Lieutenant-Colonel Wilfred Dallas Cairns, 4th Earl Cairns, CMG, DL (28 November 1865 – 23 October 1946), was a peer of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and a

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

officer.

Life

Born in 1865, he succeeded as the 4th Earl Cairns on the death of his older brother, Herbert, in 1905. He bought and restored

Farleigh House Farleigh House, or Farleigh Castle, sometimes called Farleigh New Castle, is a large English country house in the county of Somerset, formerly the centre of the Farleigh Hungerford estate. Much of the stone to build it came from the nearby Farlei ...

Farleigh Hungerford Farleigh Hungerford () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Norton St Philip, in the Somerset (district), Somerset district, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, 9 miles southeast of Bath, Somerset, Bath, 3½ mile ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and lived there for most of the second half of his life.

Military career

Cairns was commissioned an officer in

The Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

, and served in the 3rd battalion. After retiring, he was on 9 February 1898 appointed a major of the 5th (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) battalion, previously the Queen's Own Royal Tower Hamlets Light Infantry (2nd Tower Hamlets Militia), based in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

in the East End of London. Following 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 ...

, Cairns volunteers for service when his militia regiment was embodied in 1900. After peace was declared in May 1902, he left South Africa on board the SS ''Bavarian'' and arrived in the United Kingdom the following month.

Marriage and family

On 12 July 1894, Cairns married Olive Cobbold, daughter of the former MP for Ipswich, John Patteson Cobbold. Together they had six children, four daughters and two sons. Their eldest daughter, Hester, married Robert Bourne, the rower and politician. She served as vice-chairman of the Conservative Party. Their second daughter, Ursula, married John Roland Abbey. Their third daughter, Sheila, married Major Charles Holroyd of the Rifles. Their youngest daughter, Katharine, was a Senior Commander in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Their elder son Hugh, Viscount Garmoyle, was killed on active service during World War II, leaving their second son,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, as heir to the earldom.

References

*
Military career

External links

* Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Deputy lieutenants of Somerset Rifle Brigade officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 1865 births 1946 deaths Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst London Regiment officers People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Younger sons of earls {{UK-earl-stub