Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset (1 May 1882 – 26 April 1954) was a British Army officer, landowner,

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...

, and for eight years

Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. He was also a baronet. Between 1 May 1882 and 5 May 1931, he was styled as Lord Seymour.

Early life

The son of

Edward Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset Brigadier-General Edward Hamilton Seymour, 16th Duke of Somerset, KBE, CB, CMG (12 May 1860 – 5 May 1931) was the son of Reverend Francis Payne Seymour and Jane Margaret Dallas. His father was the great-grandson of Lord Francis Seymour. H ...

, by his marriage to Rowena Wall, Seymour was born in Colombo,

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. His maternal grandfather,

George Wall George Wall (20 February 1885 – June 1962) was an English association football, footballer. Career Born in The Boldons, Boldon Colliery, County Durham, Wall started his career with Boldon Royal Rovers and played for Whitburn and Jarrow F.C ...

, was a coffee merchant and botanist. He was educated at Blundell's School, Tiverton, and later at the

Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Mala ...

, Sandhurst. He was gazetted 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 ...

on the Unattached List in January 1901, before being attached to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

Military career

Seymour served throughout the Second Boer War (1901–02) and received the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps. He took part in the operations in the Aden Protectorate in 1903. In April 1913, Seymour, then of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was appointed

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the 25th (County of London) Cyclist Battalion of the

London Regiment London Regiment may refer to two infantry regiments in the British Army: * London Regiment (1908–1938) The London Regiment was an infantry regiment in the British Army, part of the Territorial Force (renamed the Territorial Army in 1921). The ...

, in which posting he continued until 1916, before returning to the Royal Dublin Fusiliers to take command of its 10th Battalion. In December 1917, he was promoted Acting

Lieutenant Colonel 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 colone ...

. In 1918, he was awarded the DSO and in 1919 he served in the Adjutant-General's department of the War Office. He was appointed

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1919 and retired from the service in 1920. He succeeded to his father's dukedom in 1931. During the Second World War, Somerset returned to the army. With effect from 1 November 1939, he was appointed a Lieutenant Colonel of the Devonshire Regiment, in which he commanded a battalion, and he later held an appointment as a full Colonel 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 ...

Civilian life

Somerset was a member of

The Magic Circle A magic circle is a ritually defined space in a number of magical traditions. Magic circle or Magic Circle may also refer to: * Magic circle (mathematics), an arrangement of natural numbers on circles such that the sum of the numbers on each circl ...

for many years, having first joined it in 1907, after becoming a pupil of the magician Ernest Noakes. He became the organization's president in 1935, after the death of

Lord Ampthill Baron Ampthill, of Ampthill in the County of Bedfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 March 1881 for the diplomat Lord Odo Russell. He was the third son of Major-General Lord George Russell, second son ...

. On 12 May 1937, he bore the Sceptre with the Cross at the

coronation of King George VI The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, King and Queen consort of the United Kingdom, Queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth r ...

. On his retirement from active service with the Army, Somerset returned to Maiden Bradley to take charge of his estates in Wiltshire and Somerset. On 4 May 1942 he was appointed

, succeeding Sir Ernest Wills. On 19 March 1949, "having exceeded the age limit", he relinquished his commission as an honorary Colonel of the Devon Regiment on retired pay. In 1950, he was appointed a knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John. He was a member of the Army and Navy Club, the Naval & Military Club, and the Marylebone Cricket Club.SOMERSET, 17th Duke of
, in ''Who Was Who'' (A. & C. Black, 1920–2008, online edition by Oxford University Press, December 2007) (subscription site)

Succession

In London on 3 January 1906, he married Edith Mary Parker (d. Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, 19 April 1962), daughter of William Parker, of

Whittington Hall Whittington Hall is a country house located to the west of the village of Whittington, Lancashire, England, some 3 km (2 miles) south of Kirkby Lonsdale. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade& ...

, Derbyshire, England, and Lucinda Steeves, daughter of William Steeves. Evelyn and Edith had four children: *The Hon. Francis William Seymour (28 December 1906 – 14 May 1907) *The Hon. Algernon Francis Edward Seymour (22 July 1908 – 14 February 1911) * Percy Hamilton Seymour, 18th Duke of Somerset (27 September 1910 – 15 November 1984) *Lady Susan Mary Seymour (

Crowborough Crowborough is a town and civil parish in East Sussex, England, in the Weald at the edge of Ashdown Forest in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 33 miles (53 ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, 26 April 1913 – 23 May 2004), unmarried and without issue. The Duke died in London on 26 April 1954.

Ancestry

References

*Obituary of the Duke of Somerset, Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, in '' The Times'', 27 April 1954 (pg. 10; Issue 52916; col E)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke Of 1882 births 1954 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Devonshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst

517 __NOTOC__ Year 517 ( DXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agapitus and Paulus (or, less frequently, year 1270 ''A ...

Lord-Lieutenants of Wiltshire Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Dublin Fusiliers officers Wall family

Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset (1 May 1882 – 26 April 1954) was a British Army officer, landowner, peer, and for eight years Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was also a baronet. Between 1 May 1882 and 5 May 1931, h ...

Somerset County Cricket Club presidents British landowners British Army officers