John Alexander Elphinstone, 17th Lord Elphinstone and 3rd Baron Elphinstone (22 March 1914 – 15 November 1975) was a British nobleman and serviceman during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a first cousin of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Early life

Elphinstone was born on 22 March 1914. He was a son of Sidney Elphinstone, 16th Lord Elphinstone, and Lady Mary Bowes-Lyon. Among his siblings was the Rev. Hon. Andrew Charles Victor Elphinstone (the aide-de-camp to the

Viceroy of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the Emperor of ...

from 1941 to 1943) and the Hon. Margaret Elphinstone, wife of writer

Denys Rhodes Denys Gravenor Rhodes (9 July 1919 – 30 October 1981) was an English writer. He was best known for his novel ''The Syndicate'', which was adapted into a 1968 film. Early life and background Rhodes was born in Ireland, the son of (Arthur) Ta ...

. His father was an avid hunter who in 1903 shot the "largest moose ever killed in Alaska." His paternal grandparents were

William Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone William Buller Fullerton Elphinstone, 15th Lord Elphinstone and 1st Baron Elphinstone (18 November 1828 – 18 January 1893), known as William Elphinstone until 1861, was a Scotland, Scottish Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. Ea ...

(the 1st

Baron Elphinstone Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

) and the former Lady Constance Euphemia Woronzow Murray (second daughter of

Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore Alexander Edward Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore (1 June 1804 – 15 July 1845) was a British Army officer and peer. He was the son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore. Early life He was the son of George Murray, 5th Earl of Dunmore and Lady Susan ...

). His maternal grandparents were

Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, (14 March 1855 – 7 November 1944), styled as Lord Glamis from 1865 to 1904, was a British peer and landowner who was the father of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and ...

and the former Nina Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck (eldest surviving daughter and co-heiress of Rev. Charles Cavendish-Bentinck, a grandson of the 3rd Duke of Portland). He was a nephew of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and a first cousin of Queen

and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.

Career

During

, he became a Captain (UK), captain in the Scottish Black Watch and was later made a lieutenant with the Royal Company of Archers. While in service, he became a prisoner of war, and was one of the "prominente" held in Oflag IV-C (Colditz Castle); as a nephew of George VI, King George VI he was considered a potential bargaining chip by the Nazis. Lord Elphinstone served as president of the Scottish Association of Boys' Clubs, chairman of council of the Scottish branch of British Red Cross Society, and president of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. He also served as a director of the Bank of Scotland and the Scottish Provident Institute.

Personal life

In 1970, during Manitoba's centennial, he was invited by the community of Elphinstone, Manitoba, Elphinstone and gave a silver map case, which is today located at the Elphinstone post office, all named in his family's honor. As he died unmarried and without issue, he was succeeded in his titles by his nephew James Elphinstone, 18th Lord Elphinstone, James.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elphinstone, John Elphinstone, 17th Lord 1914 births 1975 deaths Nobility from East Lothian Scottish people of Dutch descent Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle, Elphinstone Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Deputy lieutenants of Angus De Peyster family Schuyler family Van Cortlandt family Elphinstone family, John Members of the Royal Company of Archers Directors of the Bank of Scotland Lords Elphinstone, 17