version is published online by the Standing Council of the Baronetage. Any person who wishes to claim succession to a baronetcy must prod ...

. Murray Pringle was declared the 10th Baronet and his father the ''de jure'' 9th Baronet. However, as a Knight Commander of the

, Sir Steuart was still styled as Sir.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, Steuart 1928 births 2013 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia British amputees British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency British military personnel of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation British military personnel of the Malayan Emergency British military personnel of the Suez Crisis Car bomb victims Explosion survivors Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People educated at Sherborne School People of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Royal Marines generals Military personnel from Kent