Sir Alexander Sprot, 1st Baronet, (24 April 1853 – 8 February 1929) was a British soldier and Scottish Unionist Party politician. He served in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

, 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 ...

and

World War I 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 ...

. During his political career, he represented the constituencies of East Fife and

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

Early life

The only son of Alexander Sprot (1823-1854) of Garnkirk, Lanarkshire, of a family formerly of Edinburgh that owned a brick-making works, and Rachael Jane (daughter of Peter Cleghorn, of Stravithie), he was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Military career

Sprot was commissioned into the Royal Lanarkshire Militia, where he reached the rank of

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 ...

. In 1874 he was commissioned Sub-Lieutenant in the

6th Dragoon Guards The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carab ...

. He was promoted Lieutenant in 1876,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1882,

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1889, Lieutenant-Colonel in 1900, and

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1904. He served in the

1879–1880 (awarded the Afghanistan Medal). He later served in the

(for which he was awarded the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with 6 clasps, the

King's South Africa Medal The King's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to all British and Colonial military personnel who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and who were in the theatre on or after 1 January 1902 and who had completed 18 m ...

with 2 clasps, and was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

twice, including 31 March 1900). He left

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in April 1902 on board the , arriving 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, ...

early the following month. He retired in 1909, but later served in

as an Administrative Commandant from 1915 (being mentioned in despatches twice and awarded the

Mons Star The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British First World War campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914. Institution The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in ...

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men and women of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were st ...

and Victory Medal). He was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in the

1917 New Year Honours The 1917 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in several editions of ''The London Gazette'' in Ja ...

Political career

He unsuccessfully contested

Montrose Burghs Montrose Burghs was a district of burghs constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1950. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (U ...

in 1906. In the two elections in 1910, he stood in East Fife against the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

. In 1918, Asquith was not opposed by a

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

candidate, but the local Conservative Association decided to field a candidate against him. Sprot, despite being refused the "

Coupon In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in ...

" – the official endorsement given by

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

and

Bonar Law Andrew Bonar Law (; 16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a British statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1922 to May 1923. Law was born in the British colony of New Brunswick (now a Canadi ...

to Coalition candidates – defeated Asquith. Sprot sat for that constituency until he was defeated in 1922, and again in 1923. He then sat for

from 1924 until his death in 1929.

Personal life

In 1879, he married Ethel Florence Thorp, daughter of Deputy Surgeon-General Edward C. Thorp, MD. They had nine daughters, of which two died in infancy. Of the other seven all married military or naval men save Alix, who took holy orders in Palestine. *Rachel Sprot (1880-1882) *Ethel (Mice) Grace Sprot (1881-1967) married 1904, Colonel Hereward Sadler OBE DL JP. *Mabel Elizabeth Sprot (1883-1983), MBE, who married in 1904 Sir George Stirling, 9th Baronet *Alix Isabella Sprot (1884-1972), who became an Abbess in the

Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (), also called Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia or ROCOR, or Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Pat ...

Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

of Lazarus (name), L ...

in Palestine. *Constance Sprot (1886-1886) *Sarah Douglas Sprot (1887-1975) married 1913, Major

William Edgar Mann William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

(1885-1969), D.S.O., of the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

, son of Sir Edward Mann, 1st

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. Their son, Major Edward Charles Mann (1918-1959), D.S.O., M.C.,

12th Royal Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

, of The Mill House, Dunsfold, Surrey, was father of Sir Rupert Edward Mann, 3rd Baronet.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 2, pp 2591-2593 *Rachel Septima Sprot (1890-1983) married 1920, Lieutenant Colonel John Reginald Noble Graham VC OBE. *Harriet Hill Sprot (1893-1976) married 1920, General Sir Thomas Sheridan Riddell-Webster GCB DSO. *Nancy Margaret Sprot (1895-1994) married 1935, Captain Chicele Keppel Bampton RN. Sir Alexander was also Master of the Fox Hounds with the Fife Hounds. He was created a baronet in 1918.

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sprot, Alexander 1853 births 1929 deaths Nobility from North Lanarkshire Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Sprot, Sir Alexander, 1st Baronet Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers Cameronians officers British Militia officers British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Masters of foxhounds in Scotland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies People educated at Harrow School British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1924–1929 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies