Category Archives: Royalty and World War I

July 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer


Two sons of British peers died at the very end of July 1915, one in battle and the other of typhoid fever while serving with the Serbian Relief Fund in Serbia because he was not medically fit for active service.

gerald grenfell

The Honorable Gerald William Grenfell ; Photo Credit – http://photos.geni.com

The Honorable Gerald William Grenfell, known as William or Billy, was born in London on March 29, 1890. He was the second of the five children and the second of the three sons of William Henry Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough,  and Ethel Anne Priscilla Fane, daughter of the diplomat Julian Fane.  His elder brother, the war poet The Honorable Julian Grenfell, died from battle wounds on May 26, 1915 and was featured in May 1915: Royalty and World War I.  His younger brother The Honorable Ivo George Grenfell, died in 1926 as the result of a car accident. The title, Baron Desborough, became extinct upon the death of their father, the 1st Baron Desborough, in 1945.

Billy attended Oxford University and served as a Second Lieutenant in the 8th Battalion of Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own)  in the British Army. He was killed on July 30, 1915 at the age of 25 leading a charge near Hooge, a small village east of Ypres in the Flemish province of West-Vlaanderen in Belgium, within a mile of where Julian had been mortally wounded. Billy has no known grave, but is memorialized on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown.

Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Like his brother Julian, Billy is also considered a British War Poet.  Along with his brother, Billy was featured in The Muse in Arms, an anthology of British war poetry published in November 1917.  Billy’s poem is a memorial to his friend The Honorable John Neville Manners, the eldest son of John Manners-Sutton, 3rd Baron Manners,  who died in 1914 during the early weeks of the war. The poem is one of the nine poems in the In Memoriam section of The Muse in Arms.

To John
(The Hon. John Manners)
by William Grenfell

O heart-and-soul and careless played
Our little band of brothers,
And never recked the time would come
To change our games for others.
It’s joy for those who played with you
To picture now what grace
Was in your mind and single heart
And in your radiant face.
Your light-foot strength by flood and field
For England keener glowed;
To whatsoever things are fair
We know, through you, the road;
Nor is our grief the less thereby;
O swift and strong and dear, good-bye.

grenfell memorial

Memorial to Gerald William Grenfell and his brother Julian near their family home; Photo Credit – www.grenfellhistory.co.uk

 

The Honorable Richard Chichester, the youngest son of Arthur Henry Chichester, 3rd Lord Templemore and his second wife Alice Dawkins was born on April 4, 1889. He was educated at Harrow School in London, England and graduated from Christ Church, Oxford University in 1910 with a Bachelor of Arts. Richard had been pronounced medically unfit for active service. However, he still wanted to serve in the war effort. In November 1914, he went to Serbia as acting honorary secretary to the first hospital unit of the Serbian Relief Fund, founded by Dame Louise Paget, Lady Paget, a British humanitarian. For his services in Serbia, Richard was given the honorary rank of Captain in the Serbian Army. He was planning to go home on leave, to try to persuade the army doctors to approve him for active service, when he caught a virulent form of typhoid fever and died in nine days, on July 31, 1915.

Petar Mirkovie, member of the Municipality of Novi Bazar, Serbia, sent this telegram to Lady Paget : “In the name of the citizens of Novi Bazar, I beg you to accept my deepest sympathy, learning the news of the sudden death of our young and noble Richard Chichester, who came to Serbia under pressure of his love for right, and far away from his own country left his life on this field of duty.”

Lady Paget wrote of Richard: “His devoted work of the previous winter, and his unfailing energy and courtesy, had endeared him to a far wider circle even than that with which he came into personal contact. For myself, I cannot express the value of his efficient and sympathetic help, nor what his loss meant to us. There was no member of the unit whose absence could have left a greater gap, or whose presence during the indescribable difficulties of the following winter would have been a more effective aid to us all.”

www.rastko.rs: British Medical Missions in Serbia 1914-1915

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Timeline: July 1, 1915 – July 31, 1915

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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July 1915 – Royals/Nobles/Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website.  or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

The Honorable Gerald William Grenfell

The Honorable Richard Chichester

  • son of Arthur Henry Chichester, 3rd Lord Templemore and his second wife Alice Dawkins
  • born April 4, 1889
  • died of typhoid fever July 31, 1915 in Niš, Serbia while working for the Serbian Relief Fund, age 26
  • http://www.thepeerage.com/p25003.htm#i250025

June 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer

Perhaps the two highest-profile World War I monarchs were first cousins and on opposite sides of the war.   Wilhelm II, German Emperor and King George V of the United Kingdom were both grandchildren of Queen Victoria.  Wilhelm was the eldest child of Queen Victoria’s eldest child Victoria, Princess Royal.  George was the eldest surviving son of King Edward VII, Queen Victoria’s second child and eldest son.  This month, we profile King George V and in a future month, we will profile Wilhelm, German Emperor.

