Charles Clements, 5th Earl of Leitrim (23 June 1879 9 June 1952), styled Viscount Clements until 1892, was an Irish nobleman and Unionist. He was commissioned into the

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 ...

after college, and served in 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 ...

, during which he was made a prisoner of war in the debacle at

Lindley, Free State Lindley is a small town situated on the banks of the Vals River in the eastern region of the Free State province of South Africa. It was named after an American missionary, Daniel Lindley, who was the first ordained minister to the Voortrekker ...

. He was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of the City of Londonderry This is a list of people to have served as Lord Lieutenant of the city of Londonderry (originally formally "County of the City of Londonderry", later the "County Borough of Londonderry"). County of the City of Londonderry * William Tillie: 20 Fe ...

in 1904, shortly after the close of the war. During the

Home Rule Crisis The Home Rule Crisis was a political and military crisis in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that followed the introduction of the Government of Ireland Act 1914, Third Home Rule Bill in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom ...

, he commanded the

Ulster Volunteers The Ulster Volunteers was an Irish unionist, loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government ("Home Rule") for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

and smuggled arms into the country for their use. He held a commission in the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th (Ma ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, recruiting Volunteers into the regiment, and served as Private Secretary to fellow-Unionist Walter Hume Long,

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire. The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...

. The Earl had no children by either of his two marriages; his only heir, his brother Francis, went to America under an assumed name, disappeared, and was pronounced dead in 1917. Accordingly, Leitrim's titles became extinct on his death in 1952.

Biography

Clements was the eldest son of Robert Clements, 4th Earl of Leitrim, whom he succeeded in 1892. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. Leitrim was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 5th (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) Battalion,

Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

on 9 February 1898 and 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 7 December 1898. Following the outbreak of the

in late 1899, he volunteered for active service in the

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 ...

, where he was commissioned a lieutenant on 3 March 1900, leaving

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

for

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 ...

on the SS ''Cymric'' later the same month. He transferred to a regular army commission in the

9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, bu ...

as a second lieutenant on 21 April 1900. While serving with the 13th

, Leitrim was captured at Lindley. He was promoted lieutenant in the 9th Lancers on 5 July 1901, but returned to the United Kingdom when the war was drawing to a close in March 1902, and resigned his commission on 21 June 1902. Leitrim married at St Andrew's church,

Nuthurst Nuthurst is a village and civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The north of the parish borders Horsham town, with Nuthurst village south from the border. Within the parish is the estate and largely ...

, on 22 October 1902 Violet Lina Henderson, the daughter of Robert Henderson, a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

, and sister of the ambassador Sir Nevile Henderson. He was appointed

in 1904. Leitrim commanded the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...

, and arranged to run guns into the county in his

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

, SS ''Ganiamore'', in 1913. During

, Leitrim was commissioned a

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 ...

in the 11th Service Battalion,

but resigned due to ill health on 10 January 1917. He was Private Secretary to the

, Walter Hume Long, in 1917. Later in life, he divorced Violet, and married Hon. Anne Mary Chaloner Vanneck, sister of

William Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield William Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield, (3 January 1883 – 20 November 1969) was a British Conservative Party politician, Governor of Victoria, and Administrator of Australia. He was the first Australian-born governor of ...

, on 29 April 1939. Leitrim had no children by either of his marriages. His sometime

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

, his brother Hon. Francis Patrick Clements, disappeared in 1907, and was declared dead in 1917. Reports from the ''New York Times'' dated 12 July 1907, and 20 August 1911, suggested that he had gone to the US and worked as a stoker. The Earl was said to have spent thousands of dollars trying to establish his whereabouts. With no heir, the Earldom of Leitrim became extinct upon the Earl's death in 1952.

References

Book Sourced

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leitrim, Charles Clements, 5th Earl of 1879 births 1952 deaths 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British prisoners of war of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from County Leitrim Lord-lieutenants of the City of Londonderry People educated at Eton College Rifle Brigade officers Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers Imperial Yeomanry officers Ulster Volunteers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

5 British Militia officers