Denzil George Fortescue, 6th Earl Fortescue MC TD (13 June 1893 – 1 June 1977) was a

British peer A Peerage is a form of crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary and lifetime titled appointments of various ranks, which form both a constituent part of the legislative process and the British hono ...

and farmer who served in both the First World War and Second World War.

Early life and education

Fortescue was the third born and second surviving son of

Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue (16 April 1854 – 29 October 1932), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1861 to 1905, was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1881 until 1892 and later in the House of Lords havin ...

and Hon. Emily Ormsby-Gore, daughter of

William Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech William Richard Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech (3 March 1819 – 26 June 1904), was an Anglo-Irish peer and Member of Parliament. Biography Lord Harlech was the younger son of William Ormsby-Gore and Mary Jane Ormsby. He was educated at Eton ...

. He grew up at the family estate at Castle Hill, North Devon. 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

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, where he studied under William Spooner. He received the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1919:

Career

He joined the

Royal North Devon Yeomanry The Royal North Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. First raised in 1798, it participated in the Second Boer War and the First World War before being amalgamated with the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry in 1920 to form the Royal ...

and in 1915 was sent to

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. After suffering a severe bout of

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

, he returned home to recover. He rejoined the war in 1916 in France, where he fought at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. In four weeks, he fought in six battles. Fortescue was commanding officer of the

Royal Devon Yeomanry The Royal Devon Yeomanry was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1920. It participated in the Second World War and now forms a squadron of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry. History Formation Following the experience of the First World W ...

1935–1941, and commanding officer of the 1st Heavy Regiment,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, 1942–1944. In 1958, he succeeded to the Earldom on the death of his older brother,

Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue Hugh William Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue (14 June 1888 – 14 June 1958), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1905 until 1932, of Castle Hill in the parish of Filleigh, of Weare Giffard Hall, both in Devon and of Ebrington Manor in Gloucesters ...

, whose only son, Hugh, Viscount Ebrington had been killed at

El Alamein El Alamein (, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. The town is located on the site of the ancient city Antiphrai which was built by th ...

in 1942. He became a "regular attender and occasional speaker at 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 lived at the family seat,

Ebrington Manor Ebrington Manor is a grade II listed manor house in the parish of Ebrington in Gloucestershire, England. Since 1476 it has been a seat of the Fortescue family, since 1789 Earls Fortescue. Location It is located within the village of Ebringt ...

, where he became a successful fruit farmer.

Marriages and children

He married, firstly, Marjorie Ellinor Trotter, the granddaughter of

John Hamilton, 1st Baron Hamilton of Dalzell John Glencairn Carter Hamilton, 1st Baron Hamilton of Dalzell (16 November 1829 – 15 October 1900), was a Scottish soldier and politician. Hamilton was born in Marseille, France, the only son of Archibald James Hamilton, 12th of Orbiston (179 ...

