Major Edward Charles Ellice, DSO, JP, DL (1 January 1858 – 21 February 1934)[1] was Liberal MP for St Andrews Burghs.
Major Edward Charles Ellice, DSO, JP, DL (1 January 1858 – 21 February 1934)[1] was Liberal MP for St Andrews Burghs.
He was the son of Robert Ellice (1816–1858) and Eglantine "Tina" Balfour (1816–1907), the grandson of Robert Ellice and Eliza Courtney, a grandnephew of Edward Ellice, and a cousin and the heir of the latter's son, heir and namesake, Edward Ellice, who was a previous MP for the constituency.
Educated at Harrow School and Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Ellice was commissioned in the Grenadier Guards in 1876 or 1877, and promoted to captain on 5 August 1886. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, he joined Lord Lovat's Corps as a captain of mounted infantry on 21 February 1900.[2] The corps was raised by Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat and served in South Africa through the war.
Ellice was elected at the 1903 St Andrews Burghs by-election, gaining the seat from the Liberal Unionists. He sought re-election at the 1906 General Election but was narrowly defeated.[3]
During the First World War, he rejoined the Grenadier Guards in 1914 and commanded the 7th (Guards) Entrenching Battalion in France. He was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1918.
He was deputy-director of the Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Edward Charles Ellice | 1,324 | 50.7 | +1.9 | |
| Liberal Unionist | William Anstruther-Thomson | 1,288 | 49.3 | -1.9 | |
| Turnout | |||||
| Majority | 36 | 1.4 | 3.8 | ||
| Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist | Swing | +1.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Unionist | William Anstruther-Gray | 1,495 | 50.4 | +1.1 | |
| Liberal | Edward Charles Ellice | 1,472 | 49.6 | -1.1 | |
| Majority | 23 | 0.8 | 2.2 | ||
| Turnout | |||||
| Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
He married Margaret Georgiana Thomas (1865–1929), daughter of cricketer Freeman Thomas and sister of Major Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, on 11 April 1889. They had ten children: