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Major-General Herbert Francis Eaton, 3rd Baron Cheylesmore, GBE, KCMG, KCVO (25 January 1848 – 29 July 1925) was a British Army officer, sportsman, and peer. He was Chairman of London County Council, chairman of the
National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
and presided over courts martial during the First World War.


Early life

Eaton was the son of
Henry Eaton, 1st Baron Cheylesmore Henry William Eaton, 1st Baron Cheylesmore (13 March 1816 – 2 October 1891) was a British businessman, Conservative politician, and art collector. Life The son of Henry Eaton, he was head of William Eaton & Sons, China-silk brokers. He was als ...
and his wife Charlotte Gorham Harman. His father made money in the silk trade, helped to manage insurance companies, and was MP for Coventry. Eaton was educated at Eton in Mr. Warre's house. He was nicknamed "Cheeky Eaton" and rowed bow in the winning Eton House four crew in 1866. He also a marksman and shot for Eton in the Ashburton Shield in 1866.


Military career

At the age of twenty Eaton joined the Grenadier Guards, and went to Dublin, where he was given the nickname "Brown" by his brother officers. He rowed for the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards in the 1877 Grand Challenge Cup at
Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...
. His father became
Baron Cheylesmore Baron Cheylesmore, of Cheylesmore in the City of Coventry and County of Warwick, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 9 July 1887 for the businessman and Conservative politician Henry Eaton. He had earlier represe ...
of Cheylesmore, in the city of Coventry, co. Warwick in 1887 and had to give up his parliamentary seat. In the ensuing by-election Eaton stood for the seat but failed to be elected by 16 votes. He first appeared in Vanity Fair in 1891 as commander of the 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, which he had "just brought back from a well-deserved, if enforced, holiday in Bermuda. As some curious punishment, the entire battalion had been sent there for a year following 'an act of insubordination.'” While there in 1891, he met Elizabeth Richardson French, daughter of Francis Ormond French of New York and sister of
Amos Tuck French Amos Tuck French (July 20, 1863 – November 15, 1941) was an American banker who was prominent in society. Early life French was born on July 20, 1863 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of Ellen (née Tuck) French (1838–1915) and Franc ...
, and married her back in London on 14 July 1892. Vanity Fair said of him in 1891
"He is a good all-round sportsman who drives his father’s team well; but though a fair shot, he is sometimes a little too eager to get birds. He has thrown himself heart and soul into most things connected with the Brigade; and the Boat Club and Racing Club would miss him as much as he would be missed from an Ascot luncheon. He has commanded the N.R.A. camp at Wimbledon and Bisley for seven years; yet withal he has found time to start and successfully edit The Brigade of Guards Magazine. He is a very good and very popular Colonel."
He became Major-General in 1899, and was appointed a Knight of Grace of the
Order of St. John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...
(KStJ) in July 1901.


Political career

On the death of his brother on 10 July 1902, Eaton succeeded to the title of 3rd Baron Cheylesmore, and he took the oath and made his maiden speech in the House of Lords in November that year. He shot for the House of Lords against the Commons in the annual marksmanship competition from 1906. Cheylesmore was an alderman of Westminster City Council, and Mayor of Westminster for 1905–06. In December 1907, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Middlesex. On 17 January 1911, Baroness Cheylesmore purchased the Cooper's Hill property at Runnymede, previously used by the
Royal Indian Engineering College The Royal Indian Engineering College (or RIEC) was a British college of Civil Engineering run by the India Office to train civil engineers for service in the Indian Public Works Department. It was located on the Cooper's Hill estate, near Egha ...
, for use as a family home. In April 1912, Cheylesmore became
Chairman of London County Council This is a list of persons who held the offices of chairman, vice chairman and deputy chairman of the London County Council. All three offices existed from 1889 to 1965. Background The chairmanship and vice chairmanship were statutory offices crea ...
. In this capacity, he opened the
Woolwich foot tunnel The Woolwich foot tunnel crosses under the River Thames in Woolwich, in East London from Old Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich to North Woolwich in the London Borough of Newham. The tunnel offers pedestrians and cyclists an alternative ...
on Saturday, 26 October 1912.


First World War and after

At the outbreak of the First World War, Cheylesmore became commandant of a School of Musketry at
Bisley Camp Bisley may refer to: ;Places in England *Bisley, Gloucestershire *Bisley, Surrey **National Shooting Centre, also known as Bisley Ranges, near the Surrey village ;Surname * John Bisley (disambiguation) *Simon Bisley, British comic book artist * Ma ...
, where the ranges were put at the disposal of the Army Council. The school was to train and provide instructors in musketry from those who had passed the age of military service. The School trained some 14,500 officers, NCOs and civilians for service in the Army and Territorial Force. Of Cheylesmore it was said "He is never happier than when the boys have their week at Bisley, and he can devote a portion of his well-earned holidays to "teaching the young idea to shoot. Loves rifle shooting as much as marksmen like him – which is indeed saying a very great deal. Has done more to advance the "nation of marksmen" ideal than any other nobleman in the country". During World War I he presided over several courts-martial including that which condemned the spy
Carl Hans Lody Carl Hans Lody, alias Charles A. Inglis (20 January 1877 – 6 November 1914; name occasionally given as Karl Hans Lody), was a reserve officer of the Imperial German Navy who spied in the United Kingdom in the first few months of the First Wo ...
to death. Cheylesmore was honoured Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in June 1925. He died a month later aged 77, in a motor accident, the first peer to suffer such a fate in Britain. He was buried in Highgate Cemetery in a grade 2 listed mausoleum designed by the American firm of architects, Carrère and Hastings. The family was desolated and the great ballroom, known as the Pillar Hall at Coopers Hill, which was being built for the coming of age of their heir, was left unfinished. He is commemorated by a monument by Sir Edwin Lutyens in
Victoria Embankment Gardens The Victoria Embankment Gardens are a series of gardens on the north side of the River Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Westminster Bridge in London. History Between 1865 and 1870 the northern embankment and sewer was built by Sir Jose ...
, London. The Cheylesmore Range at Bisley named after him was opened for the
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
. His son Francis Ormond Henry Eaton, 4th Baron Cheylesmore succeeded to the Barony; on the fourth Baron's death in 1985, the Barony became extinct.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Herbert, 3rd Baron Cheylesmore 1848 births 1925 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery People educated at Eton College People educated at St Cyprian's School Grenadier Guards officers 3 Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Members of London County Council Deputy Lieutenants of Middlesex Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People of the National Rifle Association