He was educated at Eton and Oxford and played No.1 for the Oxford Polo team in 1904 and 1905.[1] While at Oxford he was also a keen steeplechase rider.[2]
When news of the death of Primrose reached the UK, Prime MinisterDavid Lloyd George paid tribute in the House of Commons on 19 November 1917, alongside his report of the death of Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude:
May I be permitted before I sit down to utter one word of another who held an inconspicuous position in the Army but who was well known to all Members of this House. I refer to Captain Neil Primrose. The House knew his bright and radiant spirit well. To his intimates he was one of the most lovable men we ever met. He had ability far above the average, and, in spite of the reserve and shyness which held him back, his future was full of hope. He had already rendered distinguished service in the field, and for that service he had been recognised at the suggestion of his commanding officer; and he might well, for he had many offers, have occupied positions where he could have rendered services to the public, positions honourable to him, but positions of personal safety, and the fact that he had been chosen by his constituents to serve in this House would have rendered his acceptance of these positions honourable to himself. He chose deliberately the path of danger. He fell charging at the head of his troops, at the very moment of victory, and Members of the House will, I feel certain, join me in an expression of deepest sympathy with those whom he has left behind to mourn him.
— David Lloyd George, House of Commons parliamentary debate, 19 November 1917[9]
Headstone on Capt. Primrose's grave, Ramleh War Cemetery
Responding to the Prime Minister, the former Prime Minister H. H. Asquith (who had himself lost a son in 1916) referred to "two very great national losses" and also paid his respects:
In regard to the other loss to which my right hon. Friend has referred, and which more particularly affects this House, a more familiar and well-loved face has passed from among us, and I only trust myself to say this, that there are few who can realise better than myself how much of hope and of promise there was for his future, and I am sure that his distinguished father and family will have the heartfelt sympathy of every Member of this House.
— H. H. Asquith, House of Commons parliamentary debate, 19 November 1917[10]
Primrose is buried in the Ramleh Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Ramla, in Israel.[11][12] The inscription on his gravestone reads: HE LIVES BY LOVE.[11] Primrose is commemorated on Panel 8 of the Parliamentary War Memorial in Westminster Hall, one of 22 MPs that died during World War I to be named on that memorial.[13][14] Primrose is one of 19 MPs who fell in the war who are commemorated by heraldic shields in the Commons Chamber.[15] A further act of commemoration came with the unveiling in 1932 of a manuscript-style illuminated book of remembrance for the House of Commons, which includes a short biographical account of the life and death of Primrose.[16][17] Memorial tablets were erected by his father in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, and at Christ Church, Epsom Common, Surrey. Additional memorials were erected to his memory in the form of a stained glass window in St Mary's Church, Knowsley, Merseyside, by his widow's parents,[18][T 1] and a further plaque was erected by his father in All Saints Church, Postwick, Norfolk.[19][T 2]
Memorials erected to the memory of Neil Primrose by his father
Lady Victoria married as her second husband Malcolm Bullock, and had one daughter, Priscilla, by him. Lady Victoria died in a hunting accident in November 1927.
DEDICATED TO THE GLORY OF GOD BY EDWARD EARL OF DERBY AND ALICE HIS WIFE TO THE MEMORY OF THEIR SON-IN-LAW NEIL PRIMROSE KILLED IN ACTION 15TH NOVEMBER 1917.
TO THE DEAR MEMORY OF CAPTAIN THE HON NEIL PRIMROSE MC MP WHO SO TRULY LOVED THIS PLACE OF WHICH HE WAS THE BENIFICENT SQUIRE FOR TOO SHORT A TIME, THIS TABLET IS ERECTED BY HIS SORROWING FATHER. BORN 14 DECEMBER 1882, HE WAS KILLED IN BATTLE 15 NOVEMBER 1917, AT THE HILL OF GEZER IN PALESTINE, AND LIES BURIED AT RAMLEH.
In memory of CAPTAIN THE RIGHT HON. NEIL JAMES ARCHIBALD PRIMROSE M.P. M.C. who was born at Dalmeny December 14th 1882 was killed in action November 15, 1917 at the Hill of Gezer in Palestine and lies buried at Ramleh. This tablet is erected by his proud and afflicted father.
His life was lovely and pleasant & he died in Glory.
They go from strength to strength every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
To the beloved memory of NEIL PRIMROSE a worshipper here with his father who has raised this tablet. He was born at Dalmeny December 14th 1892 was killed in action November 15th 1917 on the Hill of Gezer in Palestine and lies buried at Ramleh.
He was the light of our eyes & the joy of all who knew him.
The LORD gave and the LORD hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.
To the beloved memory of CAPTAIN THE RIGHT HON. NEIL JAMES ARCHIBALD PRIMROSE M.P. for Wisbech and M.C. born at Dalmeny Dec 14 1882 and killed Nov 15 1917 while leading a charge of the Royal Bucks Hussars at the hill of Gezer near which at Ramleh he lies buried. This tablet is erected by his proud and sorrowful father.
Now he is dead Far hence he lies In the lorn Syrian town And on his grave With shining eyes The Syrian stars look down.
^"Delegates from England and British Colonies Officially Welcomed by Gaynor". The New York Times. 6 May 1913. Retrieved 3 August 2010. The delegates from Great Britain and the British Colonies, who have come to the United States to arrange with the American committee for the celebration in 1913 of 100 years of peace among English-Speaking peoples, were formally welcomed to New York by Mayor Gaynor yesterday morning.
^According to Vladimir Jabotinsky's "The Story of the Jewish Legion", Primrose came very close to joining the Jewish Legion but did not because of a miscommunication.
^"Recording Angel memorial Panel 8". Recording Angel memorial, Westminster Hall. UK Parliament (www.parliament.uk). Retrieved 31 August 2016.
United Kingdom
![St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh[T 3]](/en/File:Memorial_to_Neil_James_Archibald_Primrose.jpg)
![Christ Church, Epsom Common[T 4]](/en/File:Neil_Primrose_memorial_at_Christ_Church,_Epsom_Common_2.jpg)
![St Mary the Virgin, Mentmore[T 5]](/en/File:St_Mary_the_Virgin_Mentmore-_memorial_(3)_(geograph_2601688).jpg)