King George V of the United Kingdom

Credit – Wikipedia

King George V was born on June 3, 1865, a month early, at Marlborough House in London, England, the second son and the second of the six children of King Edward VII and his wife Alexandra of Denmark. His parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, wanted to name him George after Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. The baby’s grandmother, Queen Victoria, thought the name George was too modern: “George only came over with the Hanoverian family.” The Prince and Princess of Wales held their ground with the name George, but had to agree to add the name Albert, so the baby’s name was George Frederick Ernest Albert. He was called Georgie in the family. At the time of his birth, George was third in the line of succession after his father and his brother Prince Albert Victor (Eddy) and he was styled Prince George of Wales. In 1892, George was created Duke of York, and when his father became king in 1901, he automatically became the Duke of Cornwall. He was created Prince of Wales on November 9, 1901.

George had five siblings:

George was only seventeen months younger than his brother Eddy. Because of the closeness in age, the two brothers were brought up and educated together. In 1877, Eddy and George joined the Royal Navy’s training ship, HMS Britannia. The brothers remained aboard the Britannia for nearly two years before embarking on a three-year cruise on the HMS Bacchante. Always accompanied by their tutor Mr. Dalton, the brothers visited the Mediterranean, the West Indies, South America, South Africa, Australia, China, and Japan.

In 1883, the brothers were separated. Eddy attended Trinity College, Cambridge University and George continued in the Royal Navy. While serving in the Royal Navy, George commanded Torpedo Boat 79 in the waters around the United Kingdom and HMS Thrush in North America. His last active service was the command of HMS Melampus in 1891–92.

George wanted to marry his first cousin Princess Marie of Edinburgh, the daughter of his uncle Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. His grandmother Queen Victoria, his father and his uncle all approved the match, but the mothers did not, and Marie was instructed to refuse when George proposed to her. On December 3, 1891, George’s brother Prince Eddy proposed to Princess Mary of Teck whose mother was a first cousin of Queen Victoria, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the youngest child of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (the seventh son and tenth child of King George III and Queen Charlotte). The wedding set for February 27, 1892, but on January 14, 1892, Eddy died of pneumonia.

After the death of Prince Eddy, Mary and George, now second in the line of succession, spent much time together. As time passed and their common grief eased, there was hope that a marriage might take place between them. George proposed to Mary beside a pond in the garden of his sister Louise’s home, East Sheen Lodge, on April 29, 1893. The engagement was announced on May 3, 1893, with the blessing of Queen Victoria. The couple married on July 6, 1893, and eventually became the beloved King George V and Queen Mary.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of George V and Princess Mary of Teck

George and Mary had six children:

On May 6, 1910, George’s father King Edward VII died and George became King. His coronation was held at Westminster Abbey on June 22, 1911. See Unofficial Royalty: Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary. In December of 1911, King George V and Queen Mary traveled to India for the Delhi Durbar where they were presented as Emperor and Empress of India.

Certainly the most difficult period of George V’s reign were years of World War I when the United Kingdom and its allies were at war with the Central Powers, led by the German Empire. Not only did about 1 million people from the United Kingdom and its colonies die, but the war pitted royal family against royal family. George was the first cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. He was also first cousin to both Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, who was overthrown in 1917, and his wife who was born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. At first, the British government offered asylum to Tsar Nicholas and his family, but the offer was later withdrawn. The tsar and his family remained in Russia and all were executed in 1918. In 1919, Tsar Nicholas’ mother Maria Feodorovna (George’s maternal aunt, born Dagmar of Denmark) and other members of the extended Russian Imperial Family were rescued from the Crimea by British ships.

During World War I, on July 17, 1917, King George V issued a proclamation changing the name of the British Royal Family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment. All George’s British relatives relinquished their German titles and styles, and adopted British-sounding surnames. The king’s compensated his male relatives by creating them British peers. All this led George’s cousin Kaiser Wilhelm to remark that he would attend a performance of Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg” at the earliest opportunity.

George’s relationship with his eldest son and heir Edward, Prince of Wales (known as David in the family, the future King Edward VIII) was strained. The king was disappointed in his son’s failure to settle down and appalled by his affairs with married women. However, he was fond of his second son Prince Albert (known as Bertie in the family, the future King George VI). In 1935, King George V prophetically said of his eldest son, “After I am dead, the boy will ruin himself within 12 months”, and of Prince Albert and his elder daughter Elizabeth, “I pray to God my eldest son will never marry and have children, and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet and the throne.”

