Ian Anstruther
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Sir Ian Fife Campbell Anstruther, of that Ilk, 8th Baronet of Balcaskie and 13th Baronet of Anstruther, Hereditary Carver of the Sovereign, Hereditary Master of the Royal Household in Scotland, Chief of the Name and Arms of Anstruther FSA (11 May 1922 – 29 July 2007) was a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
twice over. He inherited substantial property interests in
South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
and wrote several books on specialised areas of 19th-century social and literary history.


Early life

Ian Anstruther was born in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
the younger son of Douglas Tollemache Anstruther and his first wife, Enid (née Campbell). His father was the son of Harry Anstruther, an MP, himself a younger son of another MP, Lieutenant Colonel
Sir Robert Anstruther, 5th Baronet Sir Robert Anstruther, 5th Baronet (28 August 1834 – 21 July 1886) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1864 and 1886. Life and career Anstruther was the son of Sir Ralph Anstruther, 4th Baronet and ...
. His maternal grandfather was Lord George Campbell, younger son of the 8th Duke of Argyll. His father served in the Army and then worked for the London and South Western Railway. His parents spent 14 years in
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...
and then custody proceedings from 1924, and so he spent much of his youth with his mother's sister, Joan Campbell, at
Strachur House Strachur House is a Category B listed building in Strachur, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It dates from around 1770, and is a three-storey building, built mostly of coursed rubble.Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
and her London house in
Bryanston Square Bryanston Square is an garden square in Marylebone, London. Terraced buildings surround it — often merged, converted or sub-divided, some of which remain residential. The southern end has the William Pitt Byrne memorial fountain. Next to ...
in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. His father's sister, aunt Joyce, better known as Jan Struther, created '' Mrs. Miniver''.


Education and military career

He was educated at Eton, and joined the
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
in 1939 when 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 opposi ...
broke out. An amateur
radio ham An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators ha ...
, he was quickly transferred to the
Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...
, and was commissioned, ending up as a captain. He read
Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...
at
New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...
, from 1940 to 1942, before returning to Catterick to train for the invasion of France. He landed with his brigade in
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
three weeks after
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
, and took charge of a team of signallers. After the war, he chanced to meet Sir Archibald Clerk Kerr, a family friend, on a bus in London. Kerr (later 1st
Baron Inverchapel Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...
) had been ambassador in Moscow during the war, and had just been appointed British ambassador to the United States; he asked Anstruther to become his private secretary. Anstruther readily agreed, and spent four years in America in the Diplomatic Service. He moved to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
in 1951, to advance his ambition to become a writer. He met Geraldine Horner, elder daughter of Captain Gerald Stuart Blake, and they were married on 7 March 1951. They had one daughter Emily who later married Simon Crosby. The baronet was divorced in 1963, and he married the architect Susan Margaret Walker daughter of Colonel St John Bradling Paten on 15 November 1963. They had two sons and three daughters. The eldest Sir Sebastian inherited the title and estates in 2007. In 1992 he married a Thai girl, Pornpan Pinthwong known as Goy. Their first child, Maximillian was born in 1995. They still live on the Barlavington estate. Sir Ian was surprised to inherit an estate in South Kensington (including Thurloe Square and Alexander Square) from his aunt Joan in 1960, making him wealthy. He had bought a country estate at
Barlavington Barlavington is a small village and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. The village is situated about four miles (6 km) south of Petworth, east of the A285 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in ...
, on the north of the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...
near
Petworth Petworth is a small town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 road, A272 east–west road from Heathfield, East Sussex ...
in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
, in 1956, including of woodland, farmland and downland. He also bought a house near St. Tropez in 1973.


As a writer

He wrote eight books, including ''I Presume'' (1956), a biography of the journalist H. M. Stanley; an account of the
Eglinton tournament Eglinton can refer to: People * Earl of Eglinton, a title in the Peerage of Scotland * Geoffrey Eglinton (1927–2016), British chemist *Timothy Eglinton, a British biogeoscientist * William Eglinton (1857–1933), a British spiritualist medium a ...
entitled ''The Knight and the Umbrella'' (1963); ''The Scandal of the Andover Workhouse'' (1973), exploring the iniquities of the
workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
system; a biography of
Oscar Browning Oscar Browning OBE (17 January 1837 – 6 October 1923) was a British educationalist, historian and ''bon viveur'', a well-known Cambridge personality during the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. An innovator in the early development of p ...
(1983), ''Coventry Patmore's Angel'' (1992), on
Coventry Patmore Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (23 July 1823 – 26 November 1896) was an English poet and literary critic. He is best known for his book of poetry ''The Angel in the House'', a narrative poem about the Victorian ideal of a happy marriage. A ...
and his wife
Emily Augusta Patmore Emily Augusta Patmore ( Andrews; 29 February 1824 – 5 July 1862) was a British author, Pre-Raphaelite muse and the inspiration for the 1854-1862 poem ''The Angel in the House''. Early life and education Emily Augusta Andrews was born on 29 ...
, the inspiration for the poem ''
The Angel in the House ''The Angel in the House'' is a narrative poem by Coventry Patmore, first published in 1854 and expanded until 1862. Although largely ignored upon publication, it became enormously popular in the United States during the later 19th century and ...
''; and a book about Sir Richard Broun, ''The Baronets' Champion'' (2006). He also wrote about
Frederic William Farrar Frederic William Farrar (Bombay, 7 August 1831 – Canterbury, 22 March 1903) was a cleric of the Church of England ( Anglican), schoolteacher and author. He was a pallbearer at the funeral of Charles Darwin in 1882. He was a member of the Camb ...
and his novel ''
Eric, or, Little by Little ''Eric, or, Little by Little'' is a book by Frederic W. Farrar, first edition 1858. It was published by Adam & Charles Black, Edinburgh and London. The book deals with the descent into moral turpitude of a boy at a boarding school or English pub ...
''. He undertook much of his research in the
London Library The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. It is located at 14 St James's ...
in
St James's Square St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was one of the three or fou ...
. He donated funding in 1992 to enable it to build a new wing, which was named the Anstruther Wing. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and a member of the
Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a perso ...
.


