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 ...

Thomas Pitt Hamilton Cholmondeley, 4th Baron Delamere (; 19 August 1900 – 13 April 1979), styled The Honourable Thomas Cholmondeley from birth until 1931, was a British peer. Popularly known (from 1931) as Tom Delamere, he lived on and owned the vast estate known as Soysambu Ranch in Kenya.

Early life

Cholmondeley was the eldest son of

Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Baron Delamere Hugh Cholmondeley, 3rd Baron Delamere, (28 April 1870 – 13 November 1931), styled The Honourable from birth until 1887, was a British peer. He was one of the first and most influential British settlers in Kenya. Lord Delamere was the son of ...

, whom he succeeded in 1931. His mother was

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

Florence Anne Cole, an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

who was the daughter of Lowry Cole, 4th Earl of Enniskillen. Cholmondeley was an indirect descendant of

Sir Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

, the first

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pri ...

. He was educated at Eton. 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 ...

he served with the

Welsh Guards The Welsh Guards (WG; cy, Gwarchodlu Cymreig), part of the Guards Division, is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. It was founded in 1915 as a single-battalion regiment, during the First World War, by Royal Warrant of George V ...

and achieved the rank of

Lands and estates

In this period, the Cholmondeley family continued to own ancestral land and estates in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

in the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. However, Lord Delamere lived, worked and invested most of his life in building modern

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. In 1934, Tom Delamere moved his family into

Vale Royal Abbey Vale Royal Abbey is a former medieval abbey and later country house in Whitegate England. The precise location and boundaries of the abbey are difficult to determine in today's landscape. The original building was founded c. 1270 by the Lord ...

, only to be forced out in 1939 when

His Majesty's Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

converted Vale Royal to serve as a sanatorium for soldiers of

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 Cholmondeleys were restored to possession of the abbey after the war, but by 1947 the house and grounds had been sold.

Personal life

Cholmondeley married on 14 June 1924, Phyllis Anne (1904–1978), daughter of Lord George William Montagu Douglas Scott (1866–1947; younger son of The 6th Duke of Buccleuch) and Lady Elizabeth Emily Manners (1878–1924; daughter of The 7th Duke of Rutland). The children of that marriage were: * The Hon. Elizabeth Florence Marion (26 December 1925 – 1988). * The Hon. Anne Jeannetta Essex (2 September 1927 – 18 October 2013). * Hugh George (b. 18 January 1934). Cholmondely had become

Baron Delamere Baron Delamere, of Vale Royal in the County Palatine of Chester, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 17 July 1821 for Thomas Cholmondeley, a former Member of Parliament for Cheshire. This Vale Royal branch of the ...

(in 1931) by the time he and Baroness Delamere were divorced in 1944. Lord Delamere remarried on 15 June 1944 to The Hon. Ruth Mary Clarisse Ashley (1906–1986), daughter of the then late

Lt. Col. 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 colonel. ...

Lord Mount Temple (a former

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

minister), who was the first (and only)

Baron Mount Temple Baron Mount Temple was a title that was created twice in British history, both times in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came on 25 May 1880 when the Liberal politician the Honourable William Cowper-Temple was made Baron M ...

(of the second creation), and Amalia Mary Maud

Cassel Cassel may refer to: People * Cassel (surname) Places ;France * Cassel, Nord, a town and commune in northern France ** Battle of Cassel (1071) ** Battle of Cassel (1328) ** Battle of Cassel (1677) ;Germany * Cassel, Germany, a city in Hesse renam ...

. This second marriage ended in divorce in 1955. On 26 March 1955, Lord Delamere married, thirdly, Diana Caldwell (1913–1987), daughter of Seymore Caldwell, better known as Diana Delves-Broughton. "Lady Delamere, Figure in Murder,"
''The New York Times''. 5 September 1987.

Death

Baron Delamere died at age 78 in August 1979; and he was succeeded in the lands, estates and title by his son from his first marriage,

Hugh Cholmondeley, 5th Baron Delamere Hugh George Cholmondeley, 5th Baron Delamere (; born 18 January 1934), styled The Honourable Hugh George Cholmondeley from birth until 1979, is a British peer. He is a well-known figure in the evolution and development of post-colonial Kenya. He ...

Notes

References

* Debrett, John, Charles Kidd, David Williamson. (1990). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage.'' New York:

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

. * Hayden, Joseph. (1851). ''The book of dignities: containing rolls of the official personages of the British Empire.'' London: Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. * Holland, G.D ''et al.'' (1977). ''Vale Royal Abbey and House.'' Winsford, Cheshire: Winsford Local History Society. {{DEFAULTSORT:Delamere, Thomas Cholmondeley, 4th Baron 1900 births 1979 deaths People educated at Eton College Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

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 Ap ...

British Kenya people British emigrants to Kenya Eldest sons of British hereditary barons White Kenyan people