In his final years, King George had a number of problems exacerbated by his habit of smoking including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pleurisy. On January 15, 1936, King George V went to bed at Sandringham House complaining of a cold, gradually became weaker, and drifting in and out of consciousness. On January 20, when the king was close to death, his doctors issued a bulletin with words that became famous: “The King’s life is moving peacefully towards its close.” As the king lay dying of bronchitis, Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn, Physician-in-Ordinary to King George V, gave him a lethal injection of cocaine and morphine, thereby hastening the king’s death to ensure that the announcement of the death would appear first in the morning edition of The Times and not in some lesser publication in the afternoon.

King George’s remains lay in state in Westminster Hall in London, England where an estimated 809,000 filed past his casket. As a mark of respect to their father, the king’s four surviving sons, King Edward VIII, Prince Albert, Duke of York, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Prince George, Duke of Kent, took the positions of the guards around the catafalque.  The funeral for King George V was held at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where he was also interred.
YouTube: The Funeral Of His Majesty King George V (1936)

King Edward VIII abdicated less than a year later and his brother Prince Albert, Duke of York ascended the throne, taking the regnal name George VI. King George VI was followed on the throne by his daughter Queen Elizabeth II, the Lilibet her grandfather hoped would become queen.

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Timeline: June 1, 1915 – June 30, 1915

June 4: Third Battle of Krithia in Helles, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey)
June 10–26: Battle of Manzikert in Malazgirt, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey)
June 21–23: Battle of Bukoba in Bukoba, German East Africa (now Tanzania)
June 22: German Field Marshal August von Mackensen breaks again through the Russian lines in the Lviv area (now in Ukraine)
June 23 – July 7: First Battle of the Isonzo near Gorizia, Italy
June 27: The Austro-Hungarians re-enter Lviv (now in Ukraine)
June 28 – July 5: The British win the Battle of Gully Ravine in Helles, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey)
June–September: The Russian Great Retreat from Poland and Galicia
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A Note About German Titles

Many of the royals/nobles who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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June 1915 – Royals/Nobles/Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

Robert Forbes-Sempill

The Honorable Maurice Hood

The Honorable Eustace Bourke

The Honorable Claude Meysey-Thompson

The Honorable Ernest Brabazon

Joachim Jobst, Freiherr von Cornberg

May 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer

Captain The Honorable Julian Henry Francis Grenfell

Captain The Honorable Julian Grenfell, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Julian Grenfell is among the British poets collectively called the War Poets, soldiers writing about their war experiences.  Many of them, like Julian Grenfell, died on the battlefield.

The Honorable Julian Henry Francis Grenfell was born on March 30, 1888 at 4 St. James’s Square in London, England. He was the eldest of the five children of William Henry Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough, and Ethel Anne Priscilla Fane, daughter of the diplomat Julian Fane.

Even as a child, Julian loved to draw and write poems. He attended Eton College, where he won a prize for Latin verse, and wrote and edited for Eton magazines.  After Eton, Julian attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he excelled in athletics and sports, but developed a reputation as a bully. His mother’s efforts to include him in the aristocratic social world resulted in the poem, I Won’t be Made a Social Pet!  He also wrote a series of unpublished essays denouncing aristocratic society, and the feelings he had about the aristocracy may have led to his decision to join the British Army’s Royal Dragoons in 1910.

Julian first served in India and South Africa, where he wrote poems, comical plays for his fellow soldiers to perform, and articles for the regimental magazine. A poem from this time, To a Black Greyhound, expresses the closeness he felt with animals. After the outbreak of World War I, Julian served in France and Belgium where he developed a reputation for courage. In 1914, Julian was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his action in stalking German snipers and shooting them from close range.  Julian was then offered a non-combat position as an aide-de-camp. He refused, saying his regiment was short of officers, and wrote a satirical poem, Prayer for Those on the Staff.

On May 13, 1915, Julian was wounded in the head by splinters from a bombshell while monitoring enemy troop movements during the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium. He was taken to a hospital in Boulogne, France where he died on May 26, 1915 at the age of 27, after two failed operations, and surrounded by his parents and his sister Monica, a Red Cross nurse. Julian’s younger brother Gerald William (Billy) Grenfell was killed in action on July 30, 1915, within a mile of where Julian had been wounded.

Julian Grenfell was buried at the Boulogne Eastern Cemetery in France, and he is one of the sixteen Great War (World War I) poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled November 11, 1985 in the South Transept (Poet’s Corner) of Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Abbey: Poets of the First World War

Grave of Julian Grenfell Photo Credit – findagrave.com

Grenfell’s best-known poem, Into Battle, was written at a time of confusion as he and his men waited to go to the front near Ypres, Belgium. The poem, often included in literature anthologies, was first published in The Times along with Grenfell’s obituary.

Into Battle by Julian Grenfell

The naked earth is warm with Spring,
And with green grass and bursting trees
Leans to the sun’s gaze glorying,
And quivers in the sunny breeze;
And life is Colour and Warmth and Light,
And a striving evermore for these;
And he is dead who will not fight,
And who dies fighting has increase.

