Thomas Hesketh Douglas Blair Cochrane, 13th Earl of Dundonald (21 February 1886 – 23 May 1958) was an officer in 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 ...

who served in

World War I 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 ...

. He was a representative peer for Scotland and chairman of the Anglo-Chilean Society.

Life

Cochrane was born on 21 February 1886, the son of

Douglas Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald Lieutenant General Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald, (29 October 1852 – 12 April 1935), styled Lord Cochrane between 1860 and 1885, was a Scottish representative peer and a British Army general. Early life ...

and Winifred Bamford-Hesketh (died 1924). He reached the rank of

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 the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

and fought in World War I, serving on the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

. For his services in the war he was awarded the

Order of the Merit of Chile The Order of Merit ( es, link=no, Orden al Mérito) is a Chilean Order (distinction), order and was created in 1929. Succeeding the Medal of the Merit, which was created during the term of the President Germán Riesco through the Minister of War ...

and made a Grand Officer, Order por Servicios Distinguidos of Peru.Mosley, Charles. ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition'', volume 1, Burke's Peerage & Gentry, page 1229, 2003. He succeeded to the Earldom of Dundonald and its subsidiary titles of 13th Lord Cochrane of Paseley and Ochiltrie on the death of his father, 12 April 1935. He was a representative peer for Scotland between 1941 and 1955, and was the chairman of the Anglo-Chilean Society. He died unmarried on 23 May 1958.

Army

In November of 1914, Thomas was 'invalided' home after having been wounded while fighting with his regiment at the front line.

Gwrych Castle

The family seat was located at

Gwrych Castle Gwrych Castle ( cy, Castell Gwrych meaning "hedged castle") (Originally spelt as 'Gwrŷch') is a Grade I listed 19th-century country house near Abergele in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The castle and 236 acre estate are owned by a charity, ...

. The estate was acquired by the 12th Earl of Dundonald in 1878, through his marriage to Winifred Bamford-Hesketh, sole heiress of Robert Bamford-Hesketh. In 1919, Cochrane's mother sold portions of the family estate, including surrounding land and mines. When she died in 1924, she left the remainder of the estate to King George V. The King, unable to accept the gift, turned the property over to the Order of St John of Jerusalem. In 1928, the estate was eventually sold back to the 12th Earl of Dundonald for £78,000. During

World War II 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 opposin ...

, the estate was used to house 200 Jewish refugee children from the

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

. In 1946, following the war, the 13th Earl of Dundonald, resold the entire estate to Robert Rennie of Chester for £12,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dundonald, Thomas Cochrane, 13th Earl 1886 births 1958 deaths 13 Scots Guards officers Scottish representative peers British Army personnel of World War I

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...