, on 10 June 1920 and they were divorced in 1941. They had three children: * Richard Archibald Fortescue, 7th Earl Fortescue (14 April 1922 – 7 March 1993) he married Penelope Henderson on 24 October 1949. They have two children, five grandchildren and one great-grandson. He remarried Margaret Stratton on 3 March 1961 and they were divorced in 1987. They have two daughters and two grandsons. He remarried, again, Carolyn Hill on 5 January 1989. **Charles Hugh Richard Fortescue, 8th Earl Fortescue (10 May 1951) he married Julia Sowrey on 12 December 1974. They have three daughters and one grandson: ***Lady Alice Penelope Fortescue (8 June 1978) ***Lady Kate Eleanor Fortescue (25 October 1979) she married Oliver Henry Bonas. They have one son: ****Ossie Charles Bonas (31 October 2012) ***Lady Lucy Beatrice Fortescue (29 April 1983) **Lady Celia Ann Fortescue+ (30 December 1957) she married David Adams in 1988. They have two children: ***Georgina Penelope Anne Adams (1990) ***Charles Michael Richard Adams (1992) **Lady Laura Margaret Fortescue+ (1 May 1962) she married Simon Jamieson on 1 July 1995. They have two sons: ***Jerry Jocelyn Jamieson (1 June 1996) ***Hugh Archibald Jamieson (8 September 1997) **Lady Sarah Jane Fortescue (16 August 1963) she married Francis David Sherston Chapman on 19 December 1995. *The Honorable Martin Fortescue (b. 5 January 1924 – 15 May 2005) he married Prudence Rowley on 23 April 1954. They have four children and eight grandchildren. He remarried Caroline Loftie on 18 November 1994. **John Andrew Francis Fortescue (27 March 1955) he married Phoebe Burridge in 1990. They have three children: ***Thomas Henry Horatio Fortescue (1993) ***Hugh Augustus Francis Fortescue (9 November 1995) ***Ophelia Marion Louisa Fortescue (22 July 1999) **Katharine Fortescue (30 December 1956) she married Robert Whitaker, son of Evald Mattievich Whitaker, on 9 September 1995. **Georgina Elizabeth Fortescue (9 November 1958) she married Nicholas Armour on 31 July 1982. They have two daughters: ***Emily Frances Armour (1985) ***Sophie Elizabeth Armour (1987) **Anthony William Fortescue (10 April 1962) he married Emma Lambert in 1992. They have three children: ***William George Fortescue (30 June 1994) ***Amelia Prudence Fortescue (20 March 2000) ***Lucy Emma Fortescue (19 December 2001) *Lady Bridget Ellinor Fortescue (b. 17 October 1927) she married Wing Commander Gordon Sinclair on 25 November 1952. They have four children and eleven grandchildren: **Alan Gordon William Sinclair (11 September 1956) he married Fiona B. MacEwan in 1983. They have three sons: ***Thomas Sinclair (1985) ***Archie Sinclair (1988) ***Geordie Sinclair (1993) **Caroline Fiona Sinclair (5 November 1958) she married Julian Raymond Eric Smith, son of Jeremy Fox Eric Smith and Julia Mary Rona Burrell, on 8 May 1982. They have three children: ***Oliver George Eric Smith (10 March 1983) ***Lucy Alexandra Smith (18 December 1984) ***Henry Thomas Eric Smith (9 September 1986) **Joanna Rosalind Sinclair (19 July 1963) she married Mark P. R. Rimell in 1992. They have two children: ***Benjamin Charles Philip Rimell (1994) ***Amelia Sophie Rimell (1996) **Robert Alister Sinclair (2 February 1965) he married Rebecca Power. They have three children: ***Hebe Elizabeth Bridget Sinclair (5 April 2010) ***Henry Robert Sinclair (1 June 2011) ***Eve Sinclair Fortescue married, secondly, Hon. Sybil Hardinge, daughter of Henry Hardinge, 3rd Viscount Hardinge, on 8 August 1941 - she had divorced her first husband

Hugh Douglas-Pennant, 4th Baron Penrhyn Hugh Napier Douglas-Pennant, 4th Baron Penrhyn (6 August 1894 – 26 June 1949) was a British nobleman and army officer. Life He was the second of two surviving sons born to Edward Douglas-Pennant, 3rd Baron Penrhyn, and Blanche Georgiana FitzRo ...

earlier in 1941. They had one son: *The Honorable Seymour Henry Fortescue (b. 28 May 1942) he married Julia Pilcher (daughter of Sir John Arthur Pilcher) in 1966 and they were divorced in 1990. They have two children and six grandchildren. He remarried Jennifer Simon on 23 August 1990. They have one daughter. **Marissa Clara Fortescue (20 October 1973) she married Maximilian, 7th Prince of

Bentheim-Tecklenburg Bentheim-Tecklenburg was a German county, later principality, based in the region around Tecklenburg in northern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History Bentheim-Tecklenburg emerged as a partition of the County of Bentheim in 1277, and was p ...

-Rheda, on 30 September 2000. They have four children: ***Moritz Friedrich Carl, Hereditary Prince of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Rheda (27 March 2003) ***Princess Louise Helena Agnes Delia of Bentheim-Tecklenburg (22 April 2005) ***Princess Amalia Anna Elisabeth of Bentheim-Tecklenburg (25 October 2007) ***Prince Carl-Emil Maximilian Moritz-Casimir of Bentheim-Tecklenburg (10 August 2010) **James Adrian Fortescue (15 April 1978) he married Olivia Rodgers. They have two daughters: ***Isla Rose Julia Fortescue (26 October 2011) ***Aurelia Mary Elizabeth Fortescue (22 September 2014) **Alexandra Kate Fortescue (10 July 1991)

Death

The sixth earl died 1 June 1977, just shy of his 84th birthday. A monument was erected in his honour at St Eadburgha's Church in Ebrington.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortescue, Denzil Fortescue, 6th Earl 1893 births 1977 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Fortescue,6 Recipients of the Military Cross

Denzil Denzil may refer to: People *Denzil Batchelor, British journalist and writer *Denzil Best, American jazz percussionist * Denzil Botus, Trinidadian pannist * Denzil Angus Carty, American Episcopal priest *Denzil Davies, British politician *Denzil D ...

Royal North Devon Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II