The fighting man shall from the sun
Take warmth, and life from glowing earth;
Speed with the light-foot winds to run
And with the trees to newer birth;
And find, when fighting shall be done,
Great rest, and fulness after dearth.

All the bright company of Heaven
Hold him in their bright comradeship,
The Dog star, and the Sisters Seven,
Orion’s belt and sworded hip:

The woodland trees that stand together,
They stand to him each one a friend;
They gently speak in the windy weather;
They guide to valley and ridges end.

The kestrel hovering by day,
And the little owls that call by night,
Bid him be swift and keen as they,
As keen of ear, as swift of sight.

The blackbird sings to him: “Brother, brother,
If this be the last song you shall sing,
Sing well, for you may not sing another;
Brother, sing.”

In dreary doubtful waiting hours,
Before the brazen frenzy starts,
The horses show him nobler powers; —
O patient eyes, courageous hearts!

And when the burning moment breaks,
And all things else are out of mind,
And only joy of battle takes
Him by the throat and makes him blind,
Through joy and blindness he shall know,
Not caring much to know, that still
Nor lead nor steel shall reach him, so
That it be not the Destined Will.

The thundering line of battle stands,
And in the air Death moans and sings;
But Day shall clasp him with strong hands,
And Night shall fold him in soft wings.

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Timeline: May 1, 1915 – May 31, 1915

May 1: The Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive begins near Krakow, Poland
May 1: Battle of Eski Hissarlik on the Gallipoli Peninsula
May 3: Troops withdraw from Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula
May 6 – 8: Second Battle of Krithia on the Gallipoli Peninsula
May 7: British ocean liner Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
May 8 – 13: Battle of Frezenberg Ridge, part of the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium
May 9 – June 18: Second Battle of Artois in Artois, France
May 9: Battle of Aubers Ridge, a phase of the Second Battle of Artois near Armentières, France
May 10: Troops from Hungary rout the Russians at Jarosław, Poland
May 11: Armistice called at Gallipoli to bury the dead
May 12: Windhoek, capital of German South-West Africa (now Namibia), is occupied by South African troops
May 15 – 25: Battle of Festubert near Neuve Chapelle, France
May 16 – June 23: Battle of Konary near the town of Klimontów, Poland
May 23: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary
May 24 –25: Battle of Bellewaarde, final phase of the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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May 1915 – Royals/Nobles/Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.


Arthur Reginald French, 5th Lord De Freyne

Ralph Chalmers

The Honorable George French

The Honorable Keith Stewart

The Honorable Henry Hardinge

The Honorable Talbot Stanhope

The Honorable William Rodney

The Honorable Percy Evans-Freke

Lord Spencer Compton

The Honorable Clement Freeman-Mitford

Colwyn Philipps

John Bigge

The Honorable Alexander Hepburne-Scott

The Honorable William Order-Powlett

Robert Howard

The Honorable Arthur Coke

The Honorable Julian Grenfell (see article above)

Robert Chalmers

The Honorable Cormac Deane-Morgan

Count Peter Alexandrovich Benckendorff

Ernst, Freiherr von Saalfeld

The Honorable William Nugent

April 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer


Captain The Honorable Lyon Playfair

Lyon_playfair

Captain The Honorable Lyon Playfair; Photo Credit – Redgrave History

The Honorable Lyon Playfair, a Captain in the Royal Field Artillery, was killed in action at Zonnebeke, Belgium during the Second Battle of Ypres on April 20, 1915 at the age of 26. His death occurred while he was acting as the observing officer for his artillery unit in a trench close to German lines. One of his men wrote of him, “A finer officer or better gentleman it would be hard to find.” He attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, was commissioned a Lieutenant in 1908, and promoted to Captain in December 1914. He was in the 31st Battalion of the Royal Field Artillery and had landed in France on August 23, 1914. He was unmarried and the title Baron Playfair became extinct upon the death of his father, the 2nd BaronPlayfair in 1939.

Captain The Honorable Lyon Playfair was the only son of Brigadier General George Playfair, 2nd Baron Playfair and Lady Playfair (born Augusta Mary Hickman) who were residing at Redgrave Hall in Redgrave, Suffolk, England at the time of their son’s death. The captain’s body was never found and he is commemorated with many others on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres battles of World War I and whose graves are unknown. A memorial window was unveiled at the east end of the north aisle of St. Mary’s Church in Redgrave on April 20, 1916, exactly a year after his death. In addition, a memorial tablet to the captain is in the Playfair Aisle of the Parish Church of the Holy Trinity in St Andrews, Scotland.

