Geoffrey George Gordon FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster, DSO (18 July 1859 – 2 February 1902), known as Lord Tewkesbury 1870–1901, 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 the great-grandson of

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

by his mistress

Dorothea Jordan Dorothea Jordan (née Bland; 22 November 17615 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish actress, as well as a courtesan. She was the long-time partner of Prince William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), and the mother of 10 illegitimate children ...

Family

Born Geoffrey George Gordon FitzClarence, he was the son of

William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster William FitzClarence, 2nd Earl of Munster, (19 May 1824 – 30 April 1901), styled Viscount FitzClarence from 1831 to 1842, was a British peer. He was named after his grandfather, King William IV. Biography FitzClarence's father, George FitzC ...

(19 May 1824 – 30 April 1901) and Wilhelmina Kennedy-Erskine (27 June 1830 – 9 October 1906). His parents were first cousins, thus making Geoffrey a great-grandson of William IV twice over. His grandfather on his paternal side was George Augustus FitzClarence and his grandmother on his maternal side was Lady Augusta FitzClarence, who were brother and sister. Geoffrey was the third son of nine children. His elder brothers, Edward and Lionel, both died before reaching their majority. Edward died at the age of 14, Lionel as a young child.

Military career

Lord Tewkesbury 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 ...

as a subaltern of the 2nd Battalion

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 ...

(then the 60th Rifles). He served in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

in 1879–1880 at the age of 19, was present at the engagement at Ahmed Kheyl, and Uraco, near Ghaznee, and accompanied Lord Roberts in the march to

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

, and was present at the battle of that name. He also saw some service with the third battalion of his regiment in the

First Boer War The First Boer War (, ), was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal (as the South African Republic was known while under British ad ...

in 1881. He became

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 1888 and resigned his commission in the Regular Forces in 1895. After his retirement he joined the part-time 3rd (Militia) Battalion, Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) as a captain on 25 March 1896, and after some years' service in command of a company was promoted to the honorary 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 was embodied in December 1899 to serve 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 ...

, and in early March 1900 left Queenstown on the ''SS Oriental'' 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 ...

. Lord Tewkesbury was

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

and received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) for his service.

Peerage

It was during his last military engagement in

that Lord Tewkesbury received notice of his father's death and his own succession to the Munster earldom and other titles. He never returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, dying in South Africa at the age of 42 from an accident at Lace Mines, just nine months after becoming 3rd Earl of Munster. The 3rd Earl was unmarried and had no children. The earldom and other titles therefore passed to his next brother

Aubrey Aubrey () is a traditionally male English language, English name. It was quite common in the Middle Ages, but had lost favour for a time before experiencing a resurgence of popularity in the 19th century. In the United States, following the 1973 ...

Titles

* Hon Geoffrey FitzClarence (1859-1870) * Lord Tewkesbury (1870-1901) *

The Rt Hon ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

the 3rd Earl of Munster (1901-1902)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Munster, Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of 1859 births 1902 deaths Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster Schuyler family Van Cortlandt family English people of Dutch descent Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Scots officers Edinburgh Militia officers King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British military personnel of the First Boer War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War 3