Algernon William John Clotworthy Skeffington, 12th Viscount Massereene and 5th Viscount Ferrard, DSO (28 November 1873 – 20 July 1956) was

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 ...

officer and an

Ulster Unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the I ...

member of the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Sen ...

from 1921 to 1929. During this period he served as Deputy Leader of the Senate and Parliamentary Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister.

Early life

Skeffington was the eldest son of Clotworthy John Skeffington, 11th Viscount Massereene by Florence Whyte-Melville, only daughter of Major

George Whyte-Melville George John Whyte-Melville (19 June 1821 – 5 December 1878) was a Scottish novelist much concerned with field sports, and also a poet. He took a break in the mid-1850s to serve as an officer of Turkish irregular cavalry in the Crimean War. Li ...

. He succeeded his father as 12th Viscount Massereene and 5th Viscount Ferrard in 1905, both in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

; his inheritance included about 16,000 acres. They also held the title Baron Oriel, in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

, which gave them the right to sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

MASSEREENE and FERRARD', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007

Career

He entered the army in February 1895, when he was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lanc ...

, and was promoted to

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 ...

on 13 November 1895. The regiment was stationed in Ireland from 1897 until 1900. Promotion to

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 ...

followed on 8 February 1900. From 1900 to 1902 he served with his regiment in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, where he was wounded, twice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

(including the final despatch by Lord Kitchener dated 23 June 1902), and for which he was promoted a

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

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 ...

on 22 August 1902, and created a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO). He stayed in South Africa throughout the war, which ended June 1902 with the

Peace of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided f ...

. Four months later he left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

with other officers and men of the 17th Lancers on the SS ''German'' in late September 1902, and arrived at Southampton in late October, when they were posted to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He retired from the army in 1907, but served again as an officer with the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was on ...

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 ...

1914–18. Lord Massereene was Parliamentary Secretary in the Department of the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland 1921–1929. He also served as Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of County Antrim 1916–1938.

Personal life

Lord Massereene married twice. In 1905 he married Jean Barbara Ainsworth (d 1937), eldest daughter of

Sir John Ainsworth, 1st Baronet Sir John Stirling Ainsworth (30 January 1844 – 24 May 1923) was an English industrialist, banker and Liberal politician. Family and education Ainsworth was the son of Thomas Ainsworth of Cleator Moor, Cumberland. His mother was Mary Laurie, ...

. They had one son: * John Whyte-Melville-Skeffington, who succeeded as 13th Viscount. In 1940 he remarried Mrs Florence Clementina Vere Vere-Laurie.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Massereene, Algernon Skeffington, 12th Viscount 1873 births 1956 deaths Ulster Unionist Party members of the Senate of Northern Ireland Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1925–1929 Northern Ireland junior government ministers (Parliament of Northern Ireland) Massereene, 12th North Irish Horse officers British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Members of London County Council