Playfair_StAndrews16

Captain Playfair’s memorial tablet in the Playfair Aisle of the Parish Church of the Holy Trinity, St Andrews, Scotland

Captain The Honorable Playfair was a grandson of Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair, the Scottish scientist and Liberal politician. The 1st Baron Playfair was a chemist who held a number of academic positions. He was a special commissioner and a member of the executive committee of the Great Exhibition, a project of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband.  Lord Playfair served as a Gentleman Usher to Prince Albert. In 1868, Playfair was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for the Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews in Scotland and was then elected as Member of Parliament for Leeds South in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. After leaving the House of Commons in 1892, Playfair was created Baron Playfair of St Andrews in the County of Fife in Scotland.

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Timeline: April 1, 1915 – April 30, 1915

April 5 – May 5: First Battle of Woevre
April 12 – 14: Battle of Shaiba, in present-day Iraq
April 19 – May 17: Ottomans besiege the Armenian city of Van, in present-day Turkey
April 22 – May 25: Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium, Germany first uses the poison gas
April 22 – 23: Battle of Gravenstafel, first stage of the Second Battle of Ypres
April 24 – May 5: Battle of St Julien, part of the Second Battle of Ypres
April 25: Allied forces land on Gallipoli, located in present-day Turkey, landing at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles
April 26: London Pact between the Triple Entente (France, Russia, United Kingdom) and Italy
April 28: First Battle of Krithia in the Gallipoli Campaign

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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April 1915 – Royals/Nobles/Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website  or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

Captain The Honorable Lyon Playfair

March 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer


Brabourne Family Connections

Brabourne

Wyndham Knatchbull-Hugessen, 3rd Baron Brabourne; Photo Credit – www.illustratedfirstworldwar.com

On March 11, 1915, 29-year-old Wyndham Knatchbull-Hugessen, 3rd Baron Brabourne was killed in action in World War I. On March 10, 1915, during the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the 1st Battalion of the Grenadier Guards took up reserve positions near Neuve Chapelle, France. On March 11, 1915, the battalion sustained heavy casualties while crossing the Rue Tilleloy. The battalion’s war diary recorded the death of Lord Brabourne together with 15 other officers and 325 other soldiers. Lord Barbourne has no known grave, but his name appears on the La Touret Memorial in Bethune, France. His family erected a memorial for him in the parish church in Smeeth, England.

As the 3rd Baron Brabourne was unmarried and had no heir, his first cousin Cecil Knatchbull-Hugessen succeeded him as the 4th Baron Brabourne. The peerage continued to be inherited from father to son until Norton Knatchbull, 6th Baron Brabourne, who was captured and executed by the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) during World War II. The 6th Baron Brabourne’s brother John then became the 7th Baron Brabourne as his brother had died unmarried.
Wikipedia: Baron Brabourne

The names Brabourne and Knatchbull may sound familiar to many British royal family enthusiasts. The current Baron Brabourne, Norton Knatchbull, 8th Baron Brabourne, is the son of John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne and Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. His mother Patricia is the elder daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma who was a great grandson of Queen Victoria. Patricia is also a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The family’s descent from Queen Victoria comes from her third child Princess Alice who married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.

Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha → Princess Alice married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine  → Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine married Prince Louis of Battenberg (later Louis Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven) →  Prince Louis of Battenberg (later of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma) married Edwina Ashley → Patricia Mountbatten, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma married John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne → Norton Knatchbull, 8th Baron Brabourne

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma was killed in 1979 by a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb placed in his fishing boat. Also killed was Nicholas Knatchbull, a son of Lord Mountbatten’s elder daughter Patricia, Patricia’s mother-in-law the Dowager Lady Brabourne, and Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old crew member.
Unofficial Royalty: Tragedy in the British Royal Family at the End of August (scroll down to Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma)

Upon his father’s death in 2005, Norton Knatchbull became the 8th Baron Brabourne. He will become 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma upon the death of his mother Patricia, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma. Patricia was able to succeed to her father’s title because the peerage had been created with special remainder to the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma’s daughters and their heirs male.
Wikipedia Earl Mountbatten of Burma

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Timeline: March 1, 1915 – March 31, 1915

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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March 1915 – Royals/Nobles/Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

The Honorable William Eden

Prince Alexander of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Prince of Ratibor-Corvey

Howard Stonor

Wyndham Knatchbull-Hugessen, 3rd Baron Brabourne

George Douglas-Pennant

February 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer


Not a Lord, but a Lady

Lord Gray

Gray family coat of arms; Photo Credit – http://www.tailoredtoursonline.co.uk

While researching the background of a son of a peer who died in February of 1915, I was perplexed because I could not find out what peerage his father had held. I thought there had been an error, but then I looked more closely at his mother, and sure enough, she was the peer. Most titles have traditionally been created for men with remainder to male heirs. However, some titles are created with special remainders to allow women to inherit them, and these women are peeresses in their own right. Eveleen Smith-Gray, 19th Lady Gray (1841–1918) was the mother of Henry Campbell-Gray, killed in action in February of 1915. Lord/Lady Gray is an old Scottish barony and most Scottish baronies, along with many old English baronies, allow the peerage to pass to the “heirs general,” so females can inherit them.

