John James Hamilton Dalrymple, 12th Earl of Stair, (1 February 1879 – 4 November 1961), styled Viscount Dalrymple between 1903 and 1914, was a Scottish soldier and Conservative Party, later Unionist Party, politician.

Military and political career

The son of

John Dalrymple, 11th Earl of Stair John Hew North Gustav Henry Hamilton-Dalrymple, 11th Earl of Stair (12 June 1848 – 2 December 1914), known as Viscount Dalrymple from 1864 to 1903, was a Scottish army officer and nobleman. Early life Hamilton-Dalrymple was the son of John Ham ...

, Dalrymple was commissioned a second lieutenant in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

on 16 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 11 October 1899. He fought 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 ...

, where he took part in the march to occupy the Boer capitals

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

(March 1900) and

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

(June 1900), and was present at the successive battles of

Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It is ...

(11–12 June 1900) and Bergendal (21–27 August 1900). Following the end of hostilities in early June 1902, he left Cape Town on board the SS ''Orotava'', and arrived at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

the next month. He later fought 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 ...

. He was captured by the Germans during the

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

in 1914 and remained a prisoner until 1917 when he was repatriated for medical reasons, due to degradation in his eyesight. He was awarded 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 ...

in 1919, and retired the same year at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Lord Dalrymple sat as Member of Parliament for

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

from 1906 to 1914, when he succeeded his father in the earldom and entered 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 ...

. Lord Stair was later

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotla ...

in 1927 and 1928. From 1931 to 1932 he served as president of the influential conservationist organisation the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association, often subtitled Edinburgh Civic Trust, is an architectural, conservation, and urban planning monitoring organisation in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. The Cockburn Association, founded in 1875, is one o ...

Family

On 20 October 1904, Dalrymple married Violet Evelyn Harford, only daughter of Col. Frederick Henry Harford and Florence Helen Isabella Parsons, granddaughter of

Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse (21 May 1758 – 24 February 1841), known as Sir Lawrence Parsons, Bt, from 1791 to 1807, was an Irish peer. Biography Parsons was the son of Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet and Mary Clere. He succeeded h ...

, and great-granddaughter and heir of Henry Harford, last proprietary governor of Maryland. They had six children: * Lady Jean Margaret Florence Dalrymple (15 August 1905 – 3 October 2001); married Lt-Col. Arthur Niall Talbot Rankin, a Scots Guards officer in the Emergency Reserve. She was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

from 1947 to 1982. * John Aymer Dalrymple, 13th Earl of Stair (9 October 1906 – 26 February 1996) * Lady Marion Violet Dalrymple (1 February 1908 – 18 June 1995) * Captain The Honourable Hew North Dalrymple (27 April 1910 – 24 May 2012) * The Honourable Andrew William Henry Dalrymple (10 May 1914 – 25 December 1945), joint founder of

Chilton Aircraft Chilton Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft design and manufacturing company of the late 1930s and 1940s. Foundation The company was founded in early 1937 by two former de Havilland Technical School students and Old Etonians, the Hon. Andrew D ...

, killed in a plane crash * Major The Honourable Colin James Dalrymple (19 February 1920 – 12 January 2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stair, John Dalrymple, 12th Earl of 1879 births 1961 deaths Nobility from Midlothian

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

12 Knights of the Thistle Dalrymple, John Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple, John Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple, John Dalrymple, Viscount Dalrymple, John Dalrymple, Viscount UK MPs who inherited peerages Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Place of birth missing Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Scots Guards officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel of the Second Boer War