Dudley Marjoribanks, 3rd Baron Tweedmouth

Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Churchill Marjoribanks, 3rd Baron Tweedmouth, CMG, MVO, DSO (2 March 1874 – 23 April 1935) was a British army officer and courtier.

The Lord Tweedmouth
Born(1874-02-02)2 February 1874
Died23 April 1935(1935-04-23) (aged 61)
Spouse
Lady Muriel Brodrick
(m. 1901)
ChildrenThe Hon. Moyra Marjoribanks
The Hon. Millicent Joan Marjoribanks
Parent(s)Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth
Lady Fanny Octavia Louise Marjoribanks
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1895–1919
RankLieutenant Colonel
UnitRoyal Horse Guards
Guards Machine Gun Regiment
Battles/warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Member of the Royal Victorian Order
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches

Early life edit

Marjoribanks was the son of Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth and Lady Fanny Spencer-Churchill, daughter of the 7th Duke of Marlborough.[1] He succeeded his father as the 3rd Baron Tweedmouth and is thus descended from Joseph Marjoribanks, a wine and fish merchant in Edinburgh who died in 1635. Joseph Marjoribanks is thought to have been the grandson of Thomas Marjoribanks of Ratho,[2] head of the lowland Clan Marjoribanks.[3]

He was a pupil at Harrow, at the same time as his cousin Winston Churchill, and joined the Royal Horse Guards in 1895.[4]

Career edit

In 1897, he was promoted to lieutenant and served with a composite regiment of the Household Cavalry in the Second Boer War in South Africa from 1899 to 1902. He was present at the Relief of Kimberly and several other battles in Orange Free State, the Transvaal Colony and the Cape Colony. He was Mentioned in dispatches, was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with six clasps and was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 29 November 1900.[5]

In early 1901 he was asked by the new King Edward VII to take part in a special diplomatic mission to announce the King's accession to the governments of France, Spain, and Portugal.[6] The following year, he was appointed a Member (fifth class) of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO).[7] In September 1902, Marjoribanks accompanied Lord Roberts, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, and St John Brodrick, Secretary of State for War (and his father-i-law), on a visit to Germany to attend the German army maneuvers as guest of the Emperor Wilhelm.[8] During the visit he was created a Knight 2nd class of the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle.[9] Marjoribanks and his wife attended the 1903 Delhi Durbar to mark the accession of King Edward VII as Emperor of India.[10]

He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1904 and from 1905 to 1908 served as Military Secretary to the High Commissioner in South Africa. In 1908 he was promoted to major and was Director of Army Accounts and Quarter Master General for the West Lancashire Division from 1908 to 1910.[4]

In the First World War he served with the Royal Horse Guards from 1914 to 1918 and was involved in the early battles. On 25 October 1914, 'Beef' as he was known was shot in the leg when trying to carry out a regimental action. "I had to stop and get into Hugh Grosvenor's trench. Got out presently and shot my horse with my revolver and saved all my kit. We were very lucky considering the fire we came in for."[11] At the end of the war he served with the Guards Machine Gun Regiment from 1918 to 1919. During the war he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG).[4]

After succeeding as Lord Tweedmouth, he was Lord-in-waiting to King Edward VII and King George V.[2]

He was said to be an excellent shot – having spent much time at his father's Glen Affric Shooting Estate – and had an amiable personality but had financial difficulties throughout his life.[2]

Personal life edit

Lord Tweedmouth married, at St George's, Hanover Square, London on 30 November 1901,[12] Lady Muriel Brodrick (1881–1966), eldest daughter of St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton and Lady Hilda Charteris. They had two daughters, Moyra and Millicent Joan[1] and the title Baron Tweedmouth became extinct on his death.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Pine, Leslie Gilbert, "The New Extinct Peerage 1884–1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms" London, U.K., Heraldry Today, 1972, ISBN 9780900455230
  2. ^ a b c Marjoribanks, Roger. "Marjoribanks of Lees", The Marjoribanks Journal Number 3, page 14, June 1995. Accessed on 22 May 2010
  3. ^ Clan Marjoribanks web site accessed 29 April 2010
  4. ^ a b c Biggins, David. "Marjoribanks, The Hon Dudley Churchill (Lord Tweedmouth)". Anglo Boer War. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  5. ^ "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6304.
  6. ^ "The King – the special Embassies". The Times. No. 36410. London. 23 March 1901. p. 12.
  7. ^ "No. 27467". The London Gazette. 22 August 1902. pp. 5461–5462.
  8. ^ "The German maneuvers". The Times. No. 36865. London. 5 September 1902. p. 6.
  9. ^ "Latest Intelligence – The German Army Maneuvres". The Times. No. 36900. London. 16 October 1902. p. 4.
  10. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36937. London. 28 November 1902. p. 10.
  11. ^ Lord Tweedmouth's Diary is in the HCM, Box 10, AB2637
  12. ^ "Court circular". The Times. No. 36627. London. 2 December 1901. p. 9.
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Tweedmouth
1909–1935
Extinct