Lord Gray is a title in the Peerage of Scotland and was created in 1445 for the Scottish diplomat and politician Sir Andrew Gray (c. 1390–1469), who served three Kings of Scotland, James I, James II, and James III.

The Master of Gray trilogy by Nigel Tranter are historical novels based upon the life of Patrick Gray, 6th Lord Gray, a political schemer and diplomat during the reign of the young King James VI of Scotland (later King James I of England).

There have been four female holders of the barony:

Madelina Gray, 16th Lady Gray (1799–1869)
Margaret Murray, 17th Lady Gray (1821–1878)
Eveleen Smith-Gray, 19th Lady Gray (1841–1918)
Ethel Eveleen Gray-Campbell, 21st Lady Gray (1866–1946)

Wikipedia: List of Lord/Lady Gray titleholders

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Timeline: February 1, 1915 – February 28, 1915

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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February 1915 – Royals/Nobles/Peers Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website  or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

Thomas Knox, Viscount Northland

Francis Tyrrell

Henry Campbell-Gray

Graf Otto von Westarp

January 1915: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer


“One loss follows another till one is dazed” ~ Lord Rosebery, former British Prime Minister

Robert Cornwallis Maude, 6th Viscount Hawarden; Photo Credit – http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk

A career in the British Army was not an unusual thing for British peers and their sons, and when World War I started, peers and their sons were well represented among the officers and also well represented in the deaths. It has been estimated that up to one third of the families of British peers lost at least one member. By the end of 1915, the British death toll included nine peers and 95 sons of peers, and it would get worse. By the end of the war, 20% of the peers and their sons who served in World War I had died. Although death did not discriminate between the aristocrat and the commoner, it did favor the young. Nine percent of the British male population under the age of 45 died in World War I.

Both an aristocrat and young, the first peer to die in World War I was only 23. Robert Cornwallis Maude, 6th Viscount Hawarden was born on September 6, 1890, the only child of Robert Maude, 5th Viscount Hawarden and Caroline Ogle, the daughter of a British Army Colonel. Young Robert succeeded to his father’s title at the age of 18. He was educated at St. Michael’s School in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, England. Robert graduated from Christ Church, Oxford University with a Bachelor of Arts. While at university, he was a member of the University Contingent of the Officers’ Training Corps.

In August 1914, Robert was mobilized and joined the 3rd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards with the rank of Lieutenant. On August 26, 1914, Robert was killed in action at the Battle of Mons in Belgium.  He was buried at the Landrecies Communal Cemetery in Landrecies, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.

Grave of Robert Cornwallis Maude, 6th Viscount Hawarden

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Timeline: January 1, 1915 – January 31, 1915

  • January 2 – April 12 – Russian offensive in the Carpathians begins
  • January 18–19 – Battle of Jassin in Jassin, German East Africa (now Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of Tanzania)
  • January 19 – First Zeppelin raid on Great Britain
  • January 19 – December 22 – Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf in Alsace, France, a series of battles fought to control the peak
  • January 24 – Battle of Dogger Bank, naval battle fought in the North Sea off the coast of eastern England between squadrons of the British Grand Fleet and the German Hochseeflotte
  • January 24–26 – Chilembwe Uprising led by John Chilembwe in Nyasaland (now Malawi)
  • January 28 – February 3 – Ottomans fail to capture the Suez Canal
  • January 31 – Battle of Bolimov near Bolimów, Poland; first German use of chemical weapons

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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January 1915 – Royals Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or to The Peerage website.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

Captain The Honorable John Beresford Campbell

  • 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
  • eldest son of Hallyburton George Campbell, 3rd Baron Stratheden of Cupar and Campbell of St. Andrews and Louisa Mary Hope
  • born June 20, 1866 at Prince’s Terrace, Prince’s Gate in London, England
  • married 1895 The Honorable Alice Susan Hamilton, had issue
  • killed in action at Cuinchy, Pas-de-Calais, France on January 25, 1915, age 48
  • his eldest son Donald Campbell died in action on July 19, 1916, age 20
  • http://www.thepeerage.com/p19873.htm#i198728

World War I – Princess Mary’s 1914 Christmas Gift

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2014

Princess Mary of the United Kingdom; Photo Credit – Wikipedia, US Library of Congress Collection

World War I had started in August of 1914, and as the Christmas season approached, 17-year-old Princess Mary, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom, wanted to do something for the British soldiers and sailors. The princess’ original idea was to purchase a gift using her private allowance. When this idea became impractical, the idea of a public fund was developed. The first meeting of The Princess Mary’s Christmas Gift Fund was held on October 14, 1914, at the Ritz Hotel in London. Princess Mary was present and remained personally involved throughout the life of the fund.

