Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue

The Right Honourable The Earl Fortescue KG CB OBE MC PC
The Viscount Ebrington in 1919
Conservative Chief Whip in the House of Lords
In office 1945–1957
Preceded by	The Lord Templemore
Succeeded by	The Earl St Aldwyn
Personal details
Born	Hugh William Fortescue 14 June 1888 St George Hanover Square, London, England
Died	14 June 1958 (aged 70) Castle Hill, North Devon
Political party	Conservative
Military service
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1907–1918 1939–1944
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Royal Scots Greys, Royal Corps of Signals
Commands	Royal Devon Yeomanry
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Military Cross Knight of the Order of the Garter Companion of the Order of the Bath

Colonel Hugh William Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue KG CB OBE MC PC (14 June 1888 – 14 June 1958), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1905 until 1932, was a British peer, military officer and Conservative politician.

Biography

Early life and education

Hugh William Fortescue was the eldest son of Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue, and his wife, the Hon. Emily (née Ormsby-Gore), daughter of William Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech.^[1]

He was educated at Eton College from 1901 to 1905, followed by the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.^[2]

Military service

In 1907, Fortescue joined the Royal Scots Greys. After the First World War began in 1914, he was sent to France, where he served as a regimental officer for the Scots Greys, followed by the Royal Corps of Signals. Fortescue was twice wounded in battle and received the Military Cross in 1917.^[2][3]

Following the war, he went to India, where he served as an instructor at the Cavalry School at Sangor. He then served as aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief in India Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson.^[2]

Fortescue returned to England in 1922, joining the Royal Devon Yeomanry. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in Command in 1924 and Colonel in 1930, and in 1935 he became colonel commandant of the Honourable Artillery Company.^[2]

When the Second World War began in 1939, Fortescue joined the General Staff. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire for war services in 1942 and Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1946 Birthday Honours.^[2]

Political career

Fortescue succeeded his father in the earldom in 1932. He served under Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill as a Lord-in-Waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) from 1936 to 1945 and under Churchill as Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (chief government whip in the House of Lords) in 1945. During the Labour stay in power from 1945 to 1951, he was Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords. He was again Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms under Churchill from 1951 to 1955 and under Sir Anthony Eden from 1955 to 1957. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1952 and made a Knight of the Garter in 1951.^[2]

Personal life

He married the Hon. Margaret Beaumont on 8 February 1917 in London. Margaret was the daughter of Wentworth Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale and Alexandrina, daughter of the Fifth Marquess of Londonderry.^[2] They had four children:

• Hon. Diana Margaret Fortescue (17 May 1919 – 6 April 1920)
• Hugh Peter Fortescue, Viscount Ebrington (1920–1942), killed in action at the First Battle of El Alamein, unmarried.
• Lady Margaret Fortescue^[4] (13 December 1923 – 25 May 2013), married Bernard van Cutsem and had issue.
• Lady Elizabeth Fortescue (1 October 1926 – 17 January 2010), married William Lloyd Baxendale and had issue.

After succeeding to the earldom, he moved to the family seat in Castle Hill, Filleigh. He served as president of both the British Horse Society and Royal Agricultural Society.^[5]

Death

He died on his 70th birthday in June 1958, four days after the death of his wife, whose funeral he was too ill to attend.^[5] As he had no surviving male issue, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Denzil.

Although the title passed to his brother on his death, the 5th Earl left his principal seat, Castle Hill, Filleigh in North Devon, to his elder surviving daughter, Lady Margaret Fortescue. It is now the home of her daughter Eleanor, Countess of Arran. The other historic family residence, Ebrington Manor, Gloucestershire, remains the seat of the Earls Fortescue.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue

16. Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Fortescue               8. Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue                       17. Hester Grenville               4. Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue                             18. Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby               9. Lady Susan Ryder                       19. Lady Susan Leveson-Gower               2. Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue                                   20. John Dawson, 1st Earl of Portarlington               10. The Hon. George Dawson-Damer                       21. Lady Caroline Stuart               5. Georgiana Dawson-Damer                             22. Lord Hugh Seymour               11. Mary Seymour                       23. Lady Anne Waldegrave               1. Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue                                         24. William Gore               12. William Ormsby-Gore                       25. Frances Gore               6. William Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech                             26. Owen Ormsby               13. Mary Ormsby                       27. Mary Owen               3. The Hon. Emily Ormsby-Gore                                   28. Lord Hugh Seymour (= 22.)               14. George Seymour                       29. Lady Anne Waldegrave (= 23.)               7. Lady Emily Seymour                             30. George Berkeley               15. Georgiana Berkeley                       31. Emilia Lennox

References

1. Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. London: Dean & Son, Limited. 1902. p. 343.
2. "Obituary: Earl Fortescue". The Times (The Times Digital Archive). 16 June 1958. p. 10.
3. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 29886. p. 33. 1 January 1917.
4. "Obituary: Lady Margaret Fortescue". The Daily Telegraph. 22 June 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
5. "Earl Fortescue". The New York Times. 16 June 1958. p. 23.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl Fortescue
• Pedigree at Genealogics