Thomas Allnutt Brassey, 2nd Earl Brassey, TD, DL, JP (7 March 1863 – 12 November 1919), styled Viscount Hythe between 1911 and 1918, was a British peer, who was for many years editor or joint editor of '' Brassey's Naval Annual''. Brassey was the only son of

Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey (11 February 1836 – 23 February 1918), was a British Liberal Party politician, governor of the Colony of Victoria and founder of '' The Naval Annual''. Background and education Brassey was the eldest son of ...

, by his first wife Anna, daughter of John Allnutt. He was educated at Eton and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. Brassey was an honorary

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 the London Brigade of Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers from 1888 to 1892. He acted as Assistant Private Secretary to Earl Spencer during the time the latter was

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

(1892–95), and in 1894 was Assistant Secretary of the Royal Commission on Opium that his father chaired. Brassey was appointed a

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 the Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry on 19 January 1898. After the outbreak of 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 ...

in late 1899, Brassey volunteered for active service and was commissioned

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 ...

of 69 (Sussex) Company of 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 ...

on 28 March 1900. He left Southampton for South Africa in early April 1900 on the SS ''Carisbrooke Castle'', accompanied by his wife. While in South Africa he served as acting Civil Commissioner for the British government at

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in 1901, following its surrender by the Boers the previous year. He later became Lieutenant-Colonel in command of the West Kent Yeomanry in 1910, retiring in May 1914. He was awarded the TD in 1909. After 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 ...

he raised a second battalion to this regiment for home service, which he commanded until 1916, remaining on the Territorial Force Reserve. He was also attached to the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

Transport Staff and his service entitled him to two campaign medals, but the location of the qualifying service is not given. Appendix F - Peers and Sons of Peers who served in the Great War. He is simply noted as having done "Special Service" with no details armed force or campaign medals awarded. He was editor of '' The Naval Annual'' from 1892 to 1899 and then either alone or jointly with John Leyland editor from 1902 to 1914, and finally in 1919. He stood unsuccessfully for election to Parliament as Liberal candidate for

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

in 1892, and for

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

in 1895 and 1900. In the latter year's general election, he fought against Kenneth Robert Balfour, and after a close and disputed result, the two men gave their names to adjoining roads in the constituency. He made a further unsuccessful attempt to stand for election at Devonport in 1902. He was Mayor of

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Rother District in the county of East Sussex in South East England. It is located along the Sussex Coast and between the towns of Hastings, England, Hastings ...

in 1909 and served as a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. He was active in promoting a renewed

Imperial Federation League The Imperial Federation League was a 19th-century organisation which aimed to promote the reorganisation of the British Empire into an Imperial Federation, similarly to the way the majority of British North America confederated into the Dominion ...

. Brassey was managing director of lead mining and smelting companies in mainland

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, such as the mine in Ingurtosu, a hamlet belonging to

Arbus, Sardinia Arbus (, , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of South Sardinia in the Italy, Italian region of Sardinia. Located in the southwest coast of the island, Arbus is known for several archeological and non-operational industrial sites, ...

. He was Knight of Grace of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

and Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

. Lord Brassey married Lady Idina Mary Nevill, daughter of

William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny William Nevill, 1st Marquess of Abergavenny (16 September 1826 – 12 December 1915), styled Viscount Neville between 1845 and 1868 and known as The Earl of Abergavenny between 1868 and 1876, was a British peer. Background and education He was ...

, on 28 February 1889. They had no children. He succeeded to his father's title in 1918, enabling him to sit in the House of Lords. He died childless in November the following year, aged 56, after being hit by a taxi,''The Scotsman'', 15 November 1919. when the titles became extinct. He was buried in

Catsfield Catsfield is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located six miles (9.7 km) north of Bexhill-on-Sea, Bexhill, and three miles (5 km) southwest of Battle, East Sussex, Battle ...

. The Countess Brassey died in February 1951, aged 85.

Footnotes

References

* Ranft, Bryan (ed.), ''Ironclad to Trident, 100 Years of Defence Commentary, BRASSEYS's 1886–1986'', Brassey's Defence Publishing (part of the Pergamon Group), 1986. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brassey, Thomas Brassey, 2nd Earl 1863 births 1919 deaths Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People educated at Eton College Road incident deaths in England British Army personnel of World War I Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Deputy lieutenants of Sussex

Thomas Brassey, 2nd Earl Brassey Thomas Allnutt Brassey, 2nd Earl Brassey, Territorial Decoration, TD, Deputy Lieutenant, DL, Justice of the Peace, JP (7 March 1863 – 12 November 1919), styled Viscount Hythe between 1911 and 1918, was a British peer, who was for many years ed ...

Imperial Yeomanry officers Queen's Own West Kent Yeomanry officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy)