Sir Fulque Melville Gerald Noel Agnew, 10th Baronet (6 October 1900,

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

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 ...

– 28 August 1975,

Mzuzu Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city by population in Malawi. The city has 221,272 residents and 20,000 commuters (Mzuzu University students) with about 1.7 million people in its metropolitan area. It i ...

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) was the son of Major Charles Hamlyn Agnew (3rd son of Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw, 8th Baronet, and Lady Louisa Noel or Agnew of Lochnaw, daughter of the 1st Earl of Gainsborough) and his wife Lillian Anne Wolfe Murray of Cringltie, daughter of General Sir

James Wolfe Murray Lieutenant-General Sir James Wolfe Murray (13 March 1853 – 17 October 1919) was a British Army officer who served in the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War, Second Boer War and First World War. He became Chief of the Imperial General Staff three months ...

of Cringltie KCB, married on 30 June 1897 but they divorced in 1908.

Succession

He succeeded as 10th Baronet, of Lochnaw on the death of his uncle Sir Andrew Noel Agnew of Lochnaw, 9th Baronet, on 14 July 1928. He did not use the title in later life. On his death in 1975 he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

Crispin Agnew Sir Crispin Hamlyn Agnew of Lochnaw, 11th Baronet, (born 13 May 1944) is a Scottish advocate, herald and former explorer. He is the chief of the ancient Agnew family, and the eleventh holder of the Agnew baronetcy, created in 1629. He was elect ...

Education

He attended

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 ...

, spent a year at Heidelberg University in the mid-1930s, and graduated as BSc as a mature student at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in the 1940s.

Career

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 ...

he ran away from school at the age 17 to join the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

as a private, although he was under age. He later flew in the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

as a cadet; he recounted that he had a dog fight with the

Red Baron Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a sec ...

, but as both aircraft had run out of ammunition both returned safely. He was commissioned as an Honorary 2nd Lt RFC 14 May 1920 ondon Gazette he was shot down and wounded, spending a year in hospital and is said to have been

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 ...

. After the war in 1921 he joined the 17th (later 17/21st) Lancers as a trooper with a view to obtaining a regular commission, and served in Ireland. He did not obtain a commission due to the post-war reductions in the armed forces and resigned from the 17/21st in November 1922. He joined Roger Pocock's. expedition to cross the Atlantic, and left the ship in San Francisco. He then got work as an extra in Hollywood, including driving a chariot in the first Ben Hur film. He then joined the US cavalry and subsequently the US Marine Corps serving in China. In 1928 on succeeding to the baronetcy he returned to Britain and farmed in Sussex for about a year, later joining the 4th Bn East Sussex Regiment as a lieutenant before again attempting to get a regular commission. From about 1934 to 1937 he spent time in Europe: studying at Heidelberg University; walking in Southern Germany; canoeing down the Danube and walking in the Balkans. The family understood that he worked for British Intelligence during this period. During the

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 ...

he registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

, and served in the

Friends Ambulance Unit The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914 to 1919, 1939 to 1946 and ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

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. On 29 January 1945 Agnew was in charge of FAU Relief Detachment No 1 which arrived in Simi for relief work.Friends Ambulance Unit, Civilian Relief in Europe by A Telga Davies http://www.ourstory.info/library/4-ww2/Friends/fau11.html In 1948 he went to

, but could not obtain a permanent post there after independence. He worked, probably with the Red Cross, in refugee camps during the disruptions caused by the partition of India. He then emigrated to farm in

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 1948 - his wife Swanzie Erskine's family having been in South Africa since 1857. Her grandfather,

St Vincent Whitshed Erskine St Vincent Whitshed Erskine (1846 - 1918), Surveyor General of South Africa, was an early explorer in Gazaland and was the first European to travel down the length of the Limpopo river to its mouth. Family Erskine was born on 7 February 1846 i ...

had been Surveyor General of South Africa. In 1952 Agnew was appointed Registrar of

Fort Hare University The University of Fort Hare () is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across ...

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

, the only university then awarding degrees to black Africans. Swanzie taught geography and became head of the geography department. They allied with the opponents of

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

, and in 1960, when the army was sent in to clamp down on unrest, the Agnews protested strongly. As a result, they, and other British staff, were expelled from South Africa. Back in Britain, Agnew went to work for the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

's Department of Education. In 1965 Swanzie Agnew was elected the first Professor of Earth Sciences at the

University of Malawi The University of Malawi (UNIMA) is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whethe ...

, and Agnew joined her as Assistant Registrar at the university for a short period until an African took over. In retirement he indulged his hobby of Bird Watching. He died at Mzuzu, Malawi in 1975 while on a trip to the Nyika National Park.

Family

He married Swanzie Erskine (9 June 1916 – 28 September 2000) in London on 9 October 1937. She was the daughter of Major Esmé Nourse Erskine CMG, MC formerly British Consul in Western Abyssinia (a cadet branch of the Earls of Buchan) and Elizabeth Susan Matilda Reinders (9 October 1937). They had issue: * Crispin Agnew, 11th Baronet (b.13 May 1944) Swanzie Erskine was a lecturer in Geography at Edinburgh University during World War II and then Head of the Department of Geography, University of Fort Hare University, South Africa (1955 to 1960). Following deportation from South Africa in 1960 she was Headmistress of the lower

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

, White Lodge, Richmond Park, London (1960 to 1964). In 1964 she was offered the Professorship of Earth Sciences at the new University of Malawi and served there until she resigned in 1976 in protest at the interference in academic life by the Banda Government. She retired to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, where she lived until she died in 2000.

References

* A Partnership of Principle: The Lives of Sir Fulque and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, by James McCarthy, Published by James McCarthy, Edinburgh 2015.
thePeerage.com
*'AGNEW, Fulque Melville Gerald Noel', Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 * Obituary, Swanzie Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 23 August 2001 *A Tegla Davies: ''Friends Ambulance Unit'', 1947 - http://ourstory.info/library/4-ww2/Friends/fau13.html . * Witness to Partition ... 1947–48, Letters of Sir Fulque Agnew of Lochnaw Bt, Edited by Ged Martin http://www.gedmartin.net/index.php/agnew-a {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, Fulque 1900 births 1975 deaths 20th-century United States Marines 20th-century Quakers Fulque Nobility from Dumfries and Galloway Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia People educated at Harrow School British Army personnel of World War I Machine Gun Corps soldiers British conscientious objectors People associated with the Friends' Ambulance Unit Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Military personnel from Bengaluru Academic staff of the University of Malawi University of Malawi alumni