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 ...

Sir Francis Henry Douglas Charlton Whitmore, 1st Baronet (20 April 1872 – 12 June 1962) 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 landowner.

Family home

He was the son of Thomas Whitmore, an officer in the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

. Thomas had inherited Orsett Hall (in

Orsett Orsett is a village, Ward (electoral subdivision), ward, former civil parish and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, it is north-east of Grays, Essex, Grays. In 2011 the ward had a population of 6,1 ...

, Essex) as a result of a gambling debt incurred by the previous owner, Digby Wingfield. The estate passed to Francis on the death of his father in 1907.

Military career

Whitmore was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and in 1892 he was commissioned into the 1st Essex Artillery Volunteers. He later transferred to the

Essex Yeomanry The Essex Yeomanry was a Reserve unit of the British Army that originated in 1797 as local Yeomanry Cavalry Troops in Essex. Reformed after the experience gained in the Second Boer War, it saw active service as cavalry in World War I and as a ...

and served in the

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 an ...

with the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

. He served 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 ...

and was promoted lieutenant-colonel in 1915, eventually commanding the

10th Royal Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the World War I, First World War and World War II, Sec ...

. He 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 ...

four times, and 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 1917. In the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 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 ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Janu ...

list he was made a 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 III ...

(CMG). After the war he wrote ''The 10th (P.W.O.) Royal Hussars and the Essex Yeomanry during the European War, 1914–1918'' which was published in 1920. Whitmore became a Justice of the Peace in 1899 and was

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

in 1922. He served as

Lord Lieutenant of Essex This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex. Since 1688, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Essex. * John Petre, 1st Baron Petre * John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford 1558–? * Robert Dudley, 1st ...

from 1936 to 1958 and was created a

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 ...

, of Orsett, in the County of Essex in 1954.

Family life

He was married twice, first to Violet Houldsworth (d. 1927) and subsequently to Ellis Johnsen (d. 2001). He had a son and a daughter by his second wife. He was a keen traveller, including a visit to the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

in New York in 1931 when it opened. Photograph albums and scrapbooks from his travels are in the Essex Record Office. Orsett church contains hatchments to his father and his first wife – the latter was painted by Whitmore. The other hatchments in the church were restored at the expense of Whitmore following a fire. He also painted portraits, two of which are in the Thurrock Museum. Whitmore died in 1962 and was buried with full military honours at Orsett parish church. The funeral was an important local event and the head gardener on the Orsett Estate, Alfred George Cuthbert, took a number of photos of the funeral for his album. Four of these were published in 2018. The baronetcy and estate were inherited by his son, Sir

John Whitmore (racing driver) Sir John Henry Douglas Whitmore, 2nd Baronet (16 October 1937 – 28 April 2017) was a pioneer of the executive coaching industry, an author and British racing driver. Family life and background John Whitmore was born on 16 October 1937, the so ...

. He is commemorated in the name of a local pub, The Whitmore Arms. His portrait from W.W.1 hangs in the headquarters of the 70th (Essex Yeomanry) Signal Squadron. A later portrait in Lord Lieutenant's uniform by

Herbert James Gunn Sir Herbert James Gunn RA RP (30 June 1893– 30 December 1964) was a Scottish landscape and portrait painter. Early life Sir Herbert James Gunn (also known as Sir James Gunn) was born in Glasgow on 30 June 1893, the son of Richard Gunn, a dr ...

hangs in the Shire Hall in Chelmsford. On 10 September 2015, a Thurrock Heritage plaque was unveiled commemorating Whitmore and other Officers and Men of the Essex Yeomanry and 10th Royal Hussars who served in the Great War.Thurrock Local History Society web site
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitmore, Francis 1872 births 1962 deaths Military personnel from Leicestershire 10th Royal Hussars officers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George English justices of the peace High sheriffs of Essex Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Lord-lieutenants of Essex People educated at Eton College People from Orsett Royal Artillery officers Imperial Yeomanry officers Essex Yeomanry officers