Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham, 6th Baron Skelmersdale, (23 September 1896 – 21 July 1973) was a

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 ...

officer and peer who served in both the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second World War 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 ...

Early life

Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham was born on 23 September 1896, the son of Major Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham,

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry (later changed to light infantry) regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess ...

, and Lavinia, daughter of Abraham Wilson. The older Lionel was himself a grandson of Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale. The younger Lionel was educated at Wellington College and

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

.''Burke's'': 'Skelmersdale'.''Who was Who''.

Military career

On the outbreak of 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 ...

in August 1914, Bootle-Wilbraham joined the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The re ...

. He then entered the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, as a wartime cadet in 1915 and passed out the same year, being commissioned into the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

in August 1915. He served with the regiment for the rest of the war, being awarded a

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 1917. The citation for the medal reads: Postwar, Bootle-Wilbraham saw service in Turkey during the Chanak Crisis of 1922, and then went to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to serve as Aide-de-Camp to the

Governor of Madras This is a list of the governors, agents, and presidents of colonial Madras, initially of the English East India Company, up to the end of British colonial rule in 1947. English Agents In 1639, the grant of Madras to the English was finalized ...

(1924–1927). He went to China during the Shanghai crisis of 1927, later returning to Madras as the Governor's Military Secretary (1929–1932). He also served in Egypt and Sudan in 1932. Early in the

, Bootle-Wilbraham commanded the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards, in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

, which played an important part in holding the

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

perimeter. He was acting commander of the 1st Guards Brigade during the final evacuation and for which he was later 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 ...

(DSO). On 20 September 1940, Bootle-Wilbraham took command of the 126th Infantry Brigade, part of the 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division, a Territorial Army (TA) formation which had fought in France and been evacuated at Dunkirk. A year later the division was converted to armour, and Bootle-Wilbraham briefly transferred to command the 215th Independent Infantry Brigade (Home), and then to form and command a new 32nd Guards Brigade in October 1941. This formation was part of London District, charged with guarding some of the most vital locations in the capital; later it became the infantry component of the

Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadie ...

. Bootle-Wilbraham attended the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

, in 1942 and was then appointed Brigadier, General Staff, in Eastern Command in 1943. In April 1945, Bootle-Wilbraham formed a new 137th Brigade headquarters to administer reception camps, selection and training battalions for wounded and temporarily unfit troops returning from overseas.

Postwar career

Bootle-Wilbraham served as a regimental lieutenant colonel of the Coldstream Guards 1946–1949, and then retired with the rank of brigadier. After retiring from the army, Bootle-Wilbraham joined the

Associated British Oil Engine Company The Associated British Oil Engine Company (ABOE) was a British engineering company. It started life as a combine, similar to Agricultural & General Engineers. Petters Limited joined ABOE in 1937. J&H McLaren & Co. was sold to ABOE in 1943, alt ...

(later Brush Export Ltd) as a director and became its representative in the Caribbean and Latin America 1949–1959.

Family

On 1 October 1936, he married Ann Quilter, daughter of Percy Cuthbert Quilter and granddaughter of Sir Cuthbert Quilter, 1st Baronet. She was born 19 May 1913 and died in 1974. They had four children: * Hon. Lavinia, b 1 August 1937, married (1969) Robert Brian Noel Massey, and has issue. * Hon. Olivia, b 31 December 1938, married (1961, divorced 1975) Anthony John Hoole Lowsley-Williams, and has issue * Hon. Roger, later 7th Baron Skelmersdale (2 April 1945 – 31 October 2018) * Hon. Daphne b 14 October 1946, married (1980, divorced 1992) Jocelyn Peter Gore Graham, and has issue Lionel Bootle-Wilbraham succeeded as 6th Baron Skelmersdale in 1969 on the death of his cousin. He died on 21 July 1973 and was succeeded by his son Roger as 7th Baron Skelmersdale.

Notes

References

* ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'', 106th Edn, London: Burke's Peerage, 1999. * * Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, ''Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man'', Penguin, 2007. * ''Who was Who 1971–1980''.

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skelmersdale, Roger Bootle-Wilbraham, 7th Baron 1896 births 1973 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British Army brigadiers of World War II Coldstream Guards officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Cheltenham College People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Recipients of the Military Cross Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Royal Hampshire Regiment soldiers