The Right Honourable

The Earl Fortescue
Birth nameDenzil George Fortescue
Born(1893-06-13)13 June 1893
Castle Hill, Devon, England
Died1 June 1977(1977-06-01) (aged 83)
Ebrington, Gloucestershire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1915–1918
1939–1944
RankLieutenant colonel
Commands heldRoyal Devon Yeomanry; 1st Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsMilitary Cross

Denzil George Fortescue, 6th Earl Fortescue MC TD (13 June 1893 – 1 June 1977) was a British peer and farmer who served in both the First World War and Second World War.

Early life and education

Fortescue was the third born and second surviving son of Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue and Hon. Emily Ormsby-Gore, daughter of William Ormsby-Gore, 2nd Baron Harlech.[1] He grew up at the family estate at Castle Hill, North Devon. He was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford, where he studied under William Spooner.[2] He received the Military Cross in 1919:[3]

Career

He joined the Royal North Devon Yeomanry and in 1915 was sent to Gallipoli. After suffering a severe bout of dysentery, he returned home to recover. He rejoined the war in 1916 in France, where he fought at the Battle of the Somme. In four weeks, he fought in six battles.[2]

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during operations at Forest and Preux-au-Bois on 25 October and 4 November 1918. He rode forward amongst the attacking troops for the purpose of gaining firsthand knowledge of the situation at a critical period of the battle, and sent back information of the greatest value.

— Citation in The London Gazette, 9 December 1919[4]

Fortescue was commanding officer of the Royal Devon Yeomanry 1935–1941, and commanding officer of the 1st Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, 1942–1944.[2]

In 1958, he succeeded to the Earldom on the death of his older brother, Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue, whose only son, Hugh, Viscount Ebrington had been killed at El Alamein in 1942. He became a "regular attender and occasional speaker at the House of Lords."[2]

He lived at the family seat, Ebrington Manor, where he became a successful fruit farmer.[2]

Marriages and children

He married, firstly, Marjorie Ellinor Trotter, the granddaughter of John Hamilton, 1st Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, on 10 June 1920 and they were divorced in 1941. They had three children:

Fortescue married, secondly, Hon. Sybil Hardinge, daughter of Henry Hardinge, 3rd Viscount Hardinge, on 8 August 1941 - she had divorced her first husband Hugh Douglas-Pennant, 4th Baron Penrhyn earlier in 1941. They had one son:

Death

The sixth earl died 1 June 1977, just shy of his 84th birthday. A monument was erected in his honour at St Eadburgha's Church in Ebrington.[5]

References

  1. ^ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage. London: Dean & Son, Limited. 1902. p. 343.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Earl Fortescue: War service and fruit farming". The Times. 8 June 1977. p. 16.
  3. ^ "No. 31266". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 April 1919. p. 4327.
  4. ^ "No. 31680". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 December 1919. p. 15333.
  5. ^ Raffield, Paul (2010). Shakespeare's Imaginary Constitution: Late Elizabethan Politics and the Theatre of Law. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-84731-606-6.

External links

Peerage of Great Britain Preceded byHugh William Fortescue Earl Fortescue 1958–1977 Succeeded byRichard Archibald Fortescue
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