Personal life

He enjoyed cars, owning an
Aston Martin DB6 The Aston Martin DB6 is a grand tourer made by British car manufacturer Aston Martin and was produced from September 1965 to January 1971. The DB6 succeeded the Aston Martin DB5 and featured improved aerodynamics and specification over its pred ...
, a
Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
, and several
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
s, but disliked excessive speed, and was occasionally stopped by the police for driving too slowly. He later traded down to a
smart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * ''SMart'', a children's television ser ...
car. He succeeded his cousin
Sir Ralph Anstruther, 7th Baronet Major Sir Ralph (Hugo) Anstruther, 7th Baronet (13 June 192119 May 2002) was a Scottish British Army officer and courtier. Early life The only son of Captain Robert Edward Anstruther MC of the Black Watch, only son of Sir Ralph William Anstr ...
, in 2002, inheriting two Anstruther Baronetcies – of Nova Scotia, of Balcaskie (1694) and of Anstruther (1700). His cousin had been hereditary Carver to the Sovereign in Scotland, but the office passed instead to his second son, Toby. He also believed (almost certainly incorrectly) that he held the British baronetcy of Anstruther (1798), but its remainder (to "heirs-male of the body legitimately begotten" of the grantee) would have made it extinct on the death of Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther, 11th Baronet, in 1980, as most reference books, such as Burke and Debrett, have noted. As an adult, he adhered to a fixed routine. He habitually wore a
bow tie The bow tie is a type of necktie. A modern bow tie is tied using a common shoelace knot, which is also called the bow knot for that reason. It consists of a ribbon of fabric tied around the collar of a shirt in a symmetrical manner so that th ...
in the day, and a
cravat Cravat, cravate or cravats may refer to: * Cravat (early), forerunner neckband of the modern necktie * Cravat, British name for what in American English is called an ascot tie * Cravat bandage, a triangular bandage * Cravat (horse) (1935–1954), a ...
in the evening. He walked each day in the
South Downs The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. ...
, lunching at one of five village
pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s during the week, always drinking
ginger beer Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar. Current ginger beers are often manufactured rather than ...
. He took
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
at 5pm, and ate
supper Supper was originally a secondary lighter evening meal. The main meal of the day, called dinner, used to be served closer to what is known as lunchtime, around the middle of the day, but crept later over the centuries, mostly over the course of ...
8.30pm. He always dressed for dinner in a velvet suit and silk cravat, before his two
Martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail) * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss automobile company * Automobiles Martini, a French manufacturer of racing cars * M ...
s. His family knew that matters were serious when he failed to dress for dinner a few weeks before his death. He died at Barlavington. He was survived by his daughter from his first marriage, and two sons and three daughters from his second marriage. Due to differences between English law and Scottish law, one son, Sebastian (born prior to his parents' marriage), inherited the Scottish title, becoming 9th Baronet of Balcaskie and 11th Baronet of Anstruther (both being Nova Scotia or Scottish Baronetages). Obituaries to Sir Ian noted, erroneously, that the Great Britain Baronetcy of Anstruther (1798) had passed to his other son Toby (born after Sir Ian's second marriage). He left an estate valued in excess of £35,000,000.''The Daily Telegraph'', 22 March 2008


See also

* List of Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London


Ancestry


References


External links


Obituary, ''The Independent'' , 6 August 2007

Obituary, ''The Times'' , 8 August 2007

Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'' , 8 August 2007
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anstruther, Ian 1922 births 2007 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders soldiers Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People educated at Eton College People from Buckinghamshire Scottish clan chiefs Royal Corps of Signals officers British Army personnel of World War II Members of the Royal Company of Archers 20th-century English historians
Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
20th-century Scottish businesspeople