The next day, the following letter signed by Princess Mary was released by Buckingham Palace:

“I want you now to help me to send a Christmas present from the whole of the nation to every sailor afloat and every soldier at the front. I am sure that we should all be happier to feel that we had helped to send our little token of love and sympathy on Christmas morning, something that would be useful and of permanent value, and the making of which may be the means of providing employment in trades adversely affected by the war. Could there be anything more likely to hearten them in their struggle than a present received straight from home on Christmas Day?

The response from the public was overwhelming. The gift was an embossed brass box with various provisions inside. The lid was decorated with a portrait of Princess Mary, surrounded by a laurel wreath and with an ‘M’ on both sides. ‘Imperium Britannicum’ was at the top with a sword and scabbard on either side. At the bottom are the words ‘Christmas 1914′ surrounded by battleships.  In the corners, are the names of the Allies: Belgium, Japan, Montenegro and Serbia with France and Russia on either side.

Princess-Mary-Christmas-Gift-Tin-1914

Photo Credit – www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk

The tins were filled with various items including tobacco, candy, spices, pencils, a Christmas card, and a picture of the princess. Over 426,000 of these tins were distributed on Christmas Day, 1914. However, a shortage of brass meant that many of the tins were delivered on later dates. When the fund closed in 1920, almost £200,000 had been donated and more than two and a half million tins had been delivered.

PM-Gift-Box

Photo Credit – http://harewood.org

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

December 1914: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer

Maximilian, Graf von Spee, Vice Admiral of the Imperial German Navy
Timeline: December 1, 1914 – December 31, 1914
A Note About German Titles
December 1914 – Royals Who Died In Action


Maximilian, Graf von Spee, Vice Admiral of the Imperial German Navy

Maximilian, Graf von Spee; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

On December 8, 1914, the British Royal Navy won a decisive victory over the Imperial German Navy in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The British lost only ten men, but the Germans lost 1,871 men when four of their ships were sunk. Among those killed was the commander of the Imperial German Navy during the battle, Maximilian, Graf von Spee and his two sons Otto and Heinrich.

The Spee family was an old noble family from the German Rhineland, sometimes called Rhenish. Maximilian, Graf von Spee was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on July 22, 1861. He joined the Imperial German Navy when he was 17 years old. By the time he was 26 years old, he was commanding ports in the German Cameron, a German colony in West Africa. In 1899, while serving as first officer on the battleship SMS Brandenburg, von Spee participated in the Boxer Rebellion in China.  In 1912, he became the commander of the German East Asia Squadron operating out of Tsingtao, China and was given the rank of Vice Admiral.

Early in World War I, Graf von Spee was the commander in German victories in the Battle of Papeete in French Polynesia and the Battle of Coronel in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Coronel, Chile. During the Battle of the Falkland Islands, von Spee’s flagship the SMS Scharnhorst, together with the SMS Gneisenau, the SMS Nürnberg, and the SMS Leipzig were all sunk. 1,871 men died including von Spee and his two sons, Lt. Otto von Spee, who served aboard the Nürnberg, and Lt. Heinrich von Spee who served on the Gneisenau.

Memorial for Vice Admiral Maximilian, Graf von Spee and his sons in Kiel, Germany; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

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Timeline: December 1, 1914 – December 31, 1914

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

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December 1914 – Royals Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or from The Peerage.  If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

Otto Aribert, Graf von Westarp

Maximilian, Graf von Spee

  • son of Rudolf, Graf von Spee and Fernanda Tutein
  • born June 22, 1861 in Copenhagen, Denmark
  • married Margareta, Freiin von der Osten-Sacken, had issue (two sons, below, who died with him and one daughter)
  • killed in action aboard the SMS Scharnhorst in the South Atlantic Ocean near the Falkland Islands, age 53

Otto, Graf von Spee

Heinrich, Graf von Spee

Wilhelm, Graf von Redern

November 1914: Royalty and World War I

by Susan Flantzer

Radziwill Family
Timeline: November 1, 1914 – November 30, 1914
A Note About German Titles
November 1914 – Royals Who Died In Action


Radziwill Family

Trąby Coat of Arms used by the Radziwill Princely Family; Credit – Wikipedia

In November of 1914, a member of the Radziwill family died in action during World War I. Some of us will recall that the sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Caroline Lee Bouvier, married Prince Stanislaw Radziwill.  The Radziwill family was an important Polish–Lithuanian princely family that played a significant role in Polish–Lithuanian history. In 1518, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I created Mikołaj II Radziwill, an important statesman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Reichsfürst (Imperial Prince) of Goniądz and Meteliai Mikołaj. In 1547, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V created three other Radziwill family members Reichsfürst. Only four other families from the Polish nobility received the title of Reichsfürst from a Holy Roman Emperor.

