Lieutenant-Colonel Charles William Reginald Duncombe, 2nd Earl of Feversham (8 May 1879 – 15 September 1916), known as Viscount Helmsley from 1881 to 1915, was a British Conservative Party politician and soldier.

Origins

Charles Duncombe was born on 8 May 1879, the son of

William Duncombe, Viscount Helmsley William Reginald Duncombe, Viscount Helmsley (1 August 1852 – 24 December 1881), was a British Conservative Party politician. Helmsley was the son of William Duncombe, 1st Earl of Feversham, and his wife Mabel Violet (née Graham), daughte ...

, elder son of William Duncombe, 1st Earl of Feversham, and Lady Muriel Frances Louisa, daughter of

Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 19th Earl of Shrewsbury Charles John Chetwynd-Talbot, 19th Earl of Shrewsbury, 19th Earl of Waterford, 4th Earl Talbot, PC (13 April 1830 – 11 May 1877), styled Viscount Ingestre between 1849 and 1868, was a British Conservative politician. He served as Captain of ...

. His father William, Viscount Helmsley, died in 1881, and so the viscountcy thus passed to Charles Duncombe. Duncombe was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

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 ...

, gaining a blue in polo with OUPC. He was also a member of Apollo University Lodge.

Career

Duncombe was appointed an assistant private secretary (unpaid) to Lord Selborne,

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

, in June 1902. He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Thirsk and Malton in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

and held the seat until he inherited his title on the death of his grandfather in 1915, becoming a member of 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 ...

. He was an outspoken opponent of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

; a 1908 profile noted that he "is a very ardent adherent of any cause he espouses; indeed his keenness is one of the remarkable traits of his character ... fearless and outspoken in the expression of his views on all subjects".

Military career

Duncombe joined the Yorkshire Hussars, 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 21 May 1902, rising to become Lieutenant Colonel before transferring as a battalion commander of the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

. He enlisted for active service in the

First World War 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 ...

, and was killed in action on 15 September 1916 at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, while commanding 21st Bn (Yeoman Rifles) King's Royal Rifle Corps. The battalion was formed in 1915 at Helmsley. Richard Holmes claimed that Duncombe took his deerhound to war, and that it was killed and buried with him, although this was refuted in 2014 by a young relative, who said that the dog survived, and was looked after by then Prime Minister,

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

, who was a great friend of Duncombe. Charles Duncombe, Lord Feversham, lies in the AIF Burial Ground near the village of Flers on the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

Personal life

Duncombe married Lady Marjorie Blanche Eva Greville, daughter of

Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick Francis Richard Charles Guy Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick (9 February 1853 – 15 January 1924), styled Lord Brooke until 1893, was a Conservative Party (UK), British Conservative politician. Early life Greville was the son of George Greville, 4 ...

, in 1904. They had two sons and one daughter: * Lady Mary ''Diana'' Duncombe (1905–1943), who married Lt. William Greville Worthington of Kingston Russell. * Charles Duncombe, 3rd Earl of Feversham (1906–1963), who also became a Conservative politician; he married Lady Anne Dorothy Wood, only daughter of

Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as the Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and the Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a British Conservative politician of the 1930s. He h ...

and Lady Dorothy Onslow (a daughter of

William Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow, (7 March 1853 – 23 October 1911), was a British Conservative politician. He held several governmental positions between 1880 and 1905 and was also Governor of New Zealand between 1889 and 1892. B ...

), in 1936. * Hon. David Duncombe (1910–1927), who was killed in a car accident in 1927, aged 17. Duncombe lived at Duncombe Park and, when in London, at 87

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest Squares in London, square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main ...

. He became master of the Sinnington Hunt in 1904. He was a member 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 ...

, Turf Club, the Bachelors' Club and

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is London's oldest club and therefore the oldest private members' club in the world. It moved to its current premises on St James's St ...

. Following his death, the Dowager Lady Feversham married the Conservative politician Gervase Beckett in 1917. She died in July 1964, aged 79.

Descendants

Through his daughter Diana, he was a grandfather of Capt. Charles William David Worthington (b. 1930) who married, as her second husband, Sara Stucley (youngest daughter of Sir Dennis Stucley, 5th Baronet). Through his son Charles, he was a grandfather of Lady Clarissa Duncombe (1938-2021), who married, as his second wife, Maj. Nicholas Spencer Compton Collin, of Wytherstone House, Pockley.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Feversham, Charles Duncombe, 2nd Earl of 1879 births 1916 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of World War I King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme Duncombe, Charles Duncombe, Charles Duncombe, Charles Duncombe, Charles Feversham, E2 Yorkshire Hussars officers

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 ''* ...

Place of birth missing Burials at the AIF Burial Ground