Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Arthur Vesey Meade, 5th Earl of Clanwilliam, (14 January 1873 – 23 January 1953), styled Lord Donore between 1905 and 1907, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and politician.

Early life and background

Arthur Meade was the second, but eldest surviving, son of

Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam, and Elizabeth, daughter of

Sir Arthur Kennedy Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy (; 5 April 1809 – 3 June 1883) was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of a number of British colonies, namely Sierra Leone, Western Australia, Vancouver Island, Hong Kong and Queensland. Early ...

GCMG CB, governor of various colonies including Queensland, Hong Kong and Vancouver Island. He was educated at Eton and joined the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

. Since the death of his elder brother in 1905 he bore the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

Lord Donore, and two years later, upon the death of his father, he became the fifth Earl of Clanwilliam.

Military career

Meade was commissioned into the British Army as a second lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards on 13 February 1895, and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 4 March 1896. He was appointed temporarily as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), 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 ...

in his regiment on 9 October 1899. After the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, a detachment of the Royal Horse Guards were sent to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in November 1899, taking part in battles in early 1900. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) 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 of t ...

(31 March 1900), and was severely wounded. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1900, he subsequently served as Assistant Provost Marshal and Staff Captain. In early 1902 he was seconded to serve with the 30th Battalion,

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

, as second-in-command with the temporary rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. The battalion left

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

for South Africa in early May, but arrived after the end of hostilities the following month. Meade left South Africa shortly thereafter, on the SS ''Sardinia'', which arrived at

in October 1902. He relinquished his commission with the Imperial Yeomanry in November 1902. After a short time in India as an extra ADC to the viceroy,

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

, he returned to England in 1904 and served as adjutant of the Royal Horse Guards until 1907, retiring and becoming a captain on the Reserve of Officers on his marriage in 1909.

Later life

After his retirement, he divided his time between his property in Ireland (Montalto, Ballynahinch, County Down) and London. When war broke out in 1914 he returned to the Army and served in France with his regiment from 1915 to 1919 with distinction, being mentioned in dispatches and gaining the Military Cross. On returning to London he succeeded Lord Kintore as chairman of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, England. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and elect ...

. During the 1939–45 war he was for some time an unpaid assistant Whip in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

with a seat on the Front Bench. Although not a very frequent speaker in the Upper Chamber, he was a valuable member of committees, both as chairman and member.

Family

He married in 1909 Muriel, daughter of Russell Stephenson and widow of the Hon. Oliver Howard. She died in June 1952. There was one son and two daughters of the marriage, and the title devolved upon the son, Major John Meade, 6th Earl of Clanwilliam (1914–1989). Clanwilliam died on 23 January 1953 at his home in

Bagshot Bagshot is a large village in the Surrey Heath borough of Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. In the past, Bagshot served as an important staging post between London, Southampton and the West Country, evidenced by the ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clanwilliam, Arthur Meade, 5th Earl of 1873 births 1953 deaths British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Deputy lieutenants of Down Earls of Clanwilliam Imperial Yeomanry officers Military personnel from County Down People educated at Eton College People from Bagshot Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Horse Guards officers