William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse (14 June 1873 – 10 June 1918) was an Irish peer and British Army officer. He was known as Lord Oxmantown until 1908. Birr Castle, Offaly

Early life

He was the son of

Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse, KP, FRS (17 November 1840 – 29 August 1908) was a member of the Irish peerage and an amateur astronomer. His name is often given as Laurence Parsons. Biography He was born at Birr Castle, Parsonstown, Ki ...

and Frances Cassandra Hawke. Lord Rosse was educated at

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 ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. He subsequently studied farming in Denmark. Lord Oxmantown was commissioned into a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

battalion of the

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...

in 1896 and promoted

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 sub ...

shortly afterwards. He was commissioned as a regular officer in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

in 1897, but transferred to the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

on its formation in 1900. He was promoted

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 1900 and

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 ...

in 1906.

Inheritance and later life

He resigned his commission in 1908 on inheriting his peerage and served as

Lord Lieutenant of King's County This is a list of those who have served as Lord Lieutenant of King's County. There were lieutenants of counties in Ireland until the reign of James II, when they were renamed governors. The office of Lord Lieutenant was recreated on 23 August 1 ...

from 1908 to his death. He was elected a

Representative Peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

in 1911. He returned to military service in the First World War, serving as a Major with the Irish Guards. He was Second-in-Command of his Battalion at Festubert on 10 May 1915 when he was very severely wounded in the head by a piece of shell. He was returned home to

Birr Castle Birr Castle (Irish: ''Caisleán Bhiorra'') is a large castle in the town of Birr in County Offaly, Ireland. It is the home of the 7th Earl of Rosse and his family, and as such the residential areas of the castle are not open to the public ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

, where he died on 10 June 1918 at the age of 44. He is buried in the family vault at the Birr Old Graveyard. In February 1919 it was reported that Estate Duties of 13% were levied on Lord Rosse’s Estate, meaning that the total value exceeded £250,000. The Leicester Daily Mercury, Tuesday 4 February 1919, page 2.

Marriage and children

Lord Rosse married Frances Lois Lister-Kaye (1882–1984), daughter of Sir Cecil Lister-Kaye, 4th Baronet and Lady Beatrice Adeline Pelham-Clinton, on 19 October 1905. They had three children: * Lawrence Michael Harvey Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse (b. 28 September 1906, d. c 1979), married Anne Messel, daughter of Lt.-Col. Leonard Charles Rudolph Messel, and had issue. * Lady Mary Bridget Parsons (27 October 1907 - 26 January 1972) * Hon. Desmond Edward Parsons (b. 13 December 1910, d. 4 July 1937) His widow remarried, to

Ivo Richard Vesey, 5th Viscount de Vesci Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...

, on 15 May 1920.

References

The Peerage.com
1873 births 1918 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Militia officers West Yorkshire Regiment officers Coldstream Guards officers Irish Guards officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Lord-Lieutenants of King's County Irish representative peers Earls of Rosse (1806 creation) {{Ireland-earl-stub