Nathaniel Thomas Allen Fiennes, 21st Baron Saye and Sele, DL (born 22 September 1920), styled as Lord Saye and Sele, is an

English peer The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...

, businessman, former chartered surveyor, and retired British Army officer.

Biography

Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on 22 September 1920, the son of Ivo Murray Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 20th Baron Saye and Sele, and Hersey Cecilia Hester Butler. Despite a family connection with

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

, he was educated at Eton and then at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he served in the

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifl ...

. He received an emergency commission in the Rifle Brigade on 19 April 1941, and was promoted war-substantive lieutenant on 1 October 1942 and temporary captain on 3 September 1943. In March 1945, he was mentioned in dispatches for service in North-West Europe. One of his brothers was killed on 30 August 1941 when his Wellington bomber was shot down. Another brother was

Oliver William Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes Oliver William Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (17 May 1926 – 8 June 2011) was Dean of Lincoln in the latter part of the 20th century. Early life and education He was born on 17 May 1926 into a noble family, the youngest of three sons of the 20th ...

(1926-2011), later

Dean of Lincoln The Dean of Lincoln is the head of the Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral in the city of Lincoln, England in the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln. Christine Wilson was installed as Dean on 22 October 2016.

(1969-89). In April 1945 Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes and his regiment, the 8th Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, were among the first troops to reach

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentr ...

. In 2020 he recalled for the ''Daily Telegraph'', "We turned down a small track, and it opened into a sight you would never want to see again ... People being chopped up, people on the ground, pits with three or four hundred dead bodies in each ... It was like something from a nightmare, and the smell was overpowering." He met with Bergen-Belsen survivor Mala Tribich (originally from

Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the second-largest city situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Previously, it was the capita ...

, Poland) at his family seat,

Broughton Castle Broughton Castle is a medieval fortified manor house in the village of Broughton, which is about two miles south-west of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England, on the B4035 road (). It is the home of the Fiennes (in full Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ...

, shortly before the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, and was ready "to grovel before ribich because I have such a respect and admiration for her. She is the most remarkable lady ... all these survivors are." Tribich, who was 14 and ill with typhus when Bergen-Belsen was liberated, had previously survived the

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

in her hometown and

Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a German concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure o ...

. After the war, Fiennes remained in the army, receiving promotion to war-substantive captain and temporary major on 15 January 1946. On 22 May 1948, he received a regular commission as a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade (seniority from 22 May 1943), with promotion to captain effective from the same date (seniority from 22 November 1947). He was stationed in Palestine during the

Palestine Emergency A successful paramilitary campaign was carried out by Zionist underground groups against British rule in Mandatory Palestine from 1944 to 1948. The tensions between the Zionist underground and the British mandatory authorities rose from 1938 a ...

in 1946-47, for which he was again mentioned in dispatches in January 1949. He resigned his commission on 8 February 1950, leaving with the honorary rank of major. Fiennes was a trustee of the

Ernest Cook Trust The Ernest Cook Trust is a large educational charity in England. It was founded in 1952 by the philanthropist Ernest Cook, the grandson of Thomas Cook. Each year the Trustees distribute more than £1.25m in educational grants to benefit children a ...

, which works for the preservation of English country houses and estates, from 1959 until 1995, serving as chairman from 1964 until 1990. In 1965 he changed his surname by

Deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party A party ...

to ''Fiennes'' thereby relinquishing the surnames ''Twisleton'' and ''Wykeham''. When his father died on 21 October 1968, Fiennes succeeded him as 21st Baron Saye and Sele. He was a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

between 1967 and 1983. He became a

Chartered Surveyor Chartered Surveyor is the description (protected by law in many countries) of Professional ''Members'' and ''Fellows'' of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation (and a number of variations such as " Char ...

and was a partner of a company called Laws and Fiennes before becoming a regional director within

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

(1983–90). Since 1979 he has been a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Oxfordshire. Lord Saye and Sele is known as Nat to his family and friends. He is the father of the author William Fiennes and of the artist

Susannah Fiennes Susannah Hersey Fiennes (born 27 February 1961) is a British artist who has worked extensively with Charles III and is collected in Europe, Asia and America. Biography Fiennes is the daughter of Lord and Lady Saye and Sele, who are the owners ...

Marriage and children

Lord Saye and Sele married Mariette Helena Salisbury-Jones (born 1935), the daughter of Major-General Sir Arthur Guy Salisbury-Jones in 1958. Together they had five children: *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype ...

Richard Ingel Fiennes (born 19 August 1959, died 13 April 2001)Banbury Guardian, report of death, published 19 April 2001
/ref> * Hon Martin Guy Fiennes (born 27 February 1961) * Hon Susannah Hersey Fiennes (born 27 February 1961) * Hon Thomas Nathaniel Fiennes (born 11 October 1965, died 3 September 1968) * Hon William John Fiennes (born 7 August 1970)

Notes

References

Links and sources

RootsWebRootsWeb
*''Debrett's People of Today'' (12th edn, London, 1999), p. 1739

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saye and Sele, Nathaniel Thomas Allen Fiennes, 21st Baron 1920 births Living people Free Foresters cricketers People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford English bankers British Army personnel of World War II British military personnel of the Palestine Emergency Rifle Brigade officers

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * N ...

English surveyors Deputy Lieutenants of Oxfordshire English cricketers Oxfordshire cricketers English centenarians Men centenarians Barons Saye and Sele