Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh (17 November 1881 – 20 July 1944), known as Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, Bt, from 1924 to 1935, was a British peer, soldier and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Early life

Hesketh was the son of Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 7th Baronet, and Florence Emily Sharon, daughter of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

William Sharon William Tang Sharon (January 9, 1821November 13, 1885) was a United States senator, banker, and business owner from Nevada who profited from the Comstock Lode. Early life Sharon was born in Smithfield, Ohio, January 9, 1821, the son of Willia ...

. Among his siblings was Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, a Lieutenant in the

9th Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, ...

who went missing in 1910. He was educated at Eton, the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, and

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 ...

Career

He achieved the ranks of 2nd Lieutenant 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 ...

, Captain in the

Lancashire Hussars The Lancashire Hussars was a British Army unit originally formed in 1798. It saw action in the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1969, the regiment reduced to a cadre and the Yeomanry lineage discontinued. Histor ...

Yeomanry and Honorary Major in the Territorial Army and also served as a Justice of the Peace for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. Hesketh sat briefly as a Member of Parliament for Enfield from 1922 to 1923 and was later

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

in 1932. He succeeded his father as eighth Baronet of Rufford in 1924 and in 1935 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Hesketh, of Hesketh in the County Palatine of Lancaster.

Personal life

On 9 September 1909 Lord Hesketh married Florence Louise Breckinridge (1881–1956) at the British Embassy Church in Paris. She was the daughter of

John Witherspoon Breckinridge John Witherspoon "Owen" Breckinridge (December 22, 1850 – May 9, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the California State Assembly. Early life Breckinridge was born on December 22, 1850, in Lexington, Kentucky, in the prom ...

and the former Louise (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Tevis), who married Thomas' uncle, Frederick W. Sharon, after divorcing her father. Her paternal grandfather was General

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American politician who served as the 14th vice president of the United States, with President James Buchanan, from 1857 to 1861. Assuming office at the age of 36, Breckinrid ...

, the former

Vice-President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Th ...

, and her maternal grandfather was Lloyd Tevis, the President of

Wells Fargo Bank Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

. They had three sons and two daughters: * Hon. Thomas Sharon Fermor-Hesketh (1910–1937), a Lieutenant who was killed in an airplane accident in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1937. * Hon. Louise Fermor-Hesketh (1911–1994), who married Sir Edmund Stockdale, 1st Baronet, in 1937. * Hon. Flora Breckinridge Fermor-Hesketh (1913–1970), who married

Rupert Baring, 4th Baron Revelstoke Rupert Alexander Baring, 4th Baron Revelstoke (8 February 1911 – 18 July 1994) was a British landowner and peer. Early life Baring was born in London on 8 February 1911. He was the only son of Cecil Baring, 3rd Baron Revelstoke and Maude Loui ...

in 1934. They divorced in 1944 and she married Lt.-Cmdr Arnold Derek Arthur Lawson. * Hon. Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh (1916–1955) * Hon. John Breckinridge Fermor-Hesketh (1917–1961), who married Patricia Macaskie Cole in 1946. Lord Hesketh died in July 1944, aged 62. As his eldest son Thomas was killed in an airplane accident in

in 1937, he was succeeded in his titles by his second son

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

. Florence, the Dowager Lady Hesketh died 1956.

Descendants

His grandson Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh, is a former Conservative government minister.Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hesketh, Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron 1881 births 1944 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst 1 Royal Horse Guards officers Lancashire Hussars officers Fermor-Hesketh, Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, Thomas UK MPs who were granted peerages Fermor-Hesketh, Thomas Barons created by George V English justices of the peace