Notable members of the Radziwill family include:

See Wikipedia: Radziwill Family for more information.

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Timeline: November 1, 1914 – November 30, 1914

  • November 1 – Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire; Battle of Coronel off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel, German cruiser squadron defeats a British Royal Navy squadron
  • November 2 – United Kingdom begins the naval blockade of Germany
  • November 2-November 16 – Bergmann Offensive, first military engagement in the Caucuses in Erzurum Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now in Turkey)
  • November 3 – Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire; Battle of Kilimanjaro in German East Africa (today Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of present Tanzania)
  • November 3–November 5 – German colonial forces defeat the British at the Battle of Tanga in German East Africa (today Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of present Tanzania)
  • November 5 – France and the United Kingdom declare war on the Ottoman Empire
  • November 6 – Fao Landing, British and Indian Army besiege the fortress at Fao, Ottoman Empire (today in Iraq)
  • November 9 – Battle of Cocos in the northeast Indian Ocean near the Cocos Islands, a territory of Australia
  • November 11 – Sultan Mehmed V of the Ottoman Empire declares Jihad on the Allies
  • November 11-November 21 – Battle of Basra in the Ottoman Empire (today in Iraq)
  • November 11–December 6 – Battle of Łódź in Łódź, Russian Empire (today in Poland)
  • November 16-December 15 – Battle of Kolubara at the Kolubara River in Serbia, decisive Serbian victory forces the Austro-Hungarians to leave Serbia

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A Note About German Titles

Most of the royals who died in action during World War I were German. The German Empire consisted of 27 constituent states, most of them ruled by royal families. Scroll down to German Empire here to see what constituent states made up the German Empire.  The constituent states retained their own governments, but had limited sovereignty. Some had their own armies, but the military forces of the smaller ones were put under Prussian control. In wartime, armies of all the constituent states would be controlled by the Prussian Army and the combined forces were known as the Imperial German Army.  German titles may be used in Royals Who Died In Action below. Refer to Unofficial Royalty: Glossary of German Noble and Royal Titles.

24 British peers were also killed in World War I and they will be included in the list of those who died in action. In addition, more than 100 sons of peers also lost their lives, and those that can be verified will also be included.

*********************************************************


November 1914 – Royals Who Died In Action

The list is in chronological order and does contain some who would be considered noble instead of royal. The links in the last bullet for each person is that person’s genealogical information from Leo’s Genealogics Website or from The Peerage. If a person has a Wikipedia page, their name will be linked to that page.

Francis Annesley, 6th Earl Annesley

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

  • son of Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley and Mabel Markham
  • born February 25, 1884 in Castlewellan, Kilmegan, County Down, Ireland
  • married February 14, 1909 Evelyn Hester Mundy, no issue
  • Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Air Service
  • killed in action (airplane shot down) near Ostend, Belgium on November 5, 1914, age 30

The Honorable Arthur Edward Bruce O’Neill

  • son of Edward O’Neill, 2nd Baron O’Neill and Lady Louisa Cochrane
  • born September 19, 1876
  • married January 21, 1902 Lady Annabel Crewe-Milnes, had issue
  • Captain in the 2nd Life Guards, British Army
  • killed in action at Klein Zillebeke, Belgium on November 6, 1914, age 38

Henry Bligh Fortescue Parnell, 5th Baron Congleton

  • son of the son of Major General Henry Parnell, 4th Baron Congleton and Elizabeth Peter Dove
  • born September 6, 1890
  • unmarried
  • Lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards, British Army
  • killed in action near Ypres, Belgium on November 10, 1914, age 24
  • http://www.thepeerage.com/p1528.htm#i15275

Arthur, Freiherr von Kettler

Friedrich, Graf von Merveldt

  • son of Graf Friedericus von Merveldt, Freiherr zu Lembeck and Luise, Freiin von Landsberg-Velen
  • born October 26, 1878 in Freckenhorst, Prussia (now Germany)
  • 1910 married Maria Elisabeth, Freiin von Fürstenberg, had issue
  • killed in action at Oporow, Poland on November 16, 1914, age 36
  • http://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00122733&tree=LEO

Prince Nicholas Radziwill

  • son of Prince Wilhelm Radziwill and Catherine Rzewuska
  • born July 4, 1880
  • 1906 married Countess Madeleine Zawiska-Kieygajlo
  • killed in action at Mallwischken, Prussia (now in the Russian Federation) on November 30, 1914, age 34
  • http://www.thepeerage.com/p6808.htm#i68071