Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Thomas David Freeman-Mitford (2 January 1909 – 30 March 1945) was the only son of the 2nd Baron Redesdale and brother of the

Mitford Sisters The Mitford family is an aristocratic English family, whose principal line had its seats at Mitford, Northumberland. Several heads of the family served as High Sheriff of Northumberland. A junior line, with seats at Newton Park, Northumberlan ...

. Tom Mitford was killed in action during 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 opposin ...

Early life

Mitford was born on 2 January 1909, the only son of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale. He attended

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. He had relationships with several students there, among whom were Jim Lees-Milne and The Hon. Hamish St. Clair-Erskine (later engaged to his sister Nancy). In the late 1920s, Mitford studied law in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and it was at that time that he displayed a favour for the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

Military service and death

While serving, at first Mitford chose to serve in Italy and North Africa, and then in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, since he did not want to fight against Germany. Mitford was killed on 30 March 1945 in Burma, while serving with the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

. He is buried at

Taukkyan War Cemetery The Taukkyan War Cemetery ( my, ထောက်ကြံ့ စစ်သင်္ချိုင်း) is a cemetery for Allied soldiers from the British Commonwealth who died in battle in Burma during the Second World War. The cemetery is in th ...

. His sister Diana, Lady Mosley, wrote: "his loss was something from which I never recovered for the rest of my life". His father, Lord Redesdale, erected a memorial tablet inside St Mary's Church,

Swinbrook Swinbrook is a village on the River Windrush, about east of Burford in Oxfordshire, England. The village is in the civil parish of Swinbrook and Widford. Widford is a hamlet about west of Swinbrook. The 2011 Census recorded the parish popul ...

, near their ancestral home, Swinbrook House. The 2nd Baron Redesdale, Lady Mosley,

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London s ...

, and

Unity Mitford Unity Valkyrie Freeman-Mitford (8 August 1914 – 28 May 1948) was a British socialite, known for her relationship with Adolf Hitler. Both in Great Britain and Germany, she was a prominent supporter of Nazism, fascism and antisemitism, and belo ...

are buried in the churchyard, while

Pamela Mitford Pamela Freeman-Mitford (25 November 1907 – 12 April 1994) was one of the Mitford sisters. Biography Pamela Freeman-Mitford was born on 25 November 1907, the second daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and Sydney Bowles (1880 ...

is buried in the northwest of the tower. Another tablet to the memory of Tom Mitford is inside Holy Trinity Church, Horsley, just south of

Rochester, Northumberland Rochester is a small village and civil parish in north Northumberland, England. It is north-west of Otterburn on the A68 road between Corbridge and Jedburgh. The village is the site of the Roman fort of Bremenium, built there to protect the im ...

, near their estate in Northumberland. This hamlet of Horsley should not be confused with the village of

Horsley, Northumberland Horsley is a small village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The village lies around from Newcastle upon Tyne and from Hexham. Nearby villages include Heddon-on-the-Wall, Ovingham, Ovington and Wylam. Demography The data below s ...

, overlooking the Tyne valley, some twenty miles to the south.

Personal life

In July 1929, Mitford took part in the "Bruno Hat" art hoax. He took the role of the imaginary reclusive artist, Bruno Hat; other

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

involved were Brian Howard,

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

Bryan Guinness Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was an heir to part of the Guinness family brewing fortune, and a lawyer, poet and novelist. He was briefly married to Diana Mitford. Early life He was born to Wa ...

, and

John Banting John Banting (12 May 1902 – 30 January 1972) was an English artist and writer. Born in Chelsea, London on 12 May 1902 and educated at Emanuel School, Banting was initially attracted to vorticism and associated with the Bloomsbury Group, before ...

. Mitford had an alleged affair with

James Lees-Milne (George) James Henry Lees-Milne (6 August 1908 – 28 December 1997) was an English writer and expert on country houses, who worked for the National Trust from 1936 to 1973. He was an architectural historian, novelist and biographer. His extensi ...

, a writer, when both were attending

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

. In the summer of 1930, Mitford met

Sheilah Graham Sheilah Graham (born Lily Shiel; 15 September 1904 – 17 November 1988) was a British-born, nationally syndicated American gossip columnist during Hollywood's "Golden Age". In her youth, she had been a showgirl and a freelance writer for F ...

, who would later describe him in her memoirs, ''Beloved Infidel'', as "a youthful edition of his father and, at twenty-one, one of the handsomest men I had ever seen". In the 1930s, he was a lover of Austrian-born dancer

Tilly Losch Ottilie Ethel Leopoldine Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon (''née'' Losch; November 15, 1903 – December 24, 1975), known professionally as Tilly Losch, was an Austrian dancer, choreographer, actress, and painter who lived and worked for most of ...

, while she was married to art patron

Edward James Edward Frank Willis James (16 August 1907 – 2 December 1984) was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement. Early life and marriage James was born on 16 August 1907, the only son of William James (who had inherite ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitford, Tom 1909 births 1945 deaths People educated at Eton College Bisexual men Eldest sons of British hereditary barons British Army personnel killed in World War II Tom Heirs apparent who never acceded Devonshire Regiment officers English LGBT people Burials at Taukkyan War Cemetery 20